After doing touristy things around town, our activity the next day (my most dreaded one) was surfing!

Baler is known for the great waves of its oceans, that's why it's very nice to do surfing here. There are lot of locals along the beach willing to offer surfing lessons. We chose the one we saw near the Aliya Surf Resort. 

Jo and Krishan registering for the one-hour surfing lesson!

When I signed on that paper, it felt like I just signed a contract risking my life (well I was actually, coz I didn't know how to swim!) Each of us were assigned an instructor. Before actually submerging ourselves into the water, they first thought us the actions done per each of the commands that they will tell us. There are specific poses for their Ready and Stand commands.

Still smiling after being engulfed by the waves after surfing. :))

For sure these kids know how to swim. #bitter

That's some good-looking meat being grilled! #mouthwatering

blurry photo! (this is the best I could make out of this photo)

post-processed to make the stars more visible in image

It felt like I was in a field trip actually. xD


The entrance fee is cheap. For just Php30, you get to enter the museum. This is also where you'll pay your ticket in visiting Aurora's Ancestral House, another tourist spot, which was just near Museo de Baler.

When you come inside, you'll really notice that this museum is old.


Such old historical artifacts can be found here.

The items that were used in Baler, the movie, was also preserved in the museum. Even the awards the actors got in doing the movie were displayed there.




Aurora Ancestral House
Aurora province was named after former Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon's wife.
Aurora is just near the Quezon province. See what they did there? *wink wink* :D



Honestly, I thought what we saw was not the original structure of the actual ancestral house, because to me, for a wealthy family like the Quezon, the house looked small. I dunno. But according to what I researched on other sites, it seems like the house structure was not at all altered, just some restoration was done.



We just did a quick tour around the house, and then went back to our local tour guide, a.k.a. our tricycle driver too! :D

This wrapped up our first day in Baler! Next day would be about surfing and eating! Post about that coming up!

See the white waves there? The winds are strong along the bay, which makes it a good place to surf.

After absorbing this wonderful view of the ocean, we went back to the tricycle and drove off down the hill wherein these statues are located.


The human statues illustrates the moment a family got to save themselves from a huge tsunami that struck the province several years back. According to history, only seven families survived that tsunami because they were able to climb up Ermita Hill. Locals treat Ermita Hill as a special spot in town because it was their ancestors' refuge in that time of calamity. They built a shrine at the top of the hill to commemorate this important part of the town's history.

Diguisit Falls
After receiving that brief lecture about Baler's past, we went to another tourist spot - Diguisit Falls.


This time, we did not need to trek a long way to see the waterfalls. Instead, we climbed several steps up a hill to see the falls in view.

I was not that confident with the traction my rubber shoes gave me when stepping on inclined planes, so I did not climb farther to see more of what was up the hill aside from the falls. I was also worried I that I would slip and break the (bulky DSLR!) camera that I was carrying so I just stayed at the bottom of the hill.

While Krishan and Jo were exploring the wilderness above, I just shot whatever that was in view. I ended up playing with the shutter speed shooting the flowing water from the falls.

shutter speed @ 1/250

shutter speed @ 1/20 (notice how the water looks smoother here?)

This activity kind of reminded me of an experiment I did few years back involving water with varying shutter speeds. :D

Aniao Islet
Our next stop was nearer to the ocean -  we visited the beautiful Aniao Islet!







The splashing of the waves along the shore was so relaxing to the ears. :D

It was lunch time then so we rode the tryke again and went ahead to Gerry Shan's Place, which was one popular restaurant in town. It was even featured in Byahe ni Drew, a travel program in local TV. For Php200, we get to have an unlimited lunch buffet. There were a lot of people when we arrived so it was a bit frustrating when some of the dishes in the buffet were empty already. We had to wait for the new servings, and also fight wait for our turn for the food. Honestly, I didn't get what the hype was all about. The food was alright, nothing special. But in terms of hunger, our tummies were well satisfied!

After that heartly lunch, our guide/driver led us to this hanging bridge (which I don't know the name :O). It sure was a nice place to take photos!

[February 2015]

Our second itinerary was to go to the Ditumabo Falls, which is one of the tourist spots in the town of Baler. It is also locally known as The Mother Falls.

The whole gang en route to the falls.

The sound of the rushing water in the river was so relaxing. :)

Before we could reach the falls, we had to do some little trekking into the forest. Again, it was our tricycle driver who served as our guide! It was still early in the morning, and it was cool in the forest. We passed by a river along the trail, and I am assuming it came from the falls itself.


Along some parts of the river, we found water hoses, and (according to the sign on the rock xD) it seems like it is safe to drink. :D

Krishan getting some fresh cool water!

After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the falls!


It was so beautiful. This was the first time I've seen a falls up close. The splashing sound of the rushing water was very eminent, but it did not bother me. I just stared with awe on how strong the current was as the water fell down to the river. Mist was forming near the falls and cold water sprayed on our faces and body as we got nearer.

We were tempted to go for a dip into the waters, but it was cold (plus I do not know how to swim hehe). It was only Krishan who braved the waters and took a refreshing swim!

Krishan's sexy back swimming in the falls. xD

After Krishan went splashing and swimming in the waters (while me and Jo were just dipping our toes into the cold water. xD), we decided to head back.