Now more than ever the stokedtraveler is even more amped about surfing.
Straight from work our weekend warrior – the stokedtraveler – takes to another weekend escape into the sands and waves of San Juan, La Union.
This was supposed to be another solo travel for him. Fortunately, his surf buddy and former officemate decided to make a last minute registration with Travel Factor to join Surfvivor La Union.
The trip starts at McDonald’s El Pueblo where everyone joining the weekend escape is asked to meet up. After a short wait, the weekend warriors converge and set forth to begin their journey to Northern Luzon’s Surfing Capital. It was a bumpy ride all the way because of the ongoing road construction. The awfully cold temperature inside the van was ruthless for the unwary travelers. Nonetheless, everyone had to steal some sleep to energize for the anticipated clash with the waves.
At the crack of dawn they awake and find themselves in a road stop along Sison, Pangasinan. They were told to have breakfast at Leeza’s Restaurant where it is said that the arroz caldo is a specialty.
A bowl of Arroz Caldo with egg costs P45.00 and it tasted ordinary. It was the better choice though since other menu items cost ridiculous. “Tortang Talong” was priced at P50.00 without rice. A piece of a regular sized hotdog (not even “jumbo-sized) was being sold for P25.00. Well considering the location and probably the lesser volume of customers they get, the prices were enough to keep them going. The stokedtraveler was not in the mood to waste money on an overpriced menu too early in the day so he settled for the arroz caldo. After grabbing some tummy filler they hopped back into the rented van and continued onto the trip.
Just as everyone caught up with their sleep, they made another stop and alas they were already at Sebay Resort Inn in San Juan, La Union.
Sebay offered native inspired accommodation. It was a good sight for the stokedtraveler as it added to the ambiance of a weekend getaway budget-friendly style.
From the rooms, it only takes a few steps to reach the beach front. The stokedtraveler and his buddy Jao went on to check out the waves only to find out that the ocean was so-still that it seemed to be asleep. It was then that another traveler said that water was “sabaw! (soup)”.
Don, the coordinator from Travel factor, asked if anyone wanted to take one of their two surf sessions already. Due to the form of the waves that time, the stokedtraveler and his buddy decided to just catch up on sleep. Markus, an Austrian solo-traveler, took his first surf lesson thinking he was doing Don a favor J. Two others also went on with the surf while the rest opted to take time to relax.
Surfs Up! About an hour of trying to sleep both the stokedtraveler and his buddy decided to just check out the waves again. Fortunately just as the sun was out in all its scorching glory, the ocean too was already awake and ready to take on the stoked surfers. They spent some time to gaze at the beach and everything on it. They also saw their fellow travelers already hitting good waves. Finally they agreed to rent a board for P200.00/hour (add P200 if with instructor) and brave the waves themselves.
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| Surfers flocked the water as soon as the swells started coming in |
The travelers were booked for a 4PM surf lesson at San Juan Surf School. The swells were even better in the afternoon. There were more surfers lined up on the water waiting to catch a good wave to ride. The water was higher and getting wiped out was easier. The surf lesson was an hour of reaching that unexplainable stoked feeling you just can’t get enough of when riding good waves. Amidst sunburn, tired muscles, sore arms, abs and chest, the experience was all well worth it.
As the stokedtraveler was resting on the beach chatting with his fellow travelers, he witnessed the magical La Union sunset and couldn’t help but take a lot of shots to bring home with him.
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| La Union has one of the best views of the sunset |
Later that night TF treated the weekend warriors to dinner at midway grillhouse. It was a much appreciated dinner after all the day’s fun over the waves and under the sun. The grillhouse was just a walk down the highway from Sebay. The food was tasteful considering that the lunch the stokedtraveler bought at Sebay was cold and bland.
Contrary to what the stokedtraveler expected, nightlife in San Juan, La Union isn’t much. He was told that there were crazy parties with coed beach goers.
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| A lone star watches over weary beach goers |
Instead, the weekend warriors settled to face it off with Jack – Jack Daniel’s c/o two of their fellow travelers, Jo and Jan. Minus the hassle of getting ice, the laugh trip + drinking + M-deal (Monopoly card game) session with matching background sounds from portable speakers plugged into a mobile phone went pretty well.
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Day 2 surf had better waves in the early morning. The stokedtraveler woke up as early as 6:00 A.M. to take some shots of San Juan beach during daybreak.
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He had Vigan Longganisa breakfast at Sebay while watching two guys fighting it off MMA style on the beach.
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| It was fun watching these two wrestle it off on the beach. Unfortunately, no one got bloodied :) |
Surf lesson 2 started at 9:00 A.M. and though the waves were strong the surf instructor said they weren’t good ones so they ended up waiting long intervals between surfs. Talk about patience!
An even better treat to the trip was for the stokedtraveler to meet and actually chat with Stoked Inc’s endorser and the owner of San Juan Surf School – Luke Landrigan. He was just the average guy doing and sharing what he likes most - surfing. No ego or that snob attitude common to known personalities. The stokedtraveler would not even notice him if not for his buddy who looks up to the champion surfer.
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| The stoked traveler and the champ surfer - Luke Landrigan |
The stokedtraveler hopes to someday learn straight from the master surfer himself but until then he’ll continue to hit the waves, fall off the board, and hopefully avoid injuries in doing so.
The trip ended with the weekend warriors going their own ways but not before a final group shot.
Half of the group planned to stay longer at La Union for the long weekend while the other half (the stokedtraveler included) made their way back home. Markus the solo traveler went on to join his new found buddies for a quick trip to Baguio which was only an hour drive from San Juan.
The stokedtraveler and his remaining travel companions had one final stop just before heading home. Isdaan Floating Restaurant at Gerona, Tarlac
Baler vs La Union
Waves in La Union were a little milder than in Baler. However, the beauty of La Union is that tourists don't only get nice waves but also a well preserved beach and sand. There's an area good for swimming and surfing. Proximity to Manila is also a plus. The stokedtraveler especially liked the softboards and free use of rashguards offered Luke's surf school. They were all sponsored by stoked inc.
Baler on the otherhand has that local beauty. Tourists can go to the city and back to the beach very conveniently. As for the swells, they were bigger there when the stokedtraveler visited back in September. A lot harder for beginners to work with but definitely better for more experienced surfers.
How to get to San Juan, La Union:
From Manila – Take a bus heading to Vigan, Laoag or Abra and tell the ticket booth that you are dropping off at Sebay (Seabay) San Juan, La Union. Don’t forget to remind the conductors to wake you up when you are in La Union otherwise it will be a long trip back J
Accommodations:
If you have some budget to spare try San Juan Surf Resort. The rates aren’t very expensive but the place looks nice and well-maintained.
If on a tight budget, you can just go with Sebay Resort.
Luke Landrigan
The stokedtraveler recalls Luke being on the cover of Men’s Health magazine’s 4th anniversary issue back in May 2009. Before writing this blog, he went through his old issues of men’s health magazines and found a younger looking Luke and the article featuring the surf champ. He read through what he didn’t actually appreciate back when he bought that issue and everything made better sense!
There he [Luke] talked about that stoked feeling that only those who has been on the water in a surfboard can feel but can’t express. He also talked about how unexplicably addicting surfing can be once you brave the waves for the first time. He talked about the feeling of just forgetting all your worries when you are on top of the water. He talked about lessons learned from surfing and how it should be part of PE in schools near the islands.
Here are a few notes taken from the article:
Surfing teaches patience. Do the math: 90 percent paddling, 2 percent riding and the remaining 8 percent is waiting for the right waves to catch.
Surfing teaches Perseverance. It’s a guarantee you’ll wipe out plenty of times before you reap the benefits of surfing. “Ang board mo ang unang hahampas talaga sa mukha mo. Pero may techniques naman para safe ka. Wag ka dapat matakot sa alon. Relax lang,” says Landrigan. “Ang learning curve ng surfing sobrang hirap, sobrang frustrating. Pero once makuha mo na ang isang trick, tuloy-tuloy na. Then after that, ibang tricks naman and matagal ulit bago makuha pero pag nakuha na, okay na. Uulit-ulitin mo na.”
Every wave is different. Every day is a different world. You just don’t know what to expect. [So] Surfing keeps me alive palagi. – Luke Landrigan
All that was written in that feature was an authentic narrative of a surfer’s experience. Not all can be written though. The stoked feeling cannot be written. The word itself is born out of a desire to vaguely define an experience that cannot be told but can be clearly felt.
There’s even poetry in surfing. The stokedtraveler is tempted to write about metaphors on waves and conquering them, standing tall above it all and never falling back after getting slammed in the face hundreds of times until one reaches his goal.
Check out more pics here
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