Maria Aurora’s Beauty: Baler

Pretending that I'm a good surfer lol

Five hours of siting in a car seem too butt hurting right? Well, what more if the expected five hours became eight? Ha. Now that’s more frustrating. And that’s what actually happened to me and my family when we first decided to explore the beauty of Aurora, Baler.

Like most Filipinos, my family loves adventure. We just couldn’t stand spending a month at home and not traveling out of town even for a single day. (This is how I know that I’m not adopted, because we’re all adventure seekers lol) So we sat in our sala, as we discussed where we’re supposed to go that month. It was a mind boggling discussion as there were tons of choices. But then, after an hour, we all agreed to explore Baler, for the first time.

The day after, I saw myself driving along bumpy roads that seem to lead nowhere. Now, this was the time when GPS and Waze were still unknown to us. Our Waze that time is Magta- Magtanong sa mga tao (Asking locals for directions) And yes, you bet I was getting doubtful, but my brothers said, just go straight and continue driving. So there we go. But after 5 hours straight of driving, we were all sure that we were lost. We soon figured that he last guy that we asked for direction gave the wrong one. So we had to turn around and ask again. Fortunately, we asked the right person that time, and we arrived at Sabang beach at Baler, around four in the afternoon.

What we first did when we arrived was look for a place to spend the night. Another thing I must share about my family is we’re all thrifty. We’re practical when it comes to almost everything. So then we talked to locals, asking for an affordable place to rent or even a small hut that can accommodate the five of us - and we really did find a Nipa hut to spend the night in, and it was literally in the shore of Sabang Beach! What a view right? We swam for a bit and grilled fishes for dinner. Night was peaceful as I slept on a hammock hanged below the Nipa hut. It was revitalizing.

The sun was up, and I was awoken by the shouts of children, playing around the shore. There were tourists already, and some surfers, riding big waves. Not far from me, are tourists being taught how to surf by pro surfers. There, I saw this pretty lady surfer, teaching her students. I thought to myself, it shouldn’t be that hard to surf right? Even more when your trainer-to-be is as pretty as Aurora. So, I hurriedly stood up and signed up for surfing lessons.

Moments later, I found myself looking at big waves. I thought to myself, this isn’t what I signed up for. I was hoping to be taught by that pretty lady surfer, but instead an old dude did. And distracted by that, I didn’t learn to surf! But I said to myself, I can ride these waves, how hard can it be? Little did I know that I was so wrong.

After hundred times of falling hard off the surfboard and ending up at the shore, local children went up to me and said, Masakit no? Gusto mo turuan ka namin? (Does it hurt? Do you want us to teach you?) I thought to myself, it will be a shame being lessoned by kids, but it’s more of a shame when I keep falling hard like this! So those kids taught me the tricks of befriending the waves, as I gave the hurtful sea one more try.

After a few more tries and a lot more falling, I told myself, this is it, if I can’t do it this time, I can never do it ever. So I waited for the biggest wave, as I gathered up all the courage and strength that is left in me. The wave started to come, and I stood up on the surfboard, and did not fall - at least for 10 seconds. (Hey! It was really hard, so I’m proud of it!)

After my battle with the waves, I went with the kids to their houses. They introduced me to their other friends as I helped them build their bonfire. I joined the kids singing songs at the shore. Then I remembered, I completely forgot that I was with my family there! So I had to bid goodbyes to my new friends.

As I went back to our Nipa hut, my family gathered together and talked about our experiences that afternoon. I learned that my family had their own fun too in their own ways. My parents met other couples as they hanged by the shore. Both my brothers swam and talked with the fishermen as they bought fishes for dinner. We were all exhausted, and we slept soundly that night. The morning after, we already had to leave for Manila.

As I drove back, I realized that although there were frustrations on our way there (as we got lost), we all had real fun. Not just because of the beach, nor because of the food, but we all engaged with the locals, and we learned about them personally, and we all had moments in our own ways that we discovered the real beauty of Aurora, Baler- through building relationships with people, and living even just a bit of their culture.

I hope to go back to Baler again, rediscover Baler’s wondrous beauty, and conquer the waves with my local friends. I bet they’re all grown up already.

#travel #blogs #philippines #baler