Baler meant more to me than just a plain summer trip. It was a test of character, abilities, and self-esteem. I’ve been looking forward to this trip since February and when we finally got the chance to see the place, it was worth the entire wait.

In the 3-day trip we had, I was tested, in all ways I could possibly think—patience, endurance, emotions, and reasoning to name a few. It was delusional to say that I’ve planned Baler in my head months before. I knew what I had to do to enjoy the place, to have fun, and to prove something to myself. Baler is a self-imposed challenge.

I wanted to be a spontaneous person. Something I couldn’t afford to be because I’ve always been the responsible kind. There are many things that restrict me to do so, and chances do not always come. So I’ve made up my mind that Baler will be my opportunity and it’s something I cannot waste.

In a thousand words or more, here’s how the trip went:


En Route

Getting to Baler can be an easy breezy one, if booking seats ahead of time is your thing. The municipality is 5-6 hours and 230 kilometres away from Manila. Unfortunately, Genesis Transport is the only bus liner that has a direct trip to Baler—and when I say direct trip I mean Joy Bus Executive Coach.

For the sake of convenience, we decided to take the 6-hour non-stop (no stopovers) trip of Genesis Joy Bus. It has 6 trips to and from Baler on a daily basis and sometimes gets fully booked easily. We booked our seats a month before the trip through iWantSeats which costs P725.00 each (P25 for the reservation fee). Upon payment and verification, you will get a printable electronic ticket which you will use to claim real bus tickets at the Genesis office (in this case, Genesis Cubao) on the day/night of your departure.


The Arrival

We arrived at Baler around 7 in the morning—note that we were ahead of the expected arrival time which is 8:30 am. We have a lot of time to burn because the check-in time in Secret Spot is 9:00 am, so the group decided to get breakfast first before heading to the place.

At the bus station, we met our soon-to-be tricycle driver-slash-tour guide-slash-photographer, Kuya Lito. We haven’t planned how the tour should go, I actually do not have a number of any tour guides from the place but I do have a list of the places that Baler has to offer. I decided to ditch it though and let the trip unfold by itself.

Kuya Lito drove us to the nearest drugstore because Ate Reich wasn’t feeling really well because of the trip. Soon after that, I asked him the best place to get breakfast. We were supposed to eat at Gerry Shan’s (a notable buffet diner in Baler) but the cook said they haven’t prepared the breakfast meals yet. We ended up eating breakfast at The Rolling Stores, a line of carinderias beside the Baler museum. There were about 7-10 eateries rolled on the sidewalk and people just simply come, eat, and go. The place is open til dinner and is a good fit if you’re trying to save more time for tours and other activities.

Side Trip to Dinadiawan Beach

I am honestly surprised to know that Aurora has white beaches too. I’ve read about Dinadiawan Beach weeks before we got to our trip and I really really want to see the place. I’m a sucker for white beaches.

Since we have agreed that Kuya Lito will be our driver for the rest of the trip, we asked him if he can take us to Dinadiawan during our first day. He was hesitant at first but then later on agreed to a price for the entire stay in Dinadiawan. Kuya Lito priced a back and forth trip to Dinadiawan at P1,500. It was, honestly, expensive to me at first but then halfway through the trip, I realized it was a good deal, unfair to Kuya Lito actually.
To get to Dinadiawan, you have to cross at least 3 mountains in a 6-hour back and forth trip. I didn’t know it was that difficult until we had to take 5-minute stops because the engine heated up. At times, we have to drop 2 passengers so the trike can get past strenuous and sharp turns. It was all worth it though. The water and the sand in Dinadiawan is inexplicably amazing. A good sight to see.

Taken using Sony Xperia Z1

White sand beach, clear water, and seaweeds.

Panoramic shot of Dinadiawan Beach taken using Sony Xperia Z1

Just a few tips though. If you’re planning to see Dinadiawan, it would be best to hire a 4-wheeler or habal-habal (single motorcycle) instead. Trip would be a lot easier with that. Also, book a hut for day tour or rooms for night stay beforehand. We stayed at Dinadiawan Beach Resort and spent P750 on a big hut, with P75 entrance fee per pax. Also, bring food with you. The restaurant inside the resort charges P350 per cooking. They do not have a menu. You’ll have to think of a food you want to eat. We had grilled blue marlin and adobong pusit in superb cooking. In fairness, masarap. Pero namamahalan pa rin ako sa P350. Haha.

We ended our day with a mini-feast at Yellow Fin, a notable grill and bar in Baler located in front of Bay’s Inn. We had sisig, grilled liempo, and grilled chicken and had a few drinks. This place is a must-try.

Brand New Day

Our second day started at 8 in the morning when Kuya Lito fetched us at Secret Spot to start our day tour of Baler and nearby municipalities. But we had our breakfast first at Trenchers Kitchenette right beside our first stop, Museo de Baler.

The museum's exteriors.

Mandatory group shot.

Museo de Baler has two floors filled with pre-Hispanic stuff.

Mandatory turista pictures

McArthur's vintage car displayed outside Museo de Baler

Right after Museo de Baler, we dropped by at San Luis Obispo Parish or Baler Catholic Church located just across Doña Aurora’s house.

Baler Catholic Church

At Doña Aurora's house

 

After Doña Aurora’s house, we head to Ermita Hill, a historic place that remembers the December 1735 tsunami that hit Baler.

Remembering how people survived the 1735 tsunami

View from Ermita deck. Taken using Sony Xperia Z1

Our next stop is supposedly the Aniao Islets, but the adventurers in Khreane and Lora convinced Kuya Lito to drop us by at the Sabang fish port—a good find actually. We had the port all to ourselves with a P5 entrance fee for everyone.

En route to Diguisit Falls using Kuya Lito's mighty trike

Empty.

Shipwreck.

My trademark pose, I think

Funniest panoramic shot I took ever

On our way to Aniao Islets, we stopped by at Diguisit Falls which I am not quite ready for. I was mentally preparing myself to climb or trek Ditumabo Falls later in the afternoon. Little did I know that Kuya Lito is about to surprise me with this. Even if Diguisit Falls is smaller compared to Ditumabo, like just a few climb and you’re there na, I find it more difficult to climb rather than the latter noting how my knees are so weak to activities that require strength and endurance.

This is how Diguisit Falls looked like from the starting line

Up close

Mandatory turista photo

Aniao Islets from a far

Shot taken using Sony Xperia Z1

We had lunch at The Rolling Stores again because we were kind of in a rush to catch the other spots in our itinerary. After lunch, it’s time we head to Ditumabo or Mother Falls. Even before the trip, I have read a lot about Ditumabo Falls and the trekking, which made me think this might just be one of the challenges I can impose to myself apart from surfing. I made it clear to my friends that I want to see the falls, and trek an hour back and forth just to witness it. And so we did.

The trail is quite long, rocky, and even muddy given the fact that it drizzled on our way there. It was unfortunate that I didn’t have the chance to take many photos because I was too busy trying to concentrate on trekking. The place is also too crowded to even stop and take a moment to capture photos.

The end of the trail: a public pool.

I need to post this. Their reactions right after reaching the falls. Looking forward to Khreane's selfie dedicated blog post. LOL.

We were very unfortunate to not be able to visit the Balete Tree. The place only accommodates visitors til 3 in the afternoon and by the time we went down from Ditumabo Falls, it was already 5pm.

The Last Day

You guys have no idea how nervous I was on our third and last day. Khreane and I scheduled surfing on this day, and right after we had breakfast and dropped by at the bus station, we took the chance to play with the waves.

While I was partly excited about it, I was honestly not so sure about surfing because well, my knees are just that weak. But we still went on and got surfing lessons.

Surfing lessons. The part where I realized I am making a wrong decision. LOL.

My friends weren’t able to take photos of my surfing experience—partly thankful because at times I don’t wanna be reminded. To be honest, it was an absolute failure on my part because I didn’t manage to balance and stay on the board til it reached the shore. This was the most frustrating and disappointing part of the entire trip.

Panoramic shot of Sabang Beach taken using Sony Xperia Z1

I am happy for Khreane though, because she was able to balance on the board on her third attempt.

Back to Manila

The only inconvenience about Baler is the fact that all bus trips heading back to Manila is scheduled a little early for travelers who want to make the most out of the place. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to book a Manila-bound Joy Bus trip because the seats are already full a month before it is scheduled. Genesis offers air-conditioned trips to Manila though, but they were just too early for us. So we looked into other means to go back home.

Cabanatuan is the way out. Our options include taking an Aurora Bus or a shuttle. We were actually hoping to catch the last Aurora Bus to Cabanatuan but we were unfortunate that it wasn’t there when we got back to the terminal. So we were forced to take a shuttle with no air-condition. It was a 4-hour bumpy trip passing through municipality of Maria Aurora and partly Sierra Madre.

We got a sigh of relief when we got to Cabanatuan bus station, seeing several buses bound for Manila. We ended the trip by sleeping. LOL.


Notes

1. Transportation — during summer, be sure to book your trip ahead of time, like a month before or so. It’s a must that you experience the convenience that Joy Bus brings, but if you’re on a tight budget, the P300 difference might be a factor. For Joy Bus reservations, visit iWantSeats. If you’re taking the Cabanatuan route, you can consider taking ES Transport, Five Star, or Baliwag Transit.

2. Accommodation — there are many hotels and homestays in Baler. If we had a choice, we would go for Aliya Surf Camp or Bayler View Hotel. If we were rich enough, it would be without a doubt, Costa Pacifica. But since we’re trying to cut the expenses down and all of these hotels are already fully-booked, we settled with Secret Spot. Secret Spot is a decent place for on-the-go travelers. Not really advisable for people who opt for a staycation.

Secret Spot's front beach

3. Tours — In Baler, tricycle drivers double as tour guides too. They offer tour packages ranging from P800 to P1000. Special trips like our side trip to Dinadiawan can also be arranged. If you want to make sure you get the right price and hassle-free experience with tour guides, go for those who have permits from the tourism office of Baler. If you’d ask me, I would recommend Kuya Lito. You can reach him at 0930 689 1114.

The trike. Contact Kuya Lito for tours!!!

4. Food — There are many dining places in Baler but I would recommend the following:

• Yellow Fin Bar for grilled food and drinks.
• Trenchers Kitchenette for silogs
• Hungry Surfer by Bay’s Inn — we didn’t had the chance to eat here because their waiting time ranges from 45 to 90 minutes. Quite inconvenient for on-the-go travellers but so far they are the only restaurant we encountered that offers continental breakfasts. The view and place look good too!
• The Rolling Stores — of course, this is a must. 

5. Surfing — this is a must. If you’re not a surfer, you might as well take this opportunity to get surfing lessons. Try it out. There are many surfing schools along Sabang Beach but Kuya Lito said that the ones we hired were the best. It’s a shame I didn’t take note of the surfing school name, but it is located right in front of Secret Spot. Also, Kuya Lito said that this side of the beach is better for beginners because the waves are a lot friendlier and the water isn’t that crowded.

Hurray for the most adventurous trip so far! Ayoo!