Throwback Travel: Surfing at La Union
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Last October, my friends ( the Superbellies) decided to go to La Union to celebrate the long overdue birthday celebrations of the three bellies in the group (including myself). It's been awhile since we went out-of-town due to each one's busy work schedule.
Despite the storm signal at La Union, we decided to push our luck and went ahead to La Union.
We met at Bo's Coffee Glorietta 5 (they are open 24 hours) at around 3:00AM and was picked up by the van we rented. Everyone was tired that time and instantly fell asleep as the road trip started.
The journey by van going to La Union took 4.5 hours, including 2 stopover. The weather was good at La Union because there were no signs of rain yet.
We booked a family room at Sea Nymph's Surf Resort. Sea Nymph's a decent place to stay if you are a backpacker who wanted to blew a bit of money for decent amenities. The room we booked was big and can accommodate 6 people, and still have space to move around. The room had 2 queen sized bed, 1 single bed and 1 extra mattress. The bathroom was big also but no heater for the shower. It was a challenge for all of us to bath, the water was too cold because of the weather. Sea Nymph's have a Cafe beachfront for your food needs.
According to my observation, almost all hotel/hostel in the beach area caters surfers on a budget though there are only a few nice-looking hotels which I think their market are for known people or celebrities who visits there to surf.
At around 11AM, everyone was hungry and we decided to check out the newly opened GeFeis Greek restaurant across the road. It was highly recommended to us by Francis' acquaintance.
Review of Gefeis Greek Restaurant here and see how their food fared
After lunch, we decided to book a surfing lesson with JR, the instructor recommended to us (He's Aloha Boardsport's resident pro-surfer whenever they held events there). Since the waves are erratically huge and treacherous, JR suggested that as for beginners, we learn to surf at Luna Beach, just a few miles ahead since the waves there are a bit smaller and calmer.
The beaches at La Union are not fully commercialized. It may not be ideal for beach bummers (like me!) since their beaches are not as pretty as those in Batangas. But the waves are really nice, ideal for ones who really liked to surf.
When we reached Luna Beach, the rain started making the waves a bit cruel, but still not that dangerous for beginners. Soshi, Eph and Fjordz and Francis decided to try their luck despite the weather. Me and Rheyn just stayed behind and just took pictures (since we really don't know how to swim and was too afraid to get drowned). It was awesome to see them able to ride in after an hour of session. Soshi was able to stand up and ride the waves on first attempt (Yeah!).
By 5:00PM, we decided to head back since the weather is worsening. The boys were starving from their surfing session, so we headed straight to Gasera to have dinner.
Since our stomaches are growling, we ordered meat and a lot of rice. We tried their Adobo and Grilled Pork with helpings of vegetables on the side.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. We decided to stay indoor since the rain poured hard that night. We just played card games, laughed and drank the night away.
On our second and last day, We had breakfast at Sea Nymph's Cafe which is located at the front of the beach. Us girls had the Bacon Pancakes while the guys had their typical -silog breakfast. The Bacon Pancakes is made with a generous amount of Bacon sandwiched between two fluffy pancakes with some cream cheese and maple syrup on the side. It was yummy and very filling.
The weather was good that morning, the guys were a bit sore from yesterday's surfing session so we just lunged at the beach, swam and took a lot of photos.
We checked out by 12NN and decided to have lunch at Halo Halo de Iloko by 1:00PM. The restaurant was a bit far from the beach area and nearer the capitol city so it's recommended to try it before or after surfing at the beach.
Review of Halo Halo de Iloko Restaurant here and see how their food fared
We left at around 3:00PM and arrived at Makati by 9:00PM. It took 6 hours because of the traffic, it was a Sunday, so most cars are going back from their weekend vacation.
It was another fun adventure with the SuperBellies. Too bad Dave, Nadine, Ricky and Jobeth couldn't join us, the gang would have been complete. I'm looking forward for another "gala" with them.
Despite the storm signal at La Union, we decided to push our luck and went ahead to La Union.
We met at Bo's Coffee Glorietta 5 (they are open 24 hours) at around 3:00AM and was picked up by the van we rented. Everyone was tired that time and instantly fell asleep as the road trip started.
The journey by van going to La Union took 4.5 hours, including 2 stopover. The weather was good at La Union because there were no signs of rain yet.
We booked a family room at Sea Nymph's Surf Resort. Sea Nymph's a decent place to stay if you are a backpacker who wanted to blew a bit of money for decent amenities. The room we booked was big and can accommodate 6 people, and still have space to move around. The room had 2 queen sized bed, 1 single bed and 1 extra mattress. The bathroom was big also but no heater for the shower. It was a challenge for all of us to bath, the water was too cold because of the weather. Sea Nymph's have a Cafe beachfront for your food needs.
According to my observation, almost all hotel/hostel in the beach area caters surfers on a budget though there are only a few nice-looking hotels which I think their market are for known people or celebrities who visits there to surf.
At around 11AM, everyone was hungry and we decided to check out the newly opened GeFeis Greek restaurant across the road. It was highly recommended to us by Francis' acquaintance.
Review of Gefeis Greek Restaurant here and see how their food fared
After lunch, we decided to book a surfing lesson with JR, the instructor recommended to us (He's Aloha Boardsport's resident pro-surfer whenever they held events there). Since the waves are erratically huge and treacherous, JR suggested that as for beginners, we learn to surf at Luna Beach, just a few miles ahead since the waves there are a bit smaller and calmer.
The beaches at La Union are not fully commercialized. It may not be ideal for beach bummers (like me!) since their beaches are not as pretty as those in Batangas. But the waves are really nice, ideal for ones who really liked to surf.
When we reached Luna Beach, the rain started making the waves a bit cruel, but still not that dangerous for beginners. Soshi, Eph and Fjordz and Francis decided to try their luck despite the weather. Me and Rheyn just stayed behind and just took pictures (since we really don't know how to swim and was too afraid to get drowned). It was awesome to see them able to ride in after an hour of session. Soshi was able to stand up and ride the waves on first attempt (Yeah!).
By 5:00PM, we decided to head back since the weather is worsening. The boys were starving from their surfing session, so we headed straight to Gasera to have dinner.
Since our stomaches are growling, we ordered meat and a lot of rice. We tried their Adobo and Grilled Pork with helpings of vegetables on the side.
Grilled Pork Belly
Adobo
The meats were filling and had satisfied our grumbling stomaches. The Adobo had a slightly different taste from the normal home cooked adobo. The adobo has camote in it instead of potatoes for a healthier twist.
Buttered Vegetables
Side of Ubod and Carrots
The vegetables turned out okay as well. It was our first time trying the Ubod and Carrots. I didn't like Ubod per se so I just munched on the buttered vegetables.
Grilled Tuna with Kamote
Eph wanted something healthier so he had this grilled tuna with Camote. All the dishes in Gasera are home cooked and very fresh. It was a plus point that they make sure to address any diet concerns and restrictions of the diners. I remember we chatted with the owner and we did mention that we were on a low fat diet to avoid our stomaches bulging out.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. We decided to stay indoor since the rain poured hard that night. We just played card games, laughed and drank the night away.
On our second and last day, We had breakfast at Sea Nymph's Cafe which is located at the front of the beach. Us girls had the Bacon Pancakes while the guys had their typical -silog breakfast. The Bacon Pancakes is made with a generous amount of Bacon sandwiched between two fluffy pancakes with some cream cheese and maple syrup on the side. It was yummy and very filling.
The weather was good that morning, the guys were a bit sore from yesterday's surfing session so we just lunged at the beach, swam and took a lot of photos.
We checked out by 12NN and decided to have lunch at Halo Halo de Iloko by 1:00PM. The restaurant was a bit far from the beach area and nearer the capitol city so it's recommended to try it before or after surfing at the beach.
Review of Halo Halo de Iloko Restaurant here and see how their food fared
We left at around 3:00PM and arrived at Makati by 9:00PM. It took 6 hours because of the traffic, it was a Sunday, so most cars are going back from their weekend vacation.
It was another fun adventure with the SuperBellies. Too bad Dave, Nadine, Ricky and Jobeth couldn't join us, the gang would have been complete. I'm looking forward for another "gala" with them.
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