Friday, April 29, 2016

Baler, Aurora


5 things we did in Baler
December 27-29, 2015
  1. Desiree Apartelle
  2. Surfing
  3. Beach Bumming
  4. Ermita Hill
  5. Food Trip

Notes
  • Eight hour trip from La Trinidad, Benguet to Baler, Aurora
  • Apartelle per night for 5 pax - P3500
  • Surf board rental for 4 hours - P400
  • Surf instructor fee per hour - P150
  • Eight hour trip from Baler to Marikiina City








December 27

We left La Trinidad, Benguet at 12:30pm and arrived in Baler at 9:30pm.  A 9 hour trip with 3 stops to eat or take pictures.  We also don't have hotel reservations and all of them were full.  But luckily we found this beachfront apartelle which still has a vacant room for 5 of us.  It has air-conditioning, TV, sofa, bathroom and a common kitchen outside.







After checking in, we went out to look for something to eat.  Check out our dinner here.




December 28

It's beach and surf day!  All we did is spend all day at the beach.  Me and my brother rented out some boards plus instructors to teach us some basic surfing while the kids had some playful time with the waves.







After a few failed attempts we were able to stand on the board and surf with a push from the instructor.






At noon, we took a break from the beach to have some refreshments and lunch.  Check out our food here.





After eating we went to our room to rest.  In the afternoon, we went back to the beach and surf again, without the help of the instructors.  We thought that we can do it alone now, but we realized it was harder.  We couldn't catch a wave, all attempts failed.  We relied too much with the instructor on pushing us in front of the wave that we didn't really bother to learn the technique of catching one.  Even if we help push one another in front of a wave, we can't get one until we were both very exhausted.  So we abandoned our hopes on getting a cool board ride and just joined the kids to play in the waves.





After some family bonding at the beach all day, we washed ourselves up and went out for a dinner.  Check out our food here.




December 29

For the last time, the kids spent their morning at the beach.  Usually the sea is placid in the morning but in Baler, waves are big enough for surfing and the kids loved it.







It's time to leave, washed up the kids and packed our things.  We checked out and visited some places before we went home.

Ermita Hills.  Just 10 minutes away from Sabang beach, this hill offers panoramic views of Baler.  This is also where people fled for safety during the tsunami in 1735.  A monument stands at the foot of the hill by the entrance as a reminder of the disaster.






We also went to Nanay Pacing's, a famous souvenir shop, bought their famous peanut butter, some sweets and souvenir items.





Then went to its town center to take some pictures on those big Baler letters.






Off we go to the Millennium Tree, but when we were just about half a kilometer away from the park, the road was closed due to soil erosion.  Can't do anything about it so we turned around and head for Manila.

It took us 8 hours from Baler to Manila with one stopover and heavy traffic in Cabanatuan City and due to partial road closure caused by soil erosion.  The kids said it was their longest trip ever.






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