Topography is hardly something I try to notice in a beach.  Who would study the physical features of the land when you can study the physical features of crowd especially the ladies….

A nice sunny day, fine sand, clear water, and an atmosphere that seemed derived from a Beach Boys song are all I the qualities I look for.  And there are a lot of beaches that fit that description in this country of ours, Puerto Galera among them.

But recently in my recent trip to Galera just this past week, topography was something I noticed, because if I am right, one of the favorite summer spots in the country may have its days numbered.
 

Bigger Steps

I wish I had before pictures to better illustrate the point but the steps going into the resorts and the various restaurants in Galera were bothering me.  It was maybe two years ago that I got the feeling that I was taking more effort going up. The steps seemed higher than what I remember.  Ok, maybe it was my weight I thought but was I taking this big a step just to get to the top.  Then, I looked (now wishing I had a camera) the steps were crumbling, a whole lot of them, from the lack of sand it seems. Puerto Galera has an erosion problem. Later on I dismissed it on the back of my mind almost as if I have seen a ghost; nah, beaches will never run out of sand.

The guys with me on this recent trip to Puerto Galera, browsing over the albums of one Henna Tattoo stall.  While this is not a part of the beach I frequently 'climb steps' in, these steps are obviously new . . . .

....and they stretch almost throughout the beach, with a walkway to match.  It used to be just steps going into one establishment so I suppose the walkways mean something.

Sinking Feeling 

Now, if I can dismiss the steps somewhat easily I cannot dismiss this.  There is a gaping hole in the beach front. If Galera could have looked once as a long small letter ‘l’ is now a small ‘i’.  This hole is located in between Coco Aroma and Summer Connection.  The hole is big enough in fact to affect the lots of both establi

shments; Coco Aroma especially.  There is water coming in from the ocean and

there are remnants of water that seems to be coming from inland.

Wondering if this observation of Puerto Galera is just an isolated incident I googled it up.  I got seven hundred thousand hits with the search parameters of ‘erosion + famous beaches’.  It seems there is more than one summer hideaway under threat.

The gaping hole.  I am standing over the Coco Aroma side taking a shot of my friend who is at the lowest point....

....angled shot showing Summer Connections Resort.  It seems a miracle the resort is even standing.

The low point of the hole looking inward. This could be water coming out or. . . .

....coming in considering this, the ocean at the back of my friend.

Taken on the Summer Connection side facing the more popular side of Puerto Galera.  Observe that the beach line is no longer perfect.

Off-topic:Pride or Self Preservation

Pride and self preservation are two things which are always in conflict whenever I take that boat ride from Batangas Pier to Puerto Galera.  And, that is because of life jackets, or lack thereof. 

The trip to Galera by boat is a 1 hour ride on average, on seas that are not always as calm as I wished it to be.  It scares me a lot because

I can’t swim.  So what am I to do; and always I ask this to myself in the maybe 5-7 times I have been there, do I wear the life jacket, alone, or do I put up a brave front and keep my poise.  So far pride (but maybe vanity is the more appropriate word) has always won the day, trip after trip.

I wonder why they don’t obligate life jackets in these very busy waters.

No life jackets and yet so relaxed...  Don't tell me I am the only one who can't swim...

My parents and good old Sesame Street taught me how to cross a street; look left first and then right, cross when it’s (more or less) clear.

Those childhood lessons were valid up to at least three to five years ago when intersections littered the streets; one intersection is found virtually in every crossroad in the city’s highways. 

Since X road cannot be in motion at the same time as road Y; thus what could be a steady stream of traffic is cut in regular intervals.   Looking left and right was valid because you were sure to get a safe chance to cross.  Problem was in the rush hour those regular stops became only one, a traffic jam or jams, since it was a city wide epidemic. 

Perhaps going on the reasoning that the accumulation of intersections and incidence of illegal loading and unloading exacerbate the traffic flow, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando initiated a novel idea of placing U-Turns at major intersections of city roads.   The idea was a modified version of a Rotonda; instead of placing circular roads in every intersection you have in place are U-turns.  Like a Rotonda, in a U-turn traffic is always in motion albeit chaotic.

The idea worked and soon the former Mayor of Marikina had every intersection closed in places that can be managed; people will now use the U-turns.  When before the length of the Quezon Avenue from Edsa to Welcome Rotonda had ten intersections (Welcome, D. Tuazon, Banawe, Araneta, Scout Chuatoco, Roosevelt Avenue, West Avenue, Scout Boromeo, Examiner, and Edsa), it now has only one: Araneta. 

Traffic did improve somewhat at least from the roads that I regularly use: Quezon Avenue to Edsa, and from Edsa to Fairview.  Even with the regular undisciplined jeepney drivers still stopping at corners, the fact that all transportation was obligated to move constantly helped ease up the congestion. 

It is not a perfect solution by any stretch of the imagination.   U-turn slots were messy with its roadblocks, and even scary especially those found in the commonwealth avenue area.  Even as a passenger I find it a frightening prospect trying to get into a five lane highway of cars running at full speed.  Well, come to think of it if cars are speeding then maybe the traffic scheme has worked.

Bayani Fernando needs to be complemented for making an effort.  Trying to make sweeping changes is not an easy thing to do with a country of undisciplined commuters and drivers.

Unfortunately I am not all praises because the good chairman forgot one important aspect of transportation, traveling, and communicating: some people do walk.  People still need to cross the streets but how they could right now with stoplights and intersections.

Lucky for me the places that I need to go to in the entire length of Q Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue are easy to cross.  D Tuazon, Fairview, and Roxas District, though hard to cross, are bearable enough because of its little volume; while Ever Commonwealth and Philcoa have overpasses but not all may be as lucky as I.   Not all the points between Welcome Rotonda and Fairview have overpasses, and it’s a sure bet that people have lost lives crossing it. 

I am the paranoid sort who will not trust the ability of the driver to see me nor will I trust his ability to care for his brake pads; that is why I wait as much as I can for an all clear.  Without intersections, all clear, takes a lot of time.

So was it a mistake to establish u-turns?  Aesthetically yes; and intersection definitely looks better than a hole in the island of the road; especially those roadblocks that occupy almost the middle of the street. As to whether the traffic truly improved or if safety should be a general concern; a serious transportation study by experts would determine that, scientifically.

But at face value it seems u-turns are a good idea; but, my only wish, maybe me and a few others is to consider the lowly pedestrian.  Can we add a few more overpasses or reduce the number of U-turns.

With the state of the road, nowadays, looking left and right before crossing is no help against cars doing 90.