It was a summer of firsts: first time to travel alone (or at least, travel with strangers), first time to visit Visayas, first time to sleep in a tent. In May 2015, I added another first to my list: riding a Ro-Ro.
Ro-Ro stands for roll-on, roll-off. Wheeled cargo such as buses, cars, trucks — land vehicles that cannot cross seas and oceans — are driven on and off the ferries/ships on their own wheels in a ramp. If you’re traveling to provinces and want to bring your car, Ro-Ro ferries are the way to go. But even if you’re traveling without a car, you can still ride a Ro-Ro. That’s what I and some of my Team Tadhana friends did when we went to Calapan, Mindoro last summer.
Mindoro is an island off the coast of Luzon, northeast of Palawan. It is reachable by plane via the San Jose domestic airport but if you’re from the larger part of Luzon, the easiest way would be to take a bus to Batangas Port and then ride a ferry.
Since we were going to Lantuyan in Baco, Oriental Mindoro, we had to take a ferry to Calapan and then rode a jeepney to Baco. Our group rendezvoused at Jam Liner in Buendia. It was such a joy to be reunited with my Sagada peeps!
I’m a bit fuzzy about the schedules but if I remember correctly, our bus left the station past 3am and because there was no traffic, we arrived at Batangas Pier at around 4:30. We immediately bought tickets to the ferry. We took the Starlite Ferry bound to Calapan. One way costs Php 192. There are 14 trips daily departing 1 AM, 3 AM, 4:30 AM, 5 AM, 7 AM, 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, 4:30 PM, 5 PM, 7 PM, 9 PM, and 11 PM. [Source]
As I’ve mentioned earlier, this was my first time to ride a Ro-Ro vessel. I didn’t know what to expect. Upon boarding though, I was pleasantly surprised that the area for passengers looked comfortable. It had two television sets, long couches for large groups, and it’s air-conditioned. And since the trip would take roughly 3 hours, I knew I could get some shuteye.
But of course, knowing me and my friends, we had to take some photos first. We went up the deck just in time for the sunrise so we had some pretty good photos.
Sleeping inside a ship, boat or ferry is challenging if you can’t stand waves. Lucky for me, being rocked by waves is my thing. It actually helped me sleep better! I just had to don my eye mask, lay down on the couch, and voila, I got a couple of hours rest!
Over all, my Ro-Ro experience was good. Great, even. I still prefer planes for its convenience but being on a ship/ferry isn’t so bad either. Especially when you get this view.
Have you ever taken the Ro-Ro? Share your experience in the Comments section!
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