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The morning I woke up, checked my smartphone and found out about Sen. Edgardo Angara’s passing, I was shocked. According...
Philippine surf spots are fast becoming reputable food destinations. That’s what’s happening in places like Siargao, La Union and Baler.
The capital of Aurora is likewise the prime hub of surfers local and foreign.
IF YOU’RE familiar with Manuel L. Quezon in his official photographs, wait till you see him in his youth, particularly those images younger than that on the P20 bill.
Feeling outdoorsy but can’t leave behind the comforts of home—like a proper bathroom? Plan a "glamping" trip to Baler in Aurora, where you can commune with nature without sacrificing convenience.
Walking through the pathway going toward San Pablo, Laguna’s Lake Pandin, our guide pointed to the sparse coconut trees around us. He blamed the coco lumber business for the decreasing number of trees in a province otherwise known as coconut country. With a sigh, he added that absentee landlords don’t seem to care at all.
By bus, the trip from Metro Manila to this capital town of Aurora, Central Luzon’s easternmost province, takes at most five hours. By car, it can be an hour shorter.
It is 7 a.m. on a weekend, and the crashing of sea waves echoes like a siren’s call. Heads bob in and out of the water, with voices shrieking and bodies lying on top of surfboards, arms paddling, eyes darting, waiting for the next big wave.
Manuel L. Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth, sits rigid in bronze in front of his museum, designed like a facsimile of his birthplace. The sculpture shows his aristocratic features. But his coat and tie didn’t deter the children playing at the park from climbing all over him.
For those who vacation in the more popular destinations south of Metro Manila, Baler seems like a distant and remote spot. To the peripatetic and those bitten by wanderlust, Baler is a jewel of a paradise waiting to be discovered. Tucked between mountain and sea, Baler is the economic hub and political center of the province of Aurora. Its very location between the formidable Sierra Madre mountain range and the waters of the Pacific Ocean endows the town with so many attractions.
