I LEFT MY HEART IN BALER
4:35:00 PM
After an almost six hour-long bumpy bus ride, and almost seven back-to-back repeats of the album travel buddies on my playlist: Ingrid Michaelson's Be OK and George Ezra's Wanted On Voyage, that drained not just my phone's battery but also the strength of my back, Baler offered me a summer-themed cold Lychee drink and a promise that wherever the soul I was looking for, I would find it there. To say that I felt refreshed after a few strong breeze hitting my face would not even begin to describe it. There is just something about Baler that makes you feel secure and endangered at the same time. And I, for a moment there, couldn't believe I waited almost 23 years just to see what it's got to offer.
Every bit of stress I had in Metro Manila that wanted relief found answer with the elusive beauty of Baler. It was one of those breathe-in-breathe-out-then-smile moments any person would deserve if they've been through a lot of things that are toxic. That would be a good way to phrase how each employee deserves a time off from work, pack lightly and go somewhere refreshing.
There are probably three best things that I would always point out if someone puts me in a recitation class with the subject Baler101:
1. COSTA PACIFICA
Readily, Costa Pacifica was the resort hotel that warmed us into Baler's arms. I must say that for a hotel situated in surfing-friendly wavy coast of the Philippine Sea, Costa Pacifica does everything perfectly - from the location, to the facilities, to the food and to the hospitality of the natives of Baler.
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| This is the entrance to the Costa Pacifica Hotel. |
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| This is what they call the Pavillion. Best suits as reception for special events and occasions. |
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| I just want to emphasize that I don't always get to step on marshy ground when there is fine dining. |
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| This was my office mate's room. :D |
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| This is that spot in the reception area where wi-fi works best. So this is teh perspective where I expect some photos from Costa are taken. |
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| Costa Pacifica also has amenities for not-so-pro table tennis players. Mind the artworks and the souvenir items on the sides too. |
If Costa Pacifica is the heart of Baler, perhaps the heart of Costa Pacifica is their L-shaped pool that refuses to be drowned out by the landscape of its surrounding lushy green garden and sways with every crash of wave from the beach on the other side.
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| One perspective of the L-pool shaped pool. Let me call this the north perspective. |
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| This is the eastern perspective. |
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| The western perspective. |
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| A zoomed version of the western perspective because let's face it, this guy right here is awesome. |
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| And if you can click the photo, this is the panoramic version of the L-shaped pool. |
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| I believe they call this the Casitas de Bahia,I but my officemate, that girl in the photo, didn't know. Neither did I. :3 |
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| There are lots of rooms in Costa Pacifica but this one is where the awesome guy stayed. |
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| Beach shacks for awesome people. I know, I know. |
If someone goes to Baler and won't stay in Costa Pacifica, 40% of the travel experience is already lost.
2. SURFING
The surfing season is from September to February, we went there last November. This is probably why seeing a lot of tourists outnumber the locals seem strange at first but one would understand that Baler topped Google's list of beach destinations in the Philippines in 2009 and Yahoo! Southeast Asia noted this way back 2013 as one of the "top surf spots" in the Philippines.
For someone who grew up very near the seas, I thought surfing would be a piece of cake. But it wasn't just the case.
However, thanks to the sports shops offering for surfing lessons and board rentals near Costa Pacifica, I got a taste of what's like to be a surfer. I remember my very patient surfing lesson mentor who kept on cheering me up when I still haven't surfed through a wave after two attempts. He asked where I came from, hoping that perhaps I know how to do skateboarding or at least I grew up near the seas. Upon knowing I'm from Surigao, he must have been struck why I'm not a pro when Siargao is a part of Surigao del Norte, where I come from.
Somehow provoked, I tried to do better. But that's why there's one-two-three, right? The third one becomes a psychological tick that pushes us to perform better. Or is it just only me? Nonetheless, you know how my third attempt went. I sailed through one huge wave, standing on my surfboard for around nine seconds. Those nine seconds may be the most rewarding nine seconds in my not-so-sporty life.
That song from Mr. Probz whose lyrics say "I'm slowly drifting, drifting away. Wave after wave, wave after wave" didn't cross my mind. Odd, I must say.
This word may be hard to remember. I was more amused with how chatty our tourist guide was than familiarizing myself with the word. But he made a good memory knock though. He said "DICASALARIN" akin to "Di ka salarin" which roughly translates as "you are not the culprit" in English. Then the tour guide continued on with the conspiracy and political theories that surround those who have gone or owned Dicasalarin.
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| From afar, you would already have an idea why this is something Baler has and other places don't. |
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| I've heard rumors that the Dicasalarin coves are owned by the Angaras. Ownership isn't a big deal though when a cove like this mystifies. |
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| Dicasalarin's white beaches. Words and emotions drown with the sand. |
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| We walked a long trail of sand and a hundred-step stairway just to visit the Lighthouse. |
But it was the views of the mountains that surround the top platform where the Lighthouse sits that made me somehow redeem my soul.
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| Panorama of Dicasalarin's coast atop the lighthouse. |
There was just something that needs a whole lot of explanation when you view the world in a different perspective. Most things in life are best captured not by words but by images that struck your mind. Dicasalarin was a playground of the beach, the stairway, the lighthouse, the waves and the mountains. It is on places like this that you don't need to think. You just let the view take your breath away.
This is why now I understand most people's urge to travel.
There is always a constant search for the unknown.#
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