I got a text message from a dear friend Gemma that they were going to Baler for a few days and I thought it would be fun to see the girls after a long time. the last time we saw each other was over the Christmas season when we had a potluck at Anne's (another friend) house. Gemma made the necessary reservations for the bus tickets and all I needed to do was show up.
It would've been easy except that I was assigned an afternoon tour at the last minute on the day we were supposed to leave for Baler. Needless to say, I did make it to the bus stop with plenty of time to chat with my friends while waiting for the bus. This, despite the fact that my cab driver got lost looking for the bus station. I slept my way through most of the trip as the bus left Cubao at 12:30 a.m. The bus was equipped with a toilet and wi-fi so I had time to fiddle about with my ipad until I felt like getting some zzzzz's.
We were in Baler at 5:30 a.m. and we waited a while for our host Noli to pick us up from the station. Thank God! We were staying at his crib for the rest of the week. Ever so gracious, Noli shared his dear departed mother's home which we slept in all week. We dozed off a bit after a heavy breakfast of hot pan de sal with butterand eggs and nilupak na kamote with peanut butter. We opened a pack of cream cheese to go with it and some chips.
On our first day in Baler, we went to the beach first to catch some waves. The local kids beat us as far as skill is concerned. They live there! They should be good at riding waves - they do that all day! The good news is, one can take up the sport of Surfing while you're on the beach... Lessons cost Php 300.00/hour. You have to rent a board if you wanna practice a little longer. If you're pretty well coordinated, an hour should be enough to learn the basics of hanging 10. naturally, you wanna practice longer if you're all stoked.
We then went around the city. First stop was the Museo de Baler where we looked at the museum collection. Then a short walk to Baler Church. Now, we were getting somewhere. The curch was the subject of an indie movie. Filipino revolutionaries were holed up in the church fending off the Spaniards during the revolution. But since the church was so isolated from the rest of the country then, neither party knew that the Philippines had been sold to the Americans already.
After that we went to Mrs. Quezon's home where we enjoyed going in and out of the rooms. Only one room had the vintage photos of Mrs. Aurora Aragon Quezon. the lady is an epitome of the perfect wife. She remained her husband's staunch supporter until his death. Even after his death, she made it her life's work to provide a solid education for the poor people of Aurora.
By the time we finished, It was time for lunch. We went to the Pamilihang Bayan ng Baler and went wild over the freshest ingredients of veggies and seafood ( what else?). After lunch we went off to Gasangan where we stopped by a roadside cascade and relaxed in a natural pool where the fresh water drained out into the sea.
After that, it was a short ride to Ermita Hill where, seven families in the area climbed up to save their lives from a tsunami in 1735. We climb up the rest of the way to witness a breath-taking view of Baler's coastline. Encanto point was where the horizon ends. We viewed the clearing whereNoli's sister, (a former governor ) built multi-purpose buildings on top of the hill.
The rest of the afternoon was used for catching up in Noli's gazebo and he had some visitors drop by to introduce to us. We talked and talked all afternoon till it was time for dinner. JunJun, Noli's man Friday was in charge of all the food... and he cooked everything so well, we can't help but have second helpings.
We also planned for day 2...
We had to leave around mid day to get to mother falls. Mother falls is in the next town, San Luis, whose mayor is Noli's friend. We took the matinik route going there and the rough roads and rice paddies was a little tough for a tricycle ride. We had to hike for twenty minutes. When we got to the falls, we were tired... but it was worth the effort. The falls was beautiful! Water was clear and refreshingly cold. You can even catch fresh water shrimp from the deeper end where the huge rocks are. They were huge and so fresh, they were jumping off our hands to escape.
On our first day in Baler, we went to the beach first to catch some waves. The local kids beat us as far as skill is concerned. They live there! They should be good at riding waves - they do that all day! The good news is, one can take up the sport of Surfing while you're on the beach... Lessons cost Php 300.00/hour. You have to rent a board if you wanna practice a little longer. If you're pretty well coordinated, an hour should be enough to learn the basics of hanging 10. naturally, you wanna practice longer if you're all stoked.
We then went around the city. First stop was the Museo de Baler where we looked at the museum collection. Then a short walk to Baler Church. Now, we were getting somewhere. The curch was the subject of an indie movie. Filipino revolutionaries were holed up in the church fending off the Spaniards during the revolution. But since the church was so isolated from the rest of the country then, neither party knew that the Philippines had been sold to the Americans already.
After that we went to Mrs. Quezon's home where we enjoyed going in and out of the rooms. Only one room had the vintage photos of Mrs. Aurora Aragon Quezon. the lady is an epitome of the perfect wife. She remained her husband's staunch supporter until his death. Even after his death, she made it her life's work to provide a solid education for the poor people of Aurora.
By the time we finished, It was time for lunch. We went to the Pamilihang Bayan ng Baler and went wild over the freshest ingredients of veggies and seafood ( what else?). After lunch we went off to Gasangan where we stopped by a roadside cascade and relaxed in a natural pool where the fresh water drained out into the sea.
After that, it was a short ride to Ermita Hill where, seven families in the area climbed up to save their lives from a tsunami in 1735. We climb up the rest of the way to witness a breath-taking view of Baler's coastline. Encanto point was where the horizon ends. We viewed the clearing whereNoli's sister, (a former governor ) built multi-purpose buildings on top of the hill.
The rest of the afternoon was used for catching up in Noli's gazebo and he had some visitors drop by to introduce to us. We talked and talked all afternoon till it was time for dinner. JunJun, Noli's man Friday was in charge of all the food... and he cooked everything so well, we can't help but have second helpings.
We also planned for day 2...
We had to leave around mid day to get to mother falls. Mother falls is in the next town, San Luis, whose mayor is Noli's friend. We took the matinik route going there and the rough roads and rice paddies was a little tough for a tricycle ride. We had to hike for twenty minutes. When we got to the falls, we were tired... but it was worth the effort. The falls was beautiful! Water was clear and refreshingly cold. You can even catch fresh water shrimp from the deeper end where the huge rocks are. They were huge and so fresh, they were jumping off our hands to escape.
It was nearly three p.m. by the time we had lunch. And then Father Von dropped by to chat all afternoon. We laughed all afternoon until it was time to get ready for dinner. I checked my email after dinner and then I had to get some sleep I was tired.
Our third day was spent travelling to Dipaculao. The roads needed some repair and the tricycle was having difficulty getting through the rough patches. We opted to stop at a roadside home beside a brook and spent all afternoon there. We got really tanned making our serenity gardens amongst the rocks while we waited for the food. Lunch was whipped up by JunJun again and we feasted on fried fish, ramen and lots of rice and soda. By the time we got back to Noli's home, it was dark. But the day was well-spent. We had to sleep early as we were leaving at 4:30 the next day.
By the end of our short stay, I had taken 194 photos of Baler. Something tells me I'll be going back a little more often now. After all, as Noli reminded us, it's been 33 years since our last visit... =)
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