I finally have enough time to do a more decent report on my Baler trip. The last post I had about this place was so hurried and using the awful Globe Tattoo connection that there’s pretty much little I could say. Anyway, here it goes;

Baler is not something that you travel 6 hours for just to find a really good beach for swimming. This picture below should already explain why.

But when you’re there, you’ll notice that it aint half bad as well. It’s just not that kind of place. Plain and simple it’s that place that you go to with surfing primarily in your mind. And not that kind of surfing either. As mentioned in my earlier hurried post, the waves there are not that big to entice the thrill-seeking surfers to congregate. The waves are too small to do that.

If you are a wannabe surfer however and you want to hone or discover your as yet undeveloped surfing skills far from the prying eyes of surfing pros, then this is the place to be. As a beach it has a really long shoreline and a wide beach front but be sure to take note that if you dislike anything that’s un-white, this is not the place for you.

Fine Gray Sand

The sand here is superfine but they are definitely not white. They’re black. This gives off a darker shade to the waters as well. The water is basically clean but because the underlying sand is dark, it gives off a murky color. Still if you’re particular with the seabed that you stand on when you do your swimming, this beach does not disappoint. You will be standing on fine sand when you do your swimming and none of those disgusting seaweeds or those painful stones that make you hesitate on whether to take a dip or not.The water’s temperature is fine as well, it’s certainly not as warm as the Boracay waters but they’re warm enough if you’re cold enough. And it does get warmer the more people take to the water. I wonder why, hmmm..

Taking A Breather

There are already decent resorts in the area that provides for good accommodation. The resort we stayed is called Bay’s Inn resort and their rooms are clean and they have a restaurant that offers good food at very reasonable prices. More importantly beer is only P35 bucks so if you want to get sloshed by the beach, this is as good as it gets.

Beachfront Resort

The only thing I regretted going there was that I did not have my own transport. I’m pretty sure that I would have enjoyed stopping by the road and taking snapshots of the grand Sierra Madre mountain ranges. They do look mysterious and seem partially covered by fog most of the time.

Sierra Madre

95% of the time the road is paved and even those that aren’t are very tolerable unlike the roads that we had to navigate when we went to Surigao Del Sur.

I’m sure there are plenty of surfing areas that are closer to Baler but for a mixture of swimming and surfing (and privacy for that matter), I think Baler is one destination that could give the more proximate surfing resorts (like Pundaquit in Zambales) a run for their money. You just have to deal with the longer travel time.

Baler, Aurora

One thing that’s oft forgotten about the place is that Baler is the birthplace of Manuel L. Quezon so of course he has a statue in front of the Baler Museum facing one of the main streets. The only thing is, right across the street, he’s looking at a huge blank, unpainted side of a building. I’m pretty sure he’s not enjoying that sight.

Manuel L. Quezon

Baler is also the site of the movie, well, Baler, starring Anne Curtis (who looks more Castellan than the Spanish character portrayed by Jericho Rosales). Anne by the way, is sooo into me. Don’t ask. Leave me alone with my fantasies. Lol.

We also visited the Baler Museum of course and I tried going retro with these B/W photos.

Guardia Civil

The Missing Link

Waiting For Godot

Hope you like the photos and the place of course!