Mindoro - a Philippine province that is rich for forest, nice folks, beaches, and is known to have treasures of precious stones buried beneath its land. Here's a legend about how the province got its name to be Mindoro.....

Long ago, when Philippine islands were governed by sultans ( a ruler, like a pharao for Egypt)ians) there was one island ruled by a sultan who have a daughter, a lovely young maiden named Mina.

Mina was so beautiful that young sultans and young handsome men from nearby islands would visit her to see her loveliness, and hoping to win her heart. Mina was so beautiful, her long black hair that's so soft, her slender body decorated with precious jewelries such as gold and pearls as her necklace and bracelets. She also got the habit of wearing a flower in her ear, that adds up to her beauty everytime she smiles. And most of all, she got a kind heart.

The sultan thought that since there's so many suitors her daughter have, and still Mina haven't pick anyone yet to be her husband, the sultan decided that he would choose the man for her daughter instead, but without him knowing, Mina was already inlove to a young man, who's living an ordinary life, Oro. Mina would snitch at night to see her beloved Oro, as she knows the sultan wouldn't approved Oro to be her husband, a simple man, And one night the sultan caught the two of them seeing each other just outside the sultan's kingdom, and he got so mad. He immidiately told Mina, that Oro wasn't the man he had even imagine to be her daughter's husband and he immidiately choose a young sultan from one of Mina's suitors, arranged a wedding date, so Mina wouldn't see Oro anymore.

But the night before the wedding, Mina meet Oro again and told him the situation. "Let's elope," she exclaimed to her lover. "My father doesn't like you for me, we could be together and live a life if we elope."

" All right then," said Oro, I'll just gather some food that we would bring on our way."

The two set to elope on that moonlit night, riding on a boat, going on whereever the waves will bring them. Days and night, they travel on that boat. Even weeks, and weeks. Their foods we're almost gone. And just when the two of them lost their hope, they notice that they were approaching a greeny island, so rich and pure, they were so happy.

Mina and Oro reach the island's shore, the natives living there were so surprise and happy to see a visitor on their shore. They celebrated and had fun. The people were so kind and having a normal happy life, planting vegetables and fruits for their food and for their living. And then, the island people decided to make the couple their ruler, since Mina and Oro are good in giving advice and helping the natives, they've already learned to love and respect the two couple. And they become a good ruler.

Years had gone by. Mina and Oro reached the old age, and they died. The people grieved on their rulers death. And they loved both of them so much so they rested the couple together on the same spot, and Mina still wearing her jewelries on her resting place. Also, to honor and not forget their ruler, the natives started to call their island Mina Oro, which in time had turned to be called Mindoro, in memory of their beloved rulers Mina and Oro.

Mindoro is now devided into two provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro, the land I've learned to love before migrating to US.