Hello Baler! Summer 2014

Hello there! I'm back, and my one and only avid reader (my hubby of course) is demanding for an update for this blog. How time flies right?! Last time I blogged was last mother's day! ayayay! A lot of things happened, with so many stories I want to document and others?! I want to forget them! lol

Anyway, one of the highlights during my hiatus was when we trooped to the "famous" Baler! I don't know what happened this summer, pero lahat nalang ng feeds to sa fb at ig is all about Baler, super naging destination siya this summer and syempre hindi kami nagpahuli! 

We left manila at 2am via private van, and arrived Baler at 7am. Travel is supposed to be 6-7 hours, I dunno what our driver did basta ako tulog and nagising nalang when we are cruising the sierra madre mountains and sunrise. 

Blurred Panoramic shot of the Balete Tree. I just discovered that my Samsung s3 can do this, super thanks to the "kuyas" there who patiently took our photos. 

Drama upon entering the gigantic tree. 

Yes, pwede pumasok, hindi lang sure if makakalabas ka daw. lol

Next stop was the Ermita Hill, where you can see the sabang beach.

And the "brackish" part, also known as an area where fresh and saltwater meet. Yes, at ang tagal namin pinag-isipan yan. The view is fascinating and relaxing. 

This is the picnic area of Emita Hill. There is also an area where kids can run and run all day. 

Next stop is this rock formation. Its beautiful, tinamad lang ako bumaba ng van to have a picture.

Our itinerary also includes visit to the museum and church, kaso we are all "tamad" na. So we went to our accommodation to rest in the Sabang Beach. Since Baler is still developing, most of the resorts are small and basic, some are still constructing and some are homestay. Ours is a basic room with aircon plus bathroom, but sobrang lapit sa beach and bars.

And while we are having relaxing in our rooms (ang init kasi sa labas) nagbrown-out! omg! haha the caretaker said we are lucky dahil few hours magkakaroon din daw power, pero dati daw days nawawalan and even water wala! oh my talaga! And we are lucky pa din, because during the peak of summer, ung iba sa schools na daw nagcheck-in. Baler is way more to be developed pa talaga, to be ready for tourism. But I like it na sobrang probisnya ung feel ng lugar, mas relaxing.

And since walang power sa room namin, we went out so have lunch in the stretch of Costa Pacifica. It's  the beautiful hotel dun, so its always fully booked, I didn't dare to take a picture, maiinggit lang ako lol.
But this is their view of the pacific ocean.

We had lunch at Bay's Inn, so pictures of the food since we are all so gutom na, we get their group meals kaya siguro mabagal ang service. The food is good, pero medyo pricey. 

So while killing time, we took pictures on their signages, and I love this one "stress free zone" haha pwede ba dalhin yan sa office?! lol

And since walang power sa Inn namin, we proceeded na with our next day's IT, the trek and swim to Ditumabo falls. We rode a tricycle from our drop-off point to the starting point, sobrang bumpy ng ride! nakakaregla! lol! then we walked 1 hour to the falls, our tour guide said the locals only took 30 mins to the falls! nakakaloka ang hirap kaya?! But when we reached the falls, sulit naman! the water is so crystal clear and malamig1 brrr!

See?! enjoy kami. Don't ask me why I am in rashguard, nakigaya lang ako haha. 

After our falls trek, we went back to sabang beach and experienced the waves. Ang saya! we don't have pictures dahil tumakas lang kami while some are cooking our dinner. There are free surfing lessons pero hindi na kami nagtry, wala kaming guts lol

After dinner, we strolled along the shore, nakakatakot dahil there are areas na madilim, except with the stretch of Costa Pacifica. Aside from the retaurants, some bars and grills, wala masyadong night life. And dozed off by 10pm and set our alarm at 5:30 so we can watch the sunrise. Kaso even we woke up by 5am, the sun rises na! Ganito pala sa pacific ocean lol

The waves are still peaceful, enough for a morning walk, played in the sands and just when we are planning to dip the sea again, we saw manong there with the jellyfishes!

Andami nila! so natakot na ako pumunta sa dagat. Instead, we went to the market and bought blue marlins for P180/kilo, salmons for P200/kilo, beef for P180/kilo and some squids and others fishes fresh from the sea! Nakaka-aliw namili, hindi lang aliw ang wallet ko haha dahil mapapabili ka ng madami dahil mura talaga, mas mahal pa nga cooler (the styro type) P200 haha.  Tricycle drivers there are so kind, they even helped us to pack the fresh fish and put on ice plus salt para umabot sa manila. 

Since we don't want to go to the museum and church na nga talaga, by 9am we are off go! we just dropped by at Puno's Ice Cream, and made me fall inlove with the macapuno flavor. Nagsisi talaga ako at hindi ako bumili ng pint! hmp! anyway, sabi ko nga, babalik pa ako sa Baler, para sa ice cream! lol

And, thats it for my Baler Summer!