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.
- Text and photos above are from: http://lokalsoul.com
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Photo from: http://inflight.ph
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