Ehhh @ Crystal Beach, Zambales

We had fallen for surfing that we hadn't stopped exploring places in the country to surf in. After visiting La Union, Baler and Liw-Liwa, we checked out Crystal Beach Resort in San Narciso, Zambales. I was expecting this place to be better than the small hostel in Liw-Liwa because of the price but I was in for a surprise.

Exploring Crystal Beach

We stayed in a half of our tree house for almost P500/person. It was a fun experience but it wasn't comfortable. Most of us had to lean down and crawl in order to move in our accommodation and the other r group were given a cottage to sleep in so we decided to all stay in the small tree house.

The place also offered lots of activities like beach volleyball, trampoline, log climbing and a lot more. Some of the activities required additional expense. In my opinion, those special activities are not that interesting but it was nice to have.

The bathing area wasn't a good one since it was an outdoor shower. It was still cold in that night so bathing the day when we weren't swimming or getting wet in the beach was a challenge (and may mga hindi naligo at naligo sa CR).

On the other hand, the beach was clean and peaceful, too.

Pawicare: Pawikan Conservation Effort

A few minutes from the resort, a conservation venue for the pawikan. In the afternoon of our stay, we had the opportunity to help baby pawikans on their way to the ocean. We all lined up by the seashore with a baby pawikan in hand and we let them in the ocean. It was a great experience.

Surfing

We stayed in the resort for the first long weekend of the year so all the rooms were taken and the surfing schedules in their resident surfing school was almost full. Luckily, we scored a schedule before noon.

They were strict with the inland instruction to ensure everyone's safety. Like all other lessons, the instructor oriented us on the parts of the surf boars, how to stand and how to fall. Since they over booked so the 4 (Ed, Drew, Rodel and I) of us had to surf without leashes which required the head instructors to guide us. The waves on our side of the beach weren't plenty and we had to endure some failed attempts at riding the waves since the waves wouldn't be there. But master student Ed and Drew were trying to get some new moves (kaya sila na matuturo next time, LOL) while we struggled to surf with the short surfing waves we found.

It was still a fun experience and hopefully the next surfing trip would have better waves for the beginner surfers.

We also celebrated Rodel and Raymon's birthday on that trip (Thanks sa treat!)

Surfing Philippines (Baler and Zambales)

Surfing is a water sport where a wave rider (also known as surfer) rides forward to a wave. My friends and I had our first surfing lesson in La Union. We had so much fun that we scheduled the next surfing trips right away.

Surfing in Baler

Last August, we visited Baler to celebrate CJ's, Drew's and Edmar's birthdays. Baler is a 4-6 hour commute from Manila. There are lots of tourist places like the falls, the balete tree and more beaches. It is a popular surfing/tourist place so most places are more pricey but some venues are still budget-friendly. We didn't really explore much of the surfing beach as we had all our meals in one restaurant, the Surfer's Haven but I heard there are more choices for meals. 

The waves are not always there like when we went there but as I would see in my friend's posts they enjoy the trip. Generally, avoid scheduling a trip from late July to early September as the surfing waves are non-existent.

I would recommend this experience if you want a beach weekend that is almost like in a urban setting. 

Surfing in Zambales

On November, we went on another surfing trip to celebrate KC's birthday. This time, we decided to check out Brgy. Liw-Liwa in Zambales. This is a hidden gem that is slowly become a new surfer's haven. But it is still unknown compared to La Union, Baler and Siargao so everything here is budget-friendly.

There's not much to visit here unless you would do a side trip to Anawangin which is 15-30 minutes away. Everything is so relaxed and so quiet. But the waves are great (as in sunod sunod). Avoid scheduling in summer as the waves are not as strong as it is for the rest of the year. 

I would recommend visiting this haven if you are a beginner as you will definitely learn, as well to surfers who are not afraid to be less urban.

Surfin' La Union

La Union is a province in the North of the Philippines. A few years ago, the northern location was dubbed as the "Surfing Capital of the Philippines". My parents and their parents had grew up in La Union, San Fernando to be exact. My family and I frequent the place but we have never tried surfing. We prefer sleeping and resting during the holidays.

Surfing, finally

I'm not sure how we came to a conclusion of going to La Union. I just remembered Cath, KC, CJ and I was mobile chatting about going to this place. Then, we planned to do it on the last weekend of May and we'll be staying in our residence there. I was even joking that they could stay at Hacienda Lopez (which in reality is Lopez Compound with houses where my family, my aunts and cousins live).

On Friday Night, we packed our bags and rode a bus to San Fernando. Fare was around P450 to 500. The bus ride took around 6-7 hours. We weren't sure why since all of us slept until a hint of the sun came up. After resting a bit and having our breakfast, we made our way to San Juan which was 10 minute drive from San Fernando.

Before riding the waves

We entered the beach using the Surf School entrance so we decided to use the Billabong Surf School to help us learn surfing. The first thing that the instructors taught us was about the different parts of the board, the different ways of standing on your board and safety tips. Then, each of us had an assigned instructor to try how we'll stand on the board. I prefer jumping up (Thanks to burpees which I almost always do in Body Weight Classes in 360 Fitness).

Then, we were pulled and paddled out to the sea to try actual surfing. My first few tries, I kept losing balance and jumping up too late. But I eventually got it. I was even able to stand up until the shore. CJ, KC and Cath was able to do it too. Not all of us got great surfing photos since the instructor taking pictures had a favoritism towards CJ so he got all the great surfing photos.

#SG #Surfing

Surfing was a great experience and I'll be willing to do it again. It may not be as great as those who are world renowned surfers but they started somewhere right?

Rediscovering my home town

After Surfing, we went to Ma-cho Temple (a taoist temple) and the Filipino Chinese Pagoda (overlooking the city). We also dined at the highly recommended Halo Halo de Iloko. In this restaurant, we were able to try their fiesta halo halo that costs P99. As KC would say, "Better than Razon's". Try it out whenever you are in La Union.

#SG in LaUnion

Photo Credits: Cath and KC