Baler, Aurora: Revisited

Visiting Baler, Aurora is becoming a kick-off activity for my friends and I. Ever since our first trip last January 2009, we always find ourselves going back to this beautiful surfing spot.

Going to Baler usually takes about 8 hours. Aside from the long drive, you have to endure about 2 hours of rough road. And I really mean a rough and bumpy road. It’s better to leave Manila at midnight so you will arrive in Baler at 8 am or earlier.

We left Manila last Friday, February 12 around 11 pm. We reached Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija at around 2:30 am, Saturday, February 13. From there, we travelled the next 4 hours through rough and bumpy road until we arrive in Baler.

Believe that you will forget the long drive the moment you see and hear the waves.



Bart, the organizer, usually books the group at Bay’s Inn Resort. The resort has eight classroom-type rooms and a three-storey guest house. Before, we got one of the classroom-type on the ground floor. But for this trip, Bart gave us a corner room on the second floor. We loved our room assignment plus the fact that we have our own balcony. I think Bart is being nice to us because this has been my second trip and third for Zha and Jo. We are regulars already. Hahaha



We ate our breakfast before we start our activities for the day. We ate traditional Filipino breakfasts but it seems like everything tastes so good when you eat by the beachfront.

Right after breakfast, we changed and communed with the waves. Then, we watched the first batch of surfers as they get their drills and start their lessons. Zha and I decided to pass surfing for this trip. Jo, on the other hand, decided to take the Sunday morning class.

Saturday afternoon went quiet cause Zha and I slept after lunch while Jo stayed up to read and stroll. At 5pm, Jo and I went back to the beach to watch some surfers and play with the waves. After tiring ourselves, Jo and I went back to our room to change and get ready for dinner.

There was a beach party at Bay’s Inn. Our trip coincided with the 4th Aurora Cup Championship. Surfers from La Union, Daet, CamSur, Siargao and Zambales were there. Oh, I got some really cool videos of one surfer!



By 10pm, we were already tired and sleepy. And so, we called it a night and retreated to our rooms.

Come Sunday morning, Jo woke up to watch the sunrise. Zha joined her and I followed them at around 6am. Unfortunately, the sun did not showed itself because there was a thick fog. We had our breakfast and Jo got ready for her surfing lessons. Our new found friends, Grace and Marie joined for the morning lessons.




After their lessons, we played around the sand. Jo was the victim of our antics.





It was another great weekend spent in Baler. As usual, I have compiled some quotable quotes from this trip.

“You shall be blessed!” – Cheng
“Want to know something, askcheng.com” – Zha
“Choice ko ‘to eh” – Grace
“Interrupting animals” – Jo

P.S. Did I tell you that this tour only costs Php 3,000? Cool, huh? If you want to experience Baler, Aurora, you can call or text Bart Dumlao @ 0917-256-2040 or email istokewa@yahoo.com You may also visit their Facebook accout, Istokewa Surf Tour. Experience Baler, get stoked!

Conquering Baler

Conquering Baler

Sometime in November last year, my college friends and I started to muse over the fact that after all these years, we haven’t gone on an out-of-town trip. We planned but nothing was accomplished. That time around, we decided that we definitely have to get away from the stress and give travelling a shot.

Now, where do we want to go?

At first, the likes of Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Ilocos and Sagada came to our minds. However, we realized that for our first trip, these places are costly. So we decided to look around and compare tour packages.

Since I work in the marketing department of a real estate company, I had a good range of magazines to browse. Fortunately, I found this Sidetrip Magazine which featured Baler, Aurora – one of the best surfing spots in the Philippines.

The article by Bart Dumlao featured Sabang Beach which is known to be the birth place of Philippine surfing. Towards the end of the article, Bart mentioned that he offers tour packages to Baler.

I got his email address and mobile number. After countless emails and text messages, we were booked for our first trip to Baler on January 17-18, 2009.

My friends and I were so excited.

As soon as we got booked for the trip, we started planning our “To Bring” list. Just so you know, we are so fond of writing lists ever since we can remember. So this trip required a “To-do” and “To-bring” lists. I guessed Bart had a difficult time with us because even during the Christmas break, we sent him countless text messages asking the itinerary for the trip and what we need to bring. So much for being an OC.

Another thing that made us excited and scared at the same time is the fact that we were scheduled for a surfing lesson. Yes, surfing! Surfboard. Waves.

And I don’t even know how to swim well. I even asked Bart if I could wear a lifevest while surfing. He politely said no but I could sense that he was laughing at me. During the actual surfing, I realized how ridiculous it was if I wore a vest.

What did we do in Baler? Here is the itinerary of our trip:

Friday, 12:00 midnight: ETD Manila

Sat, 7:,00 am: ETA Baler, Aurora (Sabang Beach, Bay’s Inn Resort)
8:00 am: Breakfast
10:30 am: Batch 1: Surf Lessons
12:00 nn : Lunch
3:00 pm Baler Municipality Tour
5:00 pm Batch 2: Surf Lessons
7:00 pm: Dinner and Bonding Time

Sun , 7:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Dicasalarin Cove
12:00 nn: Lunch
1:30 pm: Batch 3: Surf Lessons
4:00 pm: ETD Baler, Aurora
12:00 nn: ETA Manila

We never realized that surfing could be so much fun. The adrenaline rush, the fun and the accomplishment of standing on the surfboard were addicting.

Another highlight of the trip was the Dicasalarin Cove. It was a gruelling 2-hour trek to get to the cove but every step was worth it. The breathtaking view of the pristine blue waters and almost white sand beach front were enough to leave all of us in awe. We secretly prayed that such beauty will be protected.

All in all, our first trip was very successful. We met new friends. We learned surfing. We trekked. Above all, we fulfilled our wish to travel together.