Summer in December: Baler

Alas! After a week of trying to figure things out, I finally decided to get up and start my December right. November, you have been mean, but I forgive you. 😊

2 days, 1 night. A 600+ km drive.

This is the kind of breather I needed. Sunkissed. My pale skin shimmered under the sun. At last, I have seen you rise and set. Nature has its way of calming soul, thanking instead of grudging, counting blessings instead of sulking. Okay, trishy get up at 3am and let's have a little adventure. EDSA, what a fine drive we have at this wee hour, reaching NLEX before the sun rose. We had a little quarrel with waze on the way, so alright then waze, you won. And the radio played, "cause Karl and me like to roll the windows down, turn the radio up, push the pedal to the ground." And so we did, fresh air, zigzagged Pantabangan Road - oh yeah, we drifted and I screamed and laugh all at once. We passed by one bayan after another before reaching that intersection - right to San Luis, left to Baler.

Another neophyte moment here, it was a challenging 30 minute of trying to get up and ride those baby waves. But hey we did it! Bucketlist! We feel like we owned Aurora, Baler at the moment, tourists were few, the long stoned patio separating the beach and the nearby resorts was filled by few foreign and local surfers. The restaurants and bars were unoccupied, hence, all to ourselves.

Other than the Baler being known for neophyte surfing, we made a little detour, nature hiking to be exact. A few miles down Aurora, Baler was another town, San Luis, here we hiked and even crossed a raging river just to get to Ditumabo Falls. Whew! That was one hell of a hike, there was a downpour and so the water level of the river was high and it was turbulent. Crossing the river was scary for we only had a rope to hold on to and unseen rock formation below with water level at my chest (yea, I'm just 5'2). We did it twice! Back and forth! Nevertheless, it was worth it. The mother falls was raging exquisitely seething down from a height of 100 ft.

So much for little miss adventure seeker. Pilipinas you are beautiful.

Capping off day 1 in Yellow Fin bar and grill with a bottle of cold beer.

On Day 2, we had a little side trip in Diguisit beach and rock formation. The place was still being developed, however the beach was still impressive. No entrance fee, we had a little photoshoot showcasing the rock formation in Diguisit.

A few miles from here, a little zigzagged descent and then a sudden descent was where you would find, Dicasalarin Cove.

Not far from the entrance of the beach was a light house with man made stairs of about 300 steps or so I think. From here, you would see a spectacular view of the cove from all its angles and corners. Be careful though, there are no safety rails to keep you away from the edge of the light house. We failed to took photos for we were really enjoying the beach and the light house (again to ourselves).

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Travel Summary:

Transportation: own car/tollgate fees

Food: approx. php 600 each for 2 days

Accomodation: Surfer girl's lodge php 1200/night

Activity: surfing php 300 each; eco fee php 60 each

Total = approx. php 2160

Photos: camera phones (iphone 5 and sony xa ultra)