Surf, Trek, Swim | Baler

Last February 1, 2012 - I received a retrenchment letter. Half of the employees in my company signed the promising retrenchment package, including myself. So yes, I will be jobless effective March 31st. (for the record, hindi ako naghahanap ng trabaho sa ngayon..)

For our farewell trip, my dear officemates planned a trip to Baler! Ang yaman di ba, magiging jobless na nga, todo gastos pa din. Thank you to my boss who sponsored our transpo and food.

*picture heavy post

Day 1: Surf and Taste Baler
Genesis JoyBus is really a joy to everyone who wishes to go to Baler. This bus has comfy and reclining seats, with pillows/blanket,snacks, wifi on board, with restroom, and with a very jolly stewardess.

direct trip from Cubao to Baler (without stopovers)
Genesis JoyBus - P695 per way
reservation / contact number: 709.0545 / 709.0544

comfy seat with pillow, blanket, and refreshment for each passenger

We left Cubao at 12:30am and before daylight at 5:30am, we arrived in Sabang, Baler. We took a tricycle to our accommodation which is Amco Beach Resort. This is not a beachfront and luxury resort - but for the price of P2,150 for 7 persons - I can refer this place to anyone, specially on peak seasons when beachfront resorts are fully booked.

Amco Beach Resort
the only place where we found available rooms

triple room at Amco
P950 for this decent room with aircon + hot&cold shower

the boys' quarter
quadruple sharing room for P1,100

Good enough although the place is quite a walk from the surfing lessons area. We only paid P2,150 and the Amco staff let us check in as early as 5:30am.


After settling down and a quick breakfast, we headed to beach right away. Excited lang. ^_^

brand new day in Baler

surf lesson + board for P350/hr

I noticed the waves in Baler are more fierce than those in La Union. I got excited to see the swell, ang laki ng alon. Pero nakakatakot.

batang baler - doing some stunts

Rick and Arpee effortlessly learned to surf right away. May future kayo ha, eto gawin nyong trabaho after March 31.

batang baler Rick

batang baler 2 - Arpee

yabangers! ^_^

While some managed to stand up right away, I had a hard time doing it. Parang ang hirap, na-ooverwhlemd ako sa laki ng waves. There were times that the waves turned my board upside down. It almost hit my instructor's head. Anyway, after some time, I finally managed to ride the waves. Wee!

effortless surfing as my instructor pushed me against the waves

finally, a long ride!
kunyare ang galing ko dyan.. ^_^

sulit na sulit ang rashguard na to!

Here's how to surf, the newbie way:

thanks Arpee for these continuous shots

Baler waves are huge compared to those in La Union. It's better to learn to surf in Baler, not to mention the fact that it is cheaper. =)

surfing the big waves in Baler

After we had a great surfing time, it's time to eat. We had our early lunch at Bay Inn's. Prices are very reasonable and the dishes are good.

sizzling plate - P75
tokwa't baboy - P140
nachos with meat sauce - P80
sisig - P120

We surfed in the afternoon too. Adik lang. ^_^
Since Rodel, my surfing instructor, offered a tour around Baler, we made a deal with him for our next day activity.

Day 2: Trek and Swim
At 7:30am, we started our journey to Ditumabo Falls, also called the Mother Falls in San Luis, Baler.

Rodel - 0948.311.6033
P500 per tricycle

The ride took 40mins to the drop off point. We registered our names and off we go to the falls.
I never imagined this trail would be very refreshing. Sure there were slippery and steep spots, but it was a good adventure to reach the falls.

Let me show you the refreshing trail.

ang manager kong pogi ^_^
ponkan na ponkan ang peg

After the fun and easy adventure trail, we finally reached the majestic Dimutabo Falls. It was awesome.

ang ginaw!

Next stop: Balete Tree in Maria Aurora
Around 30 mins ride and we reached the largest Balete tree. Some also call this as the Millennium Tree.

hanging out in the Balete Tree

There are some more spots to see in Baler but we chose to go back to Amco. After a quick and cheap lunch at Cusina de Baler, we hurried back to our hotel and prepared our things for our return trip to Manila. It was a very fun weekend getaway with officemates. Hope this wont be the last. Cheers! Ü

baler expenses

chris: alam mo chyng pagkasama ka, napapamura kami.
rick: oo nga, napapamura - natuto kaming magsabi ng "pakshet ka, gago ka, punyeta ka.."
me: hahaha! toinks! ^_^