Wanderworld

A travel addict that I am, I make sure my travel plans are all laid out early on, especially during summer. This Baler trip though was an exception.

I impulsively chose Baler as a place for my extended/post-birthday celebration for two reasons: 1) Costa Pacifica Raintree – because the new Baler resort showed a lot of promise based on their website alone and its beautiful pictures on the Web; and 2) surfing – I figured I wanted to try something new because I just turned a year older.

So I hurriedly booked a room for two online at the new Baler resort out of fear of it getting fully booked on my chosen weekend and we travelled there without much preparation at all (which is very unlikely of me, I tell you.)

The result: a bitin but fun weekend filled with adventures and misadventures.

Let’s start with the adventure part: Baler tour

We initially planned to go on a half day tour around Baler on our first day so we can surf afterward and just chill out and swim on the second day. Since we arrived at Costa Pacifica before check-in time and it took a long time for the room to be cleaned (yes, one of the misadventures), we decided to take the tour and just come back when our room’s ready.

You can easily hire a tricycle to take you around the famous spots in Baler, which would typically cost Php700-800. Since Joseph and I are not fond of museums, we skipped them and opted to visit the natural attractions: Ermita Hill, Aniao Islet, and Diguisit Falls.

Ermita Hill

This place was supposedly the sanctuary of families struck by the tidal wave during the 1700s which explains the structure of a family hand in hand at the foot of the “hill”.

You can ride a tricycle all the way up or climb a few steps to the viewing deck, which rewards you with amazing views of Diguisit Bay.

I especially enjoyed soaking up the overlooking views of the beach and taking pictures. The water had a nice turquoise color bordered by a lush mountain.

The place also features an altar, a huge picnic ground, gazebo and restrooms. Though there’s really nothing much to see and do here, for me it’s still a nice stop to consider in a Baler tour, especially if you just want to chill out and enjoy nice surroundings.

Aniao Islet

Probably my favorite place among the few we visited during the tour, Aniao Islet, also known as Lukso-Lukso Islet, features picturesque rock formations with a beach with strong waves (probably ideal for surfing… if you can reach it :P) which serves as a beautiful backdrop.

Fronting the rock formations is a mountain and a line of coconut trees which complete the beautiful scenery.

The rock formations seemed to stretch on and on so it was impossible for us (or for anyone) to actually reach the sea or the two huge rocks (at least during the time we went there), Lukso-Lukso, which supposedly is where the name of the islet came from. But though it was difficult to hop from one rock to another, the views from each corner of the place are breathtaking and all worth it.

 Diguisit Falls

I’m not really a fan of waterfalls except the really majestic ones but we stopped here anyway because it’s very near Aniao Islet. Apparently, you can take a bath here if you want and you can also reach the topmost falls just like the other travelers we were with, though we have no idea how they did that. :))

As for me, I was content to take pictures and experiment with my camera’s shutter speed so the falls would come out silky smooth. I still need a lot of practice but I was happy with the results. 🙂

Now, for the misadventure part: Dicasalarin Cove

This is what I really wanted to see during our Baler trip and we especially reserved the morning of our second day for it. Unfortunately though, the tricycle driver we hired assumed that we were talking about Dicasalarin Beach, which was a public beach just like Diguisit Bay and others.

When we told him that we intend to visit Sen. Angara’s private property, he said it’s not open to the public and refused to take us there. To make matters worse, we forgot to get a pass from Costa Pacifica which, according to numerous blogs I read, serves as a permit for travelers who want to see the cove.

So we had no choice but to content ourselves with Dicasalarin Beach, which, honestly speaking, has nothing special to offer and not really worth considering when taking a Baler tour.

Because of such misadventure though, we had more time to surf aftwerward before checking out of the hotel, which I’ll be talking about in my next Baler post. 🙂 Misadventure withstanding, it was nice to discover that aside from the surfing beach, Sabang Beach, Baler has other gems in store for tourists as well.