317.00 Php - bus fare from Dau Terminal to San Juan, La Union (via Partas Trans. Co. Inc, Laoag route)
less than 11.00 Php - jeepney fare from San Juan, La Union to Partas Bus Terminal)
306.00 Php - bus fare from Partas Bus Terminal to Dau Terminal (via Partas Trans. Co. Inc, Cubao route)
400.00 Php/pax - One Circle hostel bunk bed space
200.00 Php - surfing instructor fee per hour
200.00 Php - surfboard rental fee
It will be Jean's birthday so she and my sister had a last-minute decision to go to La Union. Unprepared but excited to try our hand on surfing, me and my other sister also tagged along. They left first and after an hour we followed. We left Dau terminal at around 8:00 am. The trip that we thought would only last for 4 hours actually took us 6 hours. I'm not sure if it's because of traffic. As we have read on one blog that our hostel is near San Juan Surf Resort, we requested the conductor to please drop us to San Juan Surf Resort but then they seem to have forgotten because the bus missed dropping us (although we have followed up numerous times). We were dropped at Urbiztondo Elementary School instead which is quite far (fortunately not too far) so we had to ride a tricycle and pay another 25.00 Php (for the whole tricycle) which dropped us to Urbiztondo Grill. It was already about 2:00 pm so we took our late lunch at Urbiztondo Grill then went on to look for our hostel.
The surfing resorts in San Juan are in just one not-too-long line so when you already see Surf Maid, Sebay, Kahuna and the likes you'll know that you're already there.
we missed the sign board of San Juan Surf Resort which is not as prominent as those of Surf Maid, Sebay and Kahuna
right beside Urbiztondo Grill is this road that leads to One Circle Hostel, just walk straight ahead
the entrance of One Circle Hostel
We logged our names and paid the overnight fee. We also paid a 100.00 Php deposit for each bedsheet. After checking in we had to go to San Fernando City (about 5 minutes or so away from San Juan) to buy a memory card which we forgot due to lack of preparation, it costed me a shocking 400.00 Php. We then went back to San Juan and went to the beach to surf.
San Juan, La Union Beach
left side of the beach
does anyone know the name of this mountain range?
We got ourselves surfing instructors who taught us the basics of surfing. They will tell you where and how to put your feet on the board and how to stand up. In a nutshell, the process is for you to walk away from the shore, lie on your surfboard belly down and wait for the waves. Once you see a wave coming you have to start paddling and when you already feel the wave pushing you on your back you quickly stand up, find your balance and surf towards the shore :)
surfing training
acting it out
On Board
wiping out
the surfboard pose that everybody does - joining the bandwagon
the beach at dusk: photobombed
Since the whole 1 hour of surfing I am with my instructor, I don't know if I would be able to surf all by myself but it's really enjoyable although I'm not sure if I should feel accomplished because we surfed in shallow water and the waves are pretty tame.
When the sun went down we went back to our hostel. Actually, we were forced to go back because it also drizzled.
back to the hostel
After washing off, we looked around to look for food
dinner
Sadly, I can't remember what our dinner tasted like or how much it cost.
It was the morning swim the next day that I particularly enjoyed. It was low tide, the water looked really clean and the water was only mildly salty
