Haller
Baler! It’s been a month since I first visited this place. Aside from its main attraction – the surfing – there are other places to explore in this small town in Aurora.
I came here with 10 more people. It’s sulit to be in a group when travelling, you’ve got to save more in the expenses but your actions are pretty limited – let’s accept it. Well I don’t really care much because I just barged in their plans, so I’m the ‘saling-pusa’ here.
From EDSA terminal, we travelled for 6 hours from Manila to Baler. That’s a butt-numbing and neck-wrecking hours of my life. I can’t sleep well in that bus, so the next morning my HP’s about half. We arrived at Baler at 8:00 in the morning.
Almost all hotels are fully-booked, we’re just lucky to find an accommodation near the beach. We left our bags, steal some sleep and off to our lunch.
Our favourite place to have lunch is the Carlito’s Restaurant. It is an eat-all-you-can for the price of Php150.00. All Filipino foods are served, just like what your mother cooks (unless she’s not Filipino or does not cook). After lunch we visited the Caunayan Falls.
CAUNAYAN FALLS
It is a nice place to dip in. The water is so cold and refreshing.
The part where the water falls is usually the deepest so be careful when trying to get near it. The current is also rushing in that part.
MOTHER FALLS
Next stop is the Mother Falls. You’ll have to take a tricycle plus an hour of trekking to get to the falls. My tricycle ride is very bumpy. If I have helmet I’ll wear one. The road is really rough and rocky it can shake your brain. I almost puked when I got off that 20 minutes juggling. It is better if you’ll take the backseat of the motorcycle.
Trekking to the falls however is very entertaining. I got to see those movie-like forest trails with stones and clear rushing water, butterflies with the forest music in my ears. We passed through the river but most of the time, there is a small bamboo-bridge for visitors to cross.
This is the most challenging part! Crossing the river!
When we get to Mother Falls, the dam is open so the place is almost dry (also it’s summer) but the place is still worth it. No one can get near to the falls. I can’t even open my eyes for more than 3 seconds because it’s like a typhoon but the water is freezing cold.
It is just nice to take a dip and feel the waterfall’s presence. There’s even a time I felt like it’s mad already! It splashes its water with strong wind. I thought it was disturbed. Charot! But really, sometimes I do think that nature wants silence and peace, not those ‘Wooo! Wee! Yahooo!’ of people, especially the men. Men are really noisier than women! 😛
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| Mother Falls on dry season |
We went back to town after this. We visited the Baler Museum. Not much to say, the museum has a Donation Box and visitor forms to fill up in the entrance. It is ok, but why don’t they just put up an entrance fee so that they can really save up for the museum’s maintenance?
After this we visited the beach and observed the surfers! Wow! Surfer-dude. Haha! It is 5PM and there are lots of surfers – beginners and advanced. At first I was afraid of the waves. They said it’s just 4ft or less in there but the waves ate all that is in the sea! But I shouldn’t falter! If they did it, so why can’t I?
We stroll in the bay and went straight to our accommodation. We slept until it’s dinner time.
DIGUISIT FALLS
The next morning, we’re already excited to be blessed by the surfing community. A rash-guard is a must. But set aside this excitement, we went first to
Diguisit Falls.
It is just a small falls but is truly refreshing. One needs a trekking shoes or slippers for this because it’s so slippery and steep. Just in front of it is Diguisit Beach. The low-tide made this kind of view, but one can still see small fishes. Be careful with the sharp corals, even Rambo slippers won’t match to this.
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| Low tide in Diguisit Beach |
Just near this beach is another beach which they said have lots of sea urchins but we did not push through. We also visited the Millenium Tree. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to climb up because it’s already prohibited just this March. Hindi pa kame nakaabot! Sigh. Good thing is the buko juice here is super cheap – 25.00 and you’ll have it fresh. Right after this, we went to our favourite eat-all-you-can resto (again) to have lunch and after lunch is the very exciting and scary at the same time – SURFING.
Some of us are not first-timers but almost all availed the 1-hour lesson with the instructor that will accompany you in the sea. It already includes the surf board rent and free use of rash-guard. We had it all in just 300 pesos! I think it was their promo. You can avail of this beginner lesson just by the bay, – nagkalat sila dun!
Here are my surfing photos:
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| First try with my shaking knees! |
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| Getting there, stand up! |
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| There you are! Stay still |
There you have it! This is my last photo while surfing. At the end of my lesson I was able to stand up straighter!
I got to stand up straighter than in my pictures above in the latter part but nobody took pictures of it. Blame it on our cameraman who got tired of standing! Haha! Joke!
I admit I gave up after 30 minutes. I got tired already but I still want more! That feeling of being able to stand up in the surf board is fulfilling! I think that’s everyone’s goal but what’s more important is being able to stand up in the surf board LONGER!
I also admit I got scared of the waves every time I fall. Yes the water’s not too deep but I got carried away every time! I feel like the waves are not on my side. However, the experience is already satisfying! I got bruises but it’s a reminder that I’ve been blessed by the surfing community. Yes! Haha! Surfer-dude! Next time that I’ll do surfing, I’ll take the advance lessons. Career?!
We had this weekend getaway in just Php 3300.00 plus personal expenses! We left at 12AM Saturday and got back to Manila on Monday 12AM. It is a short yet jam-packed getaway. No VLs, just your usual weekends. Plan now and be a surfer-dude! m/
* All photos in this post were grabbed from
Mavic.
