Went to the beach yesterday with Kat, the waves were calling her, and myself with nothing better to do tagged along. I spent the better part of the 4 hour journey pondering the likelihood of me trying to surf but ultimately decided against it. Tried skateboarding as a kid, didn't like it and thus squashed any further hope of me on any type of board. (Skimboards, most specially) So what the heck did I do on the beach? I jogged.
Yes, I know it sounds stupid but I really had a lot of fun. Most of the beach was deserted and the terrain varied from soft sand, rocks, weeds and pine forests so I thought it was perfect for a trail run. I took out my trail shoes and went for it, never mind the puzzled look of the surfers all around. Imagine me donning shoes while they were all waxing their boards. I jogged for 45 minutes before my lungs decided to conk out on me and saw me crawling back to where I came from. The sea breeze was perfect for catching my breath and there was even the faint smell of pine trees from the coast.
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I came back to the resort and watched as the surfers played with the waves. I found it really interesting that these people have created a subculture entirely their own despite varying backgrounds, day jobs and ages. I counted around 30 surfers at this particular spot, and there were surely other groups at the many other surf sites scattered throughout the country. At this point I was really tempted to try it out but then I saw a wave hit a surfer with his own board and dropped the idea altogether.
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Kat finished up 4 hours or so of surfing while I was busy just people watching and keeping mental notes about them. There was this semi-celebrity surfer guy who I see on TV giving surfing lessons at Club Manila East, then there were the middle aged surfers who were clearly looking for an outlet from the everyday grind. Behind me, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two yuppies who just met, exchanging tips and bargains on their surfing accessories. The conversation started with one of the guys borrowing some surf wax, then came the barrage of english typical of the more affluent schools in the metro. ("Dude, like, where did you get that leash? Kuhze mine is malapit na sa breaking point.")
The rains came pouring down late in the afternoon just as everyone had had enough waves and were preparing for the journey back home. Not having rented a cottage or a hut, I was drenched in the cold shower while waiting for my turn at the water pump. No one seemed to mind the rain, so I hid my shivers from view as best as I could and patiently waited for everyone to finish cleaning up.
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Kat tells me that last year when they first went to this beach, there was nary a resort or house around and everyone simply settled on the beach and left all their gear in their vehicles while surfing. Well, things have changed a lot in a year as this place is ready to explode with new resorts on the rise.
I remember having been to some of the more established surf spots in Siargao and La Union and imagined this beach looking very much like those places. Well and good, more purchasing power to be spread from Manila to the countryside if that's the case.
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A huge concern on the trip back to Manila was my front passenger's side tyre. For the past week I've noticed significant drops in pressure on that side and have been meaning to have it checked out if only I weren't too lazy to do so. The rate of pressure decrease had risen on this particular road trip and I kept hoping to myself that a repeat of the incident during our New Year road trip wouldn't fall upon us. I had the pressure checked in Subic, and by the time we got to the Caltex along the NLEX, there was a 15psi reduction. Oh boy...
Thankfully I got the car limping back to Manila intact without any problem. I could only imagine having to change a flat tyre in the middle of the NLEX, right along the Candaba bridge where the shoulder wasn't that wide. Surely a lesson against procrastination specially when it involves the road-worthiness of my car. Now, do I actually learn from it is another matter entirely.
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Interesting to note that during the entire trip, there was a surfboard attached on top of my car. Looking at it from a distance, I never saw my car look so funny as that moment. If you simply looked at that sight, you'd imagine an athletic and active yuppie getting out of the driver's side door. But no, people saw me instead and surely chuckled a bit at the sight of this overweight and out of shape person who probably owns a surfboard for sheer show.
The board was attached by means of a soft rack held together by nylon straps. The straps were tied together inside the car, protruding from the doors. At the beginning of the trip, Kat had exclaimed that thankfully it wasn't raining. I pondered on this statement and wondered what difference would it make. Well, I learned that because the straps were fitted through the rubber linings of the doors, that meant water could seep into it, negating the water-proof sealing of these. So imagine what a joy it was having to drive 100 kilometers in the rain. Water trickled through tiny openings on all 4 doors and droplets soon came in and dripped on the floor and the seat covers. Yay...
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Well, to summarize I did enjoy the whole trip. Never mind that I didn't get to ride a surfboard on one of the newer surfing spots of Luzon, I did get some running time in an entirely new place, and Kat did treat me to Razon's for the effort of containing displeasure from the rain inside the car. Maybe next time I could tag along again and go running somewhere else, or just get the chance to drive to God knows where. First things first, gotta have that tyre checked.
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Quick update, finally got the tyre replaced... long after it went pfft and I had to run it flat and obliterate the thing. At least it did see me home last night, thanks for that.
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