Pundaquit Falls and Weekend Tales of a Wandering Soul

It started out as a story-telling of a funny cartoon I saw over the internet, which I told Peter one morning when he drove me off to work. This story is something which I can very much relate with coz it has a sensible message to it. So I shared it with Peter that fateful morning. It goes like this:

"There's this balut that was accidentally thrown with the rest of the penoys. As time passed by, he kept on wondering why he always feels different from his friends and peers to think that he looks exactly like everyone else.. He tried his best to fit in, to do what they do, play what they play, but there's always this uneasiness and restlessness inside of him that he can't place. He feels like he's destined to do other things. Things which are very much different from how his friends live their lives. Then one day, he began to crack... and he realized that all this time, he wasn't a chick after all. Duck pala siya. I feel the same way. Baby,balut yata ako..."

After a dramatic pause, waiting for Peter to say something profound, he burst into fits of laughter! He found my story soooo funny to think that I wasn't even making patawiwi (patawa). And he said: "Awwww baby, you're my patoling (duckling)." And I joined him in his laughter. Anyway, I'm sure you get the point of the balut-penoy story. And since then, Peter calls me his patoling, if only to make me laugh. And what do you know... while I was fixing my pictures for my next supposed blog post, I found a video of myself looking and acting like a duckling. This was taken during the Zambapalooza with Brownman Revival (BMR) last August 2006, when I jumped off the Pundaquit falls, followed by most of the other band members. It's been an hour since Jao (BMR's bass guitarist) swore he'd jump off the damned thing. I got impatient that I went up to the cliff myself to show him how easy it was. But I got scared when I reached the top coz the cliff had very rocky edges. But it was then or never. And when I finally jumped, the whole band, locals included, couldn't contain their excited glee! See and hear for yourself... 

Capones Island, Zambales

WE ALL FEEL THE HEAT WAVE EVERYDAY. AND IT IS GETTING QUITE UNCOMFORTABLE, ACTUALLY. GLOBAL WARMING OR NOT, SUMMER IS DEFINITELY HERE TO STAY. WHAT BETTER WAY TO COOL OFF THAN TO SPEND IT OUT OF TOWN, PREFERABLY BY THE BEACH AND JUST SUNBATHE AND FROLICK THE SUMMER DAYS AWAY…

Just don't forget your hat, shades and SPF70 lotion and you're ready to conquer this scorching heat. Consider some of my suggestions for places to spend your summer vacation…

 ~~~oOo~~~

 

We miss surfing so much! But because it's been hectic at work, we couldn't find the time to visit La Union. Then I thought, how about Zambales? So I texted my friends and luckily, 2 joined us --- Ella and Odhe and my brother Mac as well. We met up at 7-11 (our usual meeting place for our trips) near Quezon Ave. MRT. By 4:30am, we were off to Pundaquit. It was almost twilight when we hit the North Expressway. So the fog at that time wasn't that unusual. However, around 6 am, as we were approaching Subic, we noticed that the thick fog was still surrounding not only the farm lands but the main road too! We even turned our fog lights on just to be on the safe side. It was pretty peculiar and creepy at the same time. More like a venture into the Lord-of-the-Rings scene if I may say so.

Zambapalooza with Brownman Revival

How was your long weekend? Were you able to do the things you've been wanting to do but just didn't have the time? I hope so.

As for me, the break wasn't as relaxing as I imagined it would be. I even ended up having a terrible body ache after 3 days and 2 nights of extreme adventure which I haven't experienced in a loooong while. But I'm not complaining... 

After 3 and a half hours of travel from Manila via the North Expressway, we finally arrived at Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales a little before 9 am. We rented an aircon room at Megan's Resort (P1440/night for 3 pax) and didn't waste time exploring the beach, checking out the gorgeous surfers and signing up for a free surfing clinic. 
 

After the competition, Zambales and Manila Surfers had a tug-of-war competition. Too bad for us Manileños, Zambales surfers won. I also noticed that there were several soldiers in the area, probably to ward off local NPAs. I took that chance to have my picture taken with them. Hehehe. Afterwards, I did some skim boarding by the beach. It was perfect! Way off better for this kind of sport than that of La Union. And I really had so much fun!                                                                          

On our first night, after having dinner and playing some videoke, despite the drizzle, we went to a nearby resort where three bands were going to play including Brownman Revival (BMR). There were also some fire stunts performed by fellow surfers. Unfortunately, after the 2nd band, the drizzle turned into full blown rain and due to previous electrocution (don't worry, he's fine now) of the first band's vocalist, the organizers cancelled the last band and decided for BMR to play the following night instead. Thus, we stayed another night. Besides, there were news of flood in Pampanga which made it difficult for us to travel back home. Therefore, to the delight of most of my friends, we stayed. Yipee!