BACON BEACH

Photo from: panoramio.com

The long stretch of fine black sand beach and clear blue waters is located in Caricaran, the Bacon District of Sorsogon City, just a 15-minute ride away from the center of the City. Along the shores are beachside cottages made from native materials that can be rented by beach-goers and picnickers. There are numerous beach resorts in the area. – philippinebeach.blogspot.com

Photo from: philippinebeach.blogspot.com

Photo from: wikipedia.org

My cousins and I grew up interchanging the name of Tolonggapo Beach from Bacon Beach. Twenty years back, there was only one Bacon Beach – Tolonggapo Beach, obviously, located near the center of the former town of Bacon. – at least, for those who didn’t grow near the coast of Bacon. But after noticing this traffic sign along the stretch of Magsaysay street, I had to correct myself.

When I was in high school, there was this beach that became popular. You have to turn left going to Brgy. San Juan. I am not sure if it’s what we call Libanon Beach. The waves are bigger, and the current is much more stronger. Furthermore, the sand is black. I did go back there when I was in college, and once 10 years ago. It wasn’t fully developed still, and the original foot trail (you have to go down from the road) was hard to find.

The other Bacon Beach that I went to was in Pagol Beach. This is farther away from Tolonggapo Beach, perhaps another 45 minutes (I remember the travel time when the asphalted road was still full of moon-like potholes). Travelling to Pagol beach might be more comfy nowadays since the concrete road to Prieto Diaz had been completed. During that time, the said place didn’t have any huts or cottages for the visitors. I can’t remember the color of the sand, but definitely, it was unlike Tolonggapo’s.

Halabangbaybay also sounds familiar. I first heard about it when I was in High School, but I cannot remember where in Bacon it’s really located.

As far as I know, Buenavista is a barangay of the old town of Bacon, though, I also know that it’s a coastal area. So I wasn’t surprised that it has its own beach resort.

Lately, I have been hearing this Paguriran Beach near the border of Prieto Diaz and Bacon. They said, it looks like the Boracay of the early ’80s due to its white sand and pristine environment. But I haven’t been there yet.

For those who are interested to visit these beaches of Bacon, it’s easy to find pictures in the internet. – sorsogoncity.wordpress.com

Photo from: panoramio.com

Photo from: wikipedia.org

Friday, February 7, 2014

URBIZTONDO BEACH IN LA UNION

Surfing in La Union was said to be established in the late 70′s by a Japanese surfer named Aki Naga. By training local residents to surf, Naga was able to introduce the sport of surfing and provide the people in Urbiztondo a new sense of lifestyle. Slowly more and more locals are picking up the sport and eventually made the art of it something of their own, while quaint surf resorts and businesses opened on the side to tend to all of surfing’s patrons. Since then, the beach has blossomed into a full blown surfing destination welcoming both aspiring and advanced surfers from all over. Today, its popularity has skyrocketed to the point that international industry giant Billabong put up its very own surfing school led by the best La Union locals.

Since the days of the pioneering Japanese man, Urbiztondo has cemented its place as the surfing capital of the northern Philippines. Simply ask anyone in the city you know where he or she regularly surfs and I’m pretty sure you’ll be getting a consistent answer — San Juan, La Union. From a visitor’s point of view, I think the reason is quite simple. Urbiztondo is all about surfing and surfing here is a way of life. Here is where you’ll ride your first wave, here is where you’ll improve your wave riding and here is where you want to spend the rest of your surfing days with. It’s home. Locals, regulars, first-timers – you meet them at the lineup today and they’ll probably be back the next day. Or the next week. Or the next month. It doesn’t really matter, they’ll be back for sure. Back to the capital.

Now if you’re planning on taking a trip to Urbiztondo beach, you’ll need to remember that the best time to drop by are between the months of July to October and November to March. These months are considered the beach’s surfing season. Getting there is not a problem, easy as 1, 2, 3. So hurry up and pack your bags. You wouldn’t wanna miss out on one of the best surf spots in the Philippines.