Surf, Sand and Sun - (3 of 3)

Beautiful morning

   There's just something in Baler that no matter how tired you are the previous day, you would be excited to rise and start early the next day.  I guess that aptly applied for us, because by 7 in the morning, we were already up and getting ready for our surfing lessons.

      Once we got out of our rooms, we headed straight to Bay's Inn Restaurant and ordered for our breakfast.  After placing our orders, I was distracted by the view that greeted us.  The sun had risen quite beautifully over the horizon that I couldn't help but take quite  a number of pictures to capture the moment.   

My fave breakfast

     
        Afterwards, I went back to our table and eagerly awaited my all-time favorite breakfast in Bay's Inn, which was the tapa flakes with egg, garlic rice and hot chocolate.  Just thinking about it makes me crave for it again.  I used the breakfast stub this time so there was no need for me to bring out any cash.

An hour after, we immediately changed to our rash guards and did some stretching, as our muscles would definitely be taking a pounding once we are out on the water. We then headed to Mahdox Surf, the surf school partner of Istokewa Surf Tours. The walking distance from Bay's Inn was less than five minutes.  We also discovered that Mahdox moved just a little bit farther because apparently, the owner of the land in which they were previously located, decided to open up his own surf school.

Surf, Sand and Sun - (2 of 3)

Teaser falls

        After getting some much needed rest, I was eager to finally start our adventure.  Since we wanted to do something new, we took the option of going to the Ditumabo Falls, or more commonly known as "Mother Falls", to the locals.  They call it as such since according to Bart, the surf tour organizer, it is the highest falls in Baler.  It would take us around 30-minutes from Bay's Inn and another 45 minutes to an hour hike to the falls itself.   

        One option to get to the falls is through a tricycle, which may cost around PhP500 per trike.  Since all of us were planning to go to the falls, Bart offered the use of the van for just an additional cost of PhP800.  This also already covered the payment to the driver.  Since our driver has made numerous trips to the falls, he also served as our guide in our trek to the falls.

        To make sure that we have all the energy for our hike to the falls, we ate a good lunch at Bay's Inn.  We made use of the coupons in our surf package and got our lunch meals.  Afterwards, we all headed to the van to finally leave for our destination. 

Surf, Sand and Sun - (1 of 3)

Surf's Up: Ready to be stoked

          Back in 2011, my college friends and I were looking for something new to try.  After all, as cliche as it may sound, life is indeed too short for us to waste the moments that we have been given.  With this in mind, one of my friends suggested that we go and try surfing.  All of us were pretty excited by the idea.  So, it was no surprise that coming up with a plan didn't take very long.  We were all looking forward to cross out surfing from our bucket list.

         Thanks to Suzee, who was very diligent in her research of finding the cheapest (only for Php3000 with 2 hours surfing lessons, accommodation, food and transportation) and most accessible surf tour in the Philippines (Istokewa Surf Tours), we found ourselves heading to Baler, Aurora.  The trip was such a success that I couldn't help but go back again and again.  Just this January 25 to 27, 2013, I was back for the fourth time to do what I have come to love.