Its another long weekend and my calendar seems to be unmarked. No scheduled events, no photoshoots. No work! Basically im gonna lay my butt all day and do nothing. 4-Day bummin to be exact. When Tracy asked me if i wanna go surfing with her friends, i never hesitated! Its like automatic! I just said yes! Lets go! Might as well bumm and surf at the beach! Now my bummin ass is on the way to Baler in Aurora! 230 kilometers north-east of Manila! It is one of the best surfing sites here in the Philippines!
Adventure started at the bus station in Cubao. Since its the holidays, a flock of people are going home to their loved ones for all saints / all souls day. Theres so many people that we barely had a chance to sit down. Good thing we arrived early that night coz the que number for the bus eventually ran out! We waited for almost 5 hours before we stepped on our bus - which is the 7th trip going to Aurora. It was a long 7 hour bus ride going to Baler. We were so tired but the conversations kept on going.
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| Baler Bus Trerminal. Waiting for Kim to arrive |
The trip was so long! 7 hours of sitting will definitely numb you butt cheeks i tell you. There were a couple of bus stops along the way just enough for our driver to have a doze of coffee and pee. We took the Genesis bus by the way. Scheduled time is usually 7 hours to arrive but if you take the Joy bus, Manila to Baler is only 4 hours with no bus stops. It has Lay-Z boy seats, a stewardess, free snacks, a morning kit and it has its own toilet! When you go to Baler, better call them for your reservations early coz seats are very limited. Its actually fullybooked since early October!
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| with my sufing outfit. |
I can hear the roar of the waves! I just cant believe im here!!!! Its been a long dream of mine to surf at Baler and now im finally here. We checked in at Surfer Girls Lodge (pretty kinky name for a place to stay). Its decent enough and not that expensive (1,600 pesos for 2 nights - 2 pax). It has clean rooms, clean bathrooms. Shower is working but i prefer using the tabo - or dipper.. and the best thing, its right in front of the beach! That awesome beach screaming lets go surfing! Thats me with my.. ehem, surfing attire while eating scrambol. =) Surfboard aint mine.. hehe. probably in the near future il have one =)
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| surfing lessons. Tracy forgot the name of his instructor |
Time for our surfing lessons (P350, rent of the board and for the lessons). I really wanna thank Kuya Rico for being patient with me. This is actually my first time to surf! I have a problem with balance actually and its kinda hard for me even standing up! (probably of too much alcohol inside me.. haha) Kuya Rico said "you can do it! " Just focus and believe - (naks believe charot).
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| Yeah boy! Im hanging ten! Dont mind the hair ha. Ived been slapped by the waves big time |
And there I was riding the waves... ahhhh it feels so good! I never knew the exact definition of being stoked until I experienced it. It was so damn good. You cant hear anything.. you just enjoy the moment. No past, No future.. just the moment. Just savor gliding on water...awesome feeling. Id like to thank Joc, one of our new found friends in Baler who took this photo. Great shot dude! Thank you!
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| thats me 5 seconds on the board. with tracy on the left side |
Love this photo! Thats me and Tracy riding the waves of Baler! I think after 5 seconds im about to be wiped out! haha. Being slapped by the wave at the face actually hurts! Probably one of the reasons why my body is aching right now. But getting a bruised knee, a sunburn while surfing is definitely acceptable! Its all good! \m/
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| tracy is riding the waves real good! |
Tracy is such a fast learner! She said maybe because she is light and she can balance herself pretty easy. I was tired already and decided to go back at the beach and grab my camera and go take some photos. How i wish i have a 300mm telephoto with me.
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| epic pic of tracy. komang na pi'ke pa haha |
There is tracy with a huge smile in her face! A little portrait of her for remembrance for a job well done! For learning fast and gliding on the waves gracefully.5 stars for you tracy! On the side, i so love my Optomet Polarizing filter! Look at the blue sky at the back! This was taken at almost high noon. :)
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| waiting for the others. gutom na |
After all that surfing., I am so tired and hungry i could eat a horse! We went to this restaurant called the Bay-ler Restaurant. Its open air and the place is really inviting! When we saw the menu, we noticed that food there is not that expensive! They serve fast! (except during lunch and dinner, place is really packed!)
This is like a pre-requiste when i visit a restaurant. most specially at beachfront! A glass of cold beer... Guzzling on beer at this hot sunny weather. That beautiful view of the beach..that sound of the waves crashing together..Its like a feeling of ecstasy.... kampai! gulp gulp gulp.... ahhhh.
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| sizzling gambas |
Since im a sucker for shrimps, i ordered some gambas and damn its mind blowing! Its so freakingly delicious. Even the vegetables are delicious! Served hot and sizzling! One of the best gambas ever!
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| grilled pusit |
We also ordered some grilled squid. Delicious as well. Dunk it in to a bowl of soy sauce and calamansi..ugh delicious! That soft and tender meat is just superb! It has this certain sweetness which makes it really good. I love it.
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| aligue rice...why are you so delicious |
and to top everything else is their Aligue Rice. You will go insane over this. Sobrang sarap! Really good swear to God. Aligue is i believe the fat from crabs. Its so delicious yet deadly.. like i said its fat from crabs.. hehe. I dont effing care! I only eat it once in a while...
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| crispy pata for the win |
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| scrambol, the best there is |
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| from left : tracy, kim and pie |
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| from left, me, tracy, kim and andrea |
At our last night in Baler, we enjoyed the moments playing cards, sharing stories with red horse beer on the side. I never drank so much beer on a weekend and surprisingly im not dead wasted! Maybe its not enough?! Haha. By the way, the lady at bottom right is Andrea.
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| 1st time to see the moon rise above the ocean. And it happened twice on our stay in Baler |
Capping off the day is this awesome moonlight. It made us all gone emo actually. Such a beautiful night. Playing pusoy dos., silly love conversations, kilig moments with chef sharwin look alike at the beach...all those with chippy and red bull on the side. What a way to end the day...
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| no i didnt brought home sand. Leave nothing but footprints, Take only but pictures, Kill nothing but time |
I wanna leave you guys with this photo of the sands of Baler. This trip is really unexpected and unplanned. The plan., is to have no plans at all! I just gave it a go. I want to thank Tracy for inviting me over. To her friends, Kim, Andrea, Pie and Ayan.. thank you so much for sharing this vacation to us. We will definitely go back. Surfing is really addicting! I am actually thinking of buying a surfboard for myself! To the staff of Surfer Girls Lodge specially to ate chona. To the lady at the sari-sari store who lend me her nail cutter.. thank you! and to kuya Dennis for taking us to the the bus terminal. We were the last ones to ride the 5:30am trip and we were so fortunate! If you want to go to Baler, please consider riding the Joy Bus. It would be a lot easier and comfy-er.. Call and book now at (+632) 912-33-43 , (+632)912-33-61
Baler..cant wait to go back and get stoked once again! Good times! \m/
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