Ferry to Mindoro

It was short easy leg from the SLEX exit to the Star Toll entrance. The Star Toll was light and the drive was smooth all the way past the usual Lipa exit and onto the Batangas terminus. The stretch past Lipa is considerable and seems to go on forever is unaccustomed. After paying the toll you get to the roundabout, turning right towards Lipa and back to Manila, left to Batagas City proper, and straight directly onto the Batangas port which we took. You will come upon an overpass that you should take to the pier but of note is a sign directing motorist under the overpass onto Mabini where Anilao is.

The port area of Batangas is quite impressive. It is modern and very clean. With a bit of asking for directions, we found the secured parking lot beside the ferry terminal. The SuperCat ferry was just leaving as we entered the terminal but there was a 10:00 AM ferry with another company. The people there swore it was faster but it sure looked older and did not exactly inspire confidence. In any case, we had no choice because the next SuperCat was leaving much later.

We were actually planning to bring the car over by Ro-Ro (Roll On – Roll Off) but decided against it as the hotel was picking us up from the Calapan pier and there was really nowhere else to go. This was a good thing because the Ro-Ro ship we saw was literally a rust-bucket if you ever saw one. It also took the Ro-Ro boats 2 hours to get to Calapan as compared to the 1 hour of fast-craft ferries.

The ferry ride was uneventful and quite pleasant. The remaining coastline of Batangas is dotted with a number of oil refineries. They are quite a site at night as they are all lit up and there is usually flame coming out of some smoke stacks or vents. The seas were very calm and there was very little motion except between tip of Batangas and Verde Island and between Verde Island and Mindoro. The body of water between Batangas and Mindoro is called Verde Island Passage and connects the China Sea with the Pacific Ocean. Acting as a funnel of sorts, the currents can be brutal. I have seen both sharks and dolphins on previous crossings. On one particular night crossing we were treated to phosphorescence all the way.

Tip of Batangas

Passing Ships

Verde Island

Batangas, Philippines