Baler

Our latest adventure took us to the town of Baler, a surfing hangout northeast of here on the Pacific Coast.  It also neighbors the town I lived in during my second year in Peace Corps in 1978/79.  I've been anxious to get back there to see how things have changed.

Although Baler is only about 150 miles away, you have to pass through the Sierra Madre mountain range to get there.  The area is rather remote and very rural.  It takes about 5 - 6 hours to get there, but that's about half what it used to take me in the 70's.  The road zig zags through the mountains, but its now paved and has two lanes.  That's a big improvement!

The town of Baler is on the coast.  During the 70's, it was just starting to become known as a place for surfers.  Now that it's easier to get there, development along the beach front has grown tremendously and there are lots of tourists.  I never used to see that.  And there's electricity, another big change from the old days!

Surfing lessons are popular and only cost about $8 an hour.  Both Tony and I tried it out and had a great time.  I thought it was a perfect way to thumb my nose at the fact that I'll soon be eligible for Social Security!

Maria Aurora is the town I used to live in and is just a few miles inland from Baler.  We visited one afternoon stopping by city hall, the street where I used to live and driving around town.  The streets are all paved now, and there are certainly more people, but the town still retains its very rural character and hasn't changed all that much.  I didn't find anyone I knew, but was able to learn about several of the people I used to work with pulling up some great memories.  Tony called it my "Fried Green Tomatoes" afternoon.

  

 For more photos of Baler, CLICK HERE.

Tagaytay House

Tagaytay is a city about 40 miles southwest of Manila.  Overlooking Lake Taal and the Taal Volcano, it sits about 2000 feet above sea level and is cooler and breezier.  Its one of the most popular weekend getaway locations for people from metro Manila.



Tagaytay is also home to a house Tony's family has had for quite some time.  Not so long ago, it was used regularly by his mom, but it sat largely unused for several years.  We've slowly been renovating and fixing things to make it more livable, and now that the bedrooms and bathrooms are done, we've started going back and forth more often to spend time there.  During weekdays when there's no traffic, it takes us an hour and a quarter to get there.  Weekends can be double or triple that, so we avoid going up then.

The house has 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, a large open area on the first floor and a loft running the length of the building on the 2nd floor.  It has patios on both ends of the loft, and a large brick patio on the ground floor.  The development includes only about a dozen homes, and has a swimming pool available to everyone.  The landscaping is maintained by the development and is beautiful.

The city of Tagaytay is spread out along the southern ridge of an ancient caldera containing a large lake.  An active volcano sits in the middle of the lake, and the views along the ridge are spectacular.  Although it hasn't erupted in about 40 years, the volcano is considered the second most active in the country.  In recent years, there have been small seismic earthquakes and temperature increases in the lake water, but the activity has died down.  So in addition to floods, typhoons and earthquakes, we get to be alert for volcanic activity.  At least we don't have to worry about ice storms and blizzards!

CLICK HERE for more photos of the Tagaytay House