Baler with Bullies
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| Baler waves |
It has been a year of planning before this actually happened! I already forgot when we planned to visit Baler last year, but FINALLY... we had a break from our stressful work. And I'm thankful that they have the same rest days, double check check for this vacation! :)
Baler is a municipality in Aurora province. It's a 6 hour drive I guess if you'll go there with a private vehicle, but it will take more than that when you'll go there by a public vehicle or a bus. What we did was we get itinerary from Google, so that we would know what to do there besides surfing. I got a good itinerary for a low-budget travel! You may view it here, it will tell you how to get there, it even include budget allocations, places to visit, what to do in Baler, persons to contact for the tour, and all that! It was so helpful for us and it's a good guide for first timers visiting Baler.
Getting to Baler is already an adventure. Haha. We took the bus to Cabanatuan, then a non-aircon bus from Cabanatuan to Baler! I didn't notice that there was a bus transit that travels from Manila to Baler. In that note, I failed reading the itinerary already. But it's okei, we can charge that to experience. We actually arrived at Baler at around 7 in the morning. We had breakfast in the karinderia around there and went straight to where we will stay, at Bahia de Baler. The receptionist was so generous to let us check in without charging us for the extra hours we are staying there. The check in time was supposed to be 2pm, but we arrived at past 8am, thanks to her kindness that we got to rest and freshen up a bit for our Baler tour!
And our Baler adventure starts.....
The security guard of Bahia de Baler was the one who called a tricycle for the tour. We went to Museo de Baler and Quezon Park first. I was even curious why Manuel L. Quezon was everywhere! I saw this book when we arrived at Bahia, and then I became more curious why there is a Quezon monument outside the Museo de Baler... then I remembered, it was the former president's hometown. We went for a peek on what's inside the Baler Museum. There's alot there that you could learn regarding the town's history. I even saw Anne Curtis's award for her best actress in the MMFF entry: Baler! Imagine how I wanted to take a picture with that award, but I chose not to touch it!! Brr. Haha. Then we went to visit the old Baler church. It may not look that old, but I guess they already modernized it to cope up with the changes of this society. In front of the church was Aurora Aragon Quezon's ancestral house. I have no idea what's with the house... but outside it was a car parked inside a glass -- President Manuel L. Quezon's 1936 Chrysler Airflow Limousine! It was restored by the Vintage Car of the Philippines which took 18 years of restoration. Wow. It even looked as if it's a brand new car. We went to Ermita Hill next, which was far far from the town. It's a 15-20 mins tricycle drive I think to get there. You have to climb 136 steps to get to... a cross. Nah, at first we don't know what we're climbing up to, but I have learned that there are stations there were people would stop and will pray for the rosary. We reached the cross and saw a beautiful overlooking view of the beach!
Next up was the Diguisit Beach, which was just near the Ermita Hill area. There you'll see those stunning big rock formations around the beach. Then if you'll walk around the area, you will encounter the Aniao Islets. Those are the two small islands lie on the islet of Dimadimalangat, where the famous lukso-lukso is located. It means jump or hop through the rocks, which are visible during the low tide. Along tthe road, you may notice a tiny waterfalls. Our driver said that it was the Cemento falls, but as I ran through some research... it's the Diguisit falls located at the Cemento road. Makes sense, huh? We didn't get the chance to hike the falls, but it is just a simple hike to get there.
Afterwards, we went to the oldest balete tree in the country. There lies a 60-year old balete tree where you can even go inside and climb it. As creepy as the balete tree may be, the locals say that it would take 60 adult people to encircle the tree. It is a BIG balete tree in that area! Yay, I wouldn't even want to live around it. Hahaha. Our last stop for the tour was the Ditumabo falls. I swear I never knew that it was a hard trek to the falls! You have to be prepared with so much energy and great power to be there. You have to own a good shoe or a strong slippers to cross the streams of waters. Gaaah, I swear not to do that again. Getting to the falls is a treat already, it's a reward actually. You would even feel like it is raining because of the strong current of the falls. I even slipped after stepping in a big rock. Man, trekking up to the Ditumabo Falls will be the highlight of your whole Baler tour! Thank God we survived. No wonder why our driver chose this to be our last destination.
We went back to our inn, tired yet fulfilled. It was a tiring day, but looking back... it will make you remember that you made it once in your whole life! I'm so proud of my bullies for surviving the day.:) We rested for awhile, and rewarded ourselves with a great dinner at Bay's Inn restaurant.
The next morning was surfing day! We even planned to watch the sunrise, yet we failed. We were so tired then that no one woke up early to do watch it. We had a yummy breakfast at Bahia's own Cafe Rosa and we tried surfing afterwards! Surfing is definitely FUN! It was hard to get up and keep your balance at the surfboard while the waves are running, but I tell you that when you got the chance to stand on the surfboard... the feeling is so awesome and cool. Like you'll want to boast to everyone that you were able to do that as a beginner. Too bad, I have no pictures taken when I got to stand up already, but it's okei... there is the word "next time" for that! Sabang beach is perfect for the first time surfers. The waves are nonstop. It's as big as you can't even imagine. Surfing is a no joke sport, you could have all the injuries you could have in just a split hour. I was lucky to try surfing in a beginner's surfboard, the one that is soft and is made by styrofoam. The normal surfboard could kill you if it hits you hard! Yay to that. I had bruises after my surfing lesson haaa. It's the cheapest surfing lesson you could have for an hour, with an instructor pa ha. It usually costs 350 pesos, but because Charlie Does (the one who rents surfboards and offers lessons) is owned by Bahia de Baler... we got 50 pesos discount! Oha oha. Cool right? I know I suck at surfing at first. I find it hard to know where my strong leg is to support my weight upon standing on the board... I fell like a hundred times and stood up for like 3 to 4 times only! I had a great time learning how to surf... and I will definitely go back to Baler!
It was such a great time for us in Baler. The first time ever that I wanted to go back in a place and do it all over again. Thank you Bullies for the time we had together!! Finally, we got to push this through. It was really a different experience, it's an adventure you should never miss. I'm glad this has happened... a late birthday celebration for me! I miss Baler so much, I will visit it again soon and surf again.:)
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