It’s been just 2 months when we 1st visited La-union and we missed it a lot! And it’s such a good timing! My hubby got his quarterly bonus and as a pre-valentine gift, he planned for a trip to La-Union the second time around-all expenses paid… by him!
February 8>8pm- we first went to Glorietta to shop for my hubby’s new board shorts and sunglasses. We first had dinner at Food choices then went to the grocery to buy toiletries and food for the trip. We dropped by the office as well coz I forgot some stuff we needed for the trip. From Makati we travelled to Partas Terminal in Cubao.
Its February…a month to go before summer. I was expecting that there would be fewer passengers but to my surprise the terminal was overflowing. Plus, it was a hell long wait to buy bus tickets. My hubby and I alternately fell in line to save our seats. Unfortunaltey the bus tickets we were able to buy were for the ordinary aircon ride since it was the earliest to leave. And due to the long wait, we got hungry again; our bus was suppose to leave at 2:25, so we decided to call McDonalds for food delivery apparently the bus left earlier at 2:15 and we were left with no choice but to cancel our order.
On the bus, we just ate our chips instead to fill our hunger. It was already day break when we had our 1st stop over, we ate grilled hotdogs! I was just so hungry that I ate 4!
Unlike the 1st trip we had last November where we arrived really early, we arrived so late at La-Union. It took us exact 7 hours to arrive at Sebay. Plus we got stuck in traffic since it was San Fernando’s town fiesta. The bus has to take an alternate route as well.
We arrived at 8:30am. First Stop: we need to find a room to stay. So we checked Pfeifer again. But to our dismay it’s fully booked and the only available room is the twin room which cost double than the usual single room. We took our chances by checking other resorts nearby. As we walked along the shoreline we noticed that it was unusually cold at the beachfront and everybody was wearing their jackets. Good thing my hubby and I brought our hoodies! We tried asking San Juan Surf camp, Hacienda & Sebay but they are all fully booked as well. It was past 9 already but we have not found a room yet…we were so disappointed since all the resorts are fully booked when it’s not peak season and you hardly see people at neither beach nor surfers playing. We were left with no other choice so my hubby decided just to take the twin room at Pfeifer.
Funny thing, the room has two beds and it was just the two of us, well I just thought this is good that we have enough space to place all of our things and “kalat”. After settling down and arranging our stuff, we ate breakfast at our favorite place: Seanymph. We saw “Bok” the featured one legged surfer in so many shows and magazines internationally. I was supposed to ask him if we could take pictures but I was too shy…We just went back to the room, changed to our swimwear and enjoyed the beach!
I was frustrated coz I was expecting that the waves would be different but nonetheless it seemed unchanged. It’s as similar to the condition last November: swell was big and fierce and add a strong undercurrent to that which feels a little more or less scary to swim. To cheer me up, my hubby promised me that we’d to try Bacnotan early tomorrow instead. We spent the rest of our time playing with the waves and the sand. And we walked along the entire beachfront as well. Time seemed to fly so fast, it was 2pm already. We decided to go back to our room, clean up and we ate our lunch again at Seanymph. Nothing could beat the view of the beach at this eatery, you can watch the waves while you sit back and relax, drink beer or coffee and just listen to cool music in your iPod-we were listening to Jack Johnson that time. It was awesomely calming…
After our lunch, we decided to take our afternoon siesta…when we woke up it’s already 6:30 pm! We were so dismayed that we cannot play nor stroll at the beach coz it’s already dark. We had a quick merienda-we ordered pancit canton at Seanymph. We asked what they have for dinner, they said they only have inihaw na bangus… apparently I’m not in the mood to eat fish. My hubby suggested trying another place, we thought of “Midway Grill” since we saw that it’s just along the highway during our trip, but our main problem is how to get there since we don’t have a car. We asked a few locals and advised us to ride a San Fernando jeepney. And indeed it dropped us right in front of Midway grill.
The place was filled with many people. Upon 1st glaze you’d know they are surfers. So let me call it –the “surfer’s ultimate food haven”. Food at midway grill is fantastic! And it’s not that expensive! I ordered rice toppings while my hubby was feeling extravagant, he ordered baby back ribs! Back in manila, the meal would cost P700++. Amazingly midway grill sets it at P200 with the same taste and quality of meat. As for dessert I had oreo shake, yum! We left the place with happy and full tummies. Now, the next question is “how do we go back to the resort”. We crossed the street to wait for a jeepney ride but it’s all filled. We decided to ride a tricycle instead, we paid P60. We arrived safely at the resort. We were supposed to order beer at seanymph but we thought it would make us feel groggy tomorrow when we surf instead we just decided to stayed in our room to watch Pirates of the Caribbean at HBO and decided to sleep since we have to leave early tomorrow…
February 8>8pm- we first went to Glorietta to shop for my hubby’s new board shorts and sunglasses. We first had dinner at Food choices then went to the grocery to buy toiletries and food for the trip. We dropped by the office as well coz I forgot some stuff we needed for the trip. From Makati we travelled to Partas Terminal in Cubao.
Its February…a month to go before summer. I was expecting that there would be fewer passengers but to my surprise the terminal was overflowing. Plus, it was a hell long wait to buy bus tickets. My hubby and I alternately fell in line to save our seats. Unfortunaltey the bus tickets we were able to buy were for the ordinary aircon ride since it was the earliest to leave. And due to the long wait, we got hungry again; our bus was suppose to leave at 2:25, so we decided to call McDonalds for food delivery apparently the bus left earlier at 2:15 and we were left with no choice but to cancel our order.
On the bus, we just ate our chips instead to fill our hunger. It was already day break when we had our 1st stop over, we ate grilled hotdogs! I was just so hungry that I ate 4!
Unlike the 1st trip we had last November where we arrived really early, we arrived so late at La-Union. It took us exact 7 hours to arrive at Sebay. Plus we got stuck in traffic since it was San Fernando’s town fiesta. The bus has to take an alternate route as well.
We arrived at 8:30am. First Stop: we need to find a room to stay. So we checked Pfeifer again. But to our dismay it’s fully booked and the only available room is the twin room which cost double than the usual single room. We took our chances by checking other resorts nearby. As we walked along the shoreline we noticed that it was unusually cold at the beachfront and everybody was wearing their jackets. Good thing my hubby and I brought our hoodies! We tried asking San Juan Surf camp, Hacienda & Sebay but they are all fully booked as well. It was past 9 already but we have not found a room yet…we were so disappointed since all the resorts are fully booked when it’s not peak season and you hardly see people at neither beach nor surfers playing. We were left with no other choice so my hubby decided just to take the twin room at Pfeifer.
Funny thing, the room has two beds and it was just the two of us, well I just thought this is good that we have enough space to place all of our things and “kalat”. After settling down and arranging our stuff, we ate breakfast at our favorite place: Seanymph. We saw “Bok” the featured one legged surfer in so many shows and magazines internationally. I was supposed to ask him if we could take pictures but I was too shy…We just went back to the room, changed to our swimwear and enjoyed the beach!
I was frustrated coz I was expecting that the waves would be different but nonetheless it seemed unchanged. It’s as similar to the condition last November: swell was big and fierce and add a strong undercurrent to that which feels a little more or less scary to swim. To cheer me up, my hubby promised me that we’d to try Bacnotan early tomorrow instead. We spent the rest of our time playing with the waves and the sand. And we walked along the entire beachfront as well. Time seemed to fly so fast, it was 2pm already. We decided to go back to our room, clean up and we ate our lunch again at Seanymph. Nothing could beat the view of the beach at this eatery, you can watch the waves while you sit back and relax, drink beer or coffee and just listen to cool music in your iPod-we were listening to Jack Johnson that time. It was awesomely calming…
After our lunch, we decided to take our afternoon siesta…when we woke up it’s already 6:30 pm! We were so dismayed that we cannot play nor stroll at the beach coz it’s already dark. We had a quick merienda-we ordered pancit canton at Seanymph. We asked what they have for dinner, they said they only have inihaw na bangus… apparently I’m not in the mood to eat fish. My hubby suggested trying another place, we thought of “Midway Grill” since we saw that it’s just along the highway during our trip, but our main problem is how to get there since we don’t have a car. We asked a few locals and advised us to ride a San Fernando jeepney. And indeed it dropped us right in front of Midway grill.
The place was filled with many people. Upon 1st glaze you’d know they are surfers. So let me call it –the “surfer’s ultimate food haven”. Food at midway grill is fantastic! And it’s not that expensive! I ordered rice toppings while my hubby was feeling extravagant, he ordered baby back ribs! Back in manila, the meal would cost P700++. Amazingly midway grill sets it at P200 with the same taste and quality of meat. As for dessert I had oreo shake, yum! We left the place with happy and full tummies. Now, the next question is “how do we go back to the resort”. We crossed the street to wait for a jeepney ride but it’s all filled. We decided to ride a tricycle instead, we paid P60. We arrived safely at the resort. We were supposed to order beer at seanymph but we thought it would make us feel groggy tomorrow when we surf instead we just decided to stayed in our room to watch Pirates of the Caribbean at HBO and decided to sleep since we have to leave early tomorrow…
We woke up as early as 6am. We were looking for a place to eat breakfast and since it’s too early the eateries could only offer hot drinks they don’t have meals yet. We took each of our hot drinks-my hubby had coffee while I had milo. After warming our tummies, we are now ready to rock! So from here, our real adventure to Bacnotan began.Just a preview: Bacnotan is a part of La-Union but it’s a 30 minute drive. Locals would say that when the swell is big at the beachfront surfers would usually go to Bacnotan coz waves are a calm and composed. What’s perfect with Bacnotan is that the there are 2 parts of the sea: the left part has strong current perfect for professional surfers while the right part is perfect for beginners and amateurs.
So here lies the main problem…were just a poor couple looking for adventure…we don’t have a car and we don’t have our own surfboards. We travelled to bacnotan by riding a jeepney. As early as 6:30, we rode our first jeep and the only sources of information we have are the directions from the pfeifer landlady. And we also thought we had nothing to worry since we can always ask the jeepney drivers (they have the best knowledge being “king of the roads”). Plus we have our point of contact: Aniwil (the same guy who was my trainer on our first la-union trip-we can always call and text him with our phones at hand). We had two jeepney rides but take note not just ordinary rides…it turned out to be two long jeepney rides. I felt excited and agitated at the same time as it seemed we were travelling forever. On the way to our destination, there were no signs of a beach or a water body and all you can see are mountains and farmlands. I was scared that we might be lost. Then the jeepney driver signaled us that we were finally there and the ultimate landmark “holcim cement factory”. Yes! we were finally here.
Bacnotan is far different from the San Juan beach front…To get at the shoreline, we needed to walk some more. And to my surprise, there are no resorts to stay nor wash rooms or comfort rooms!!! Now I see the importance of bringing your own car since it would be very difficult particularly for girls like me… Well, where can I pee and changed clothes??? Indeed Bacnotan is awesome!!! Swell is small and waves are calm. It’s perfect for beginners. And I noticed that the waves are calm here coz there is a long cement runway that can block the big waves and strong winds.We arrived too early, there were just very few surfers warming up. We did nothing and stared at the sea while waiting for our surf boards and our trainers. We arrived exactly 7 am with no breakfast at all. Plus I was too excited I was already wearing my wetty! We waited for a couple of more hours, my hubby was getting pissed off already since we were both hungry and you could not even find a single sari-sari store to buy food. Too bad I didn’t thought of bringing our snacks from the room. We exactly waited for 3 hrs. You know the feeling of just simply starring at the surfers, plus getting envious coz they were all there having fun! We noticed that as the hours pass are surfers kept coming in bringing along their surfboards. Cars, vans and jeepneys are parking in. Now, this explains why all the resorts at the beach front are fully booked when you could not see people at the beach…they are all at Bacnotan. It’s just so amazing I have never seen so many surfers under one place, it just looked so great.
At 10 am finally, Aniwil with his co surfer trainers arrived bringing along the boards we’d be using. They were like 1 full jeepney. He said sorry since he could not teach us but he entrusted us to his co-trainer Larry. Larry was very vocal (madaldal) but it was cool. I learned a lot from him. He gave us lot’s of info. He explained to us that resorts could never be built in Bacnotan coz the entire place is owned by the Holcim cement factory. He shared stories about his co-surfers, surfing competitions plus the recently held one and how Luli Arroyo (the first daughter had always supported them) Larry is 1 year younger than me, he is twenty three but an absolute local surfer, he has been surfing for 10 years now. He even introduced us to his father who was also training a newbie that time. Talk about a family of surfers! That’s awesome!
It was a more difficult task for Larry since he needs to teach me and my hubby at the same time. So this explains why we don’t have pictures of our actual surfing lessons because nobody would take pictures of us since both my hubby and I are being taught. He first taught us the basics. It was some kind off a refresher for me to remember the lessons last November. He actually made us try the board while still on the sand. And then came the real thing- we were on the waters! I took the lead of trying to stand up first, but like before it’s really hard to apply the basics you’ve learned with even smaller waves, I still cannot stand up. Then it was my hubby’s turn, sad thing he still couldn’t stand as well. It turned out difficult for us… After a few more tries…my hubby finally got up!!! I was so proud!!! Too bad nobody can take pictures of us. I felt envious; I told myself “I need to be able to stand-up on my board”. My hubby and I changed surfboards since my board seemed to heavy for me and I was light-weighted compared to my hubby. After a few more tries, whalla! I was able to stand!!! And we both able to stand!!! It was such a great achievement for both of us!!! When you’re able to stand on the board, believe you’d feel as if you’re the greatest surfer on earth…it made us feel proud. And it was sweet…we were able to do it together…
Kudos to Larry!!! He was a great trainer! He was strict and he’s a man with lots of words but he’s being madaldal helped us a lot! He really kept reminding us of the basics; he gave us motivation most of the time and made us feel so proud every time we are able to stand up on our boards and ride the wave!!! And the best thing about Larry, he taught us of a certain leg work that made us stand up on the board!!!
After training was the only time we were able to take pictures. Larry even taught us of the surfers hand sign! Awesome! We had to hurry back to the beachfront since our check-out time is 12nn. Since we don’t have a car, and there is no bathroom to change clothes, we actually rode the jeepney clothes WET. We arrived at our room exactly 11:30. We hurriedly cleaned, bathe and arranged our things. We were so darn hungry…and to give ourselves a treat for a job well done- we again decided to eat a hearty meal at Midway Grill. To my surprise, we even found surfer and actor Jericho Rosales eating at the said restaurant with his surfer friends. We ordered carbonara plus chicken and fries and three cups full of rice- a really big meal. As usual we left the place with smile on our faces. But I had one more request… I could not leave La-Union without having tasted: halo-iloko! We tried to search for the famous halo-halo at the heart of the city and we found this cute eatery. The halo-halo cost 60 pesos and it was awesomely delicious! Plus their place was such a cutie! We travelled back to the terminal and waited for a bus ride in partas but we ended up riding a viron bus since we were running out of time. And after 6 hours, we are back in Manila. This second trip to La-union was one of a unique plus for me and my hubby… It proved our flexibility and our passion for adventure! Imagine we were able to reach a far place like bancotan by just commuting and riding back home with wet clothes! And this is the first time we were able to achieve something together… now that’s what you call COOL! Surf’s Up!
This is Midway Grill
Halo-Halo de Iloko! One of the best Halo-Halo I've ever tasted!
