The long weekend that was (from Baler to Bataan)

If you're a working girl just like me, then the announcements of long weekends are like music to the ears. Pleasant and lovely. Of course, the next question that comes to my mind is, "How am I going to spend it?" Some days I am a homebody but this specific holiday is extra special. Thank heavens that the boyfriend's family invited me to their summer getaway. I must say it was, by far, my most jam-packed long weekend ever. 😂 It was a back-to-back Baler and Bataan weekend. I'll share with you my takes in visiting these two B's.

BALER

From Baguio, it is roughly 6-7 hours depending on the number of stopovers you will have. In our case, we left Baguio at around 4:30AM and we arrived in Baler at around 12:30PM because we had several stopovers and it is the first time for everyone to drive going there. If you are coming from Manila on the other hand, based on Google Maps, it will take about 5-6 hours to get there. The assumption is you are riding a private vehicle but there are also public transportation available to get you to the place. Mind you, the roads going to Baler is twice as winding as that of Baguio. After Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija, we started crossing the mountains. So make sure to drink medicines to cure the biyahilo in you.

The best thing in going to the province - abundance of greens and presence of fresh air.

View en route to Baler.

We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights at the Baler Beachfront House. You can check the link for the price and photos of the place. It is good for big groups since it is a two-storey house with four bedrooms on the ground floor and an attic on the second floor. Our group consists of 17 adults  and 3 toddlers but I think the house can fit in at most 25 pax. That's how spacious it is! Here are my other YAYs and NAYs in our stay here:

YAY

1. It has swimming pool
2. It has three restrooms (only two have a complete set of functioning shower and comfort rooms) 
3. It has wi-fi connection (slow but hey, it also meant more time for chatting and bonding 😎)
4. It has ample space for car parking
5. It is pet friendly
6. They have a videoke machine you can use for free anytime of the day
7. The house is situated in the shore of Sabang beach for those who wanted to learn surfing
8. It is relatively near to the market, party places and other tourist attractions in Baler (30-45 minutes drive).

NAY

1. Water supply tend to be very limited in the morning. Good thing that there is a shower room near the pool area (which is also where the caretaker resides) we have another option for taking a bath.
2. First time ever in my out of town trips did I experience a power interruption because of line maintenance. It lasted from 7AM to around 7PM if I remember it correctly. Brownout during summer is definitely a bad combination. The caretaker was able to open the generator set only at around 6PM.
3. The electric fans provided does not ease the humidity. I think it's time to retire it. Mas malakas pa yata yung pagpaypay ko dun, beshie!

As you can see it is mostly YAY because I'm the type of person who is not very particular in the accommodation whenever I go on a trip. My only pet peeve I guess is the comfort room; if it is decent, then we are good.

Although Baler is well known for its big waves perfect for surfing, non-surfers like me need not to fret because there are still other places you can explore. Here it goes:

View in front of Baler Beachfront House - Sabang beach.

Millennium tree at the Balete Park.

En route to Ditumabo Falls. Entrance fee to the falls is P30.

Ditumabo Falls - The Mother Falls of San Luis, Aurora. It has crystal clear and very cold water.

Dicasalarin Cove.

It is a beach resort owned by the Angara's. It only offers day tour from 8AM to 5PM. For overnight accommodations, they also own Costa Pacifica Resort which is also near Sabang beach. If you are staying at Costa, the entrance fee to the cove is only P100 but for outsiders it is P300.

The road to Dicasalarin Cove is also through the mountains.

It offers a beachfront with much finer sand, a lighthouse in a cliff that people can climb, and a relaxing ambiance. What I didn't like though was their dirty shower areas, not worth it for the entrance fee of P300. They also have a restaurant but expect that the rates are higher than outside the resort.

Situated in the same road going to Dicasalarin is Diguisit Beach.

Digusit is famous for its rock formations. The part of the hill where this beach front is located is landslide prone which led me to thinking that this is how the rock formations came to take place - sounds logical right?

Baler Hanging Bridge. There are also a number of tiangge in the area where tourists can buy pasalubong. There are no fees in crossing it but there is a donation box at the foot of the bridge.

It's amazing how in every province or even up to the smallest possible corners of the Philippines, we have a beautiful treasure to discover. It was a humbling experience to be able to get a taste and feel of Baler in a gist. I'm sure if the opportunity knocks the second time, we will unlock more beautiful places and also learn their customs and traditions.

BATAAN

On the last day of the long weekend, we went for a day tour at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar situated in Bagac, Bataan. The name of the place is in Spanish which meant The Philippine Houses of Acuzar when translated in English. Don Jose Acuzar collected heritage houses and transferred it piece by piece to Bataan. It sounded ridiculous to me at first but seeing and having a feel of the houses from the inside, I readily believed that it is really transported as is. But of course, the finishing touches of the houses must've been new. 

There is a continuous effort to expand and construct more houses in the area.

The fee for the day tour is P1500. It includes the heritage tour, a bottled water and damp cloth to help ease the hot weather.

The tours start at 8:30AM for every one hour interval up to 4:30PM.

Some houses function as hotels while others are only for viewing. You can return to the houses after the tour which lasts for up to 2 hours but on some units, you can only go inside with a guide.

This is the start of the tour. Our assigned guide, Cate, is very well versed and jolly. She made the trip enjoyable despite the scorching heat.

Every casa  has a story to tell. 

Looks familiar? One of the most famous scene from the movie "Heneral Luna" was shot here. 👌 Can you guess which part?

They also have a church inside the premise. Masses are held every Sunday according to the guide.

Casa Hagonoy - the house which was rebuilt using 90% of its original parts.

My love.

#IsMartGoals
The place is a good venue for prenup photo shoots but this is just a close attempt. You can call Las Casas' office to inquire on the rates.

The place is very beautiful, well-maintained and classic. Some of the houses I went into made me feel cozy while the others sent a quiver or a bit of sadness. I start to question the quality of life they have during the 1800s to 1900s or if the original owners lived happily in their homes. If you want to relive the olden times then this a place to be. Just be prepared to shell out a significant amount of money and be sure to roam around the whole area to compensate for what you paid for. Thinking about it, a house is really expensive to maintain right?

Some additional tips for you goers:

• Make sure to eat a lot before going in or else you will pay P90 for 10 pcs of kikiam as a snack because they don't allow outside food to be brought inside. Imagine the rates for full meals.

• Wear comfortable footwear. Las Casas has cobblestone pavements which makes walking a bit of a challenge. Also, for every houses that you will visit, you will need to take off your footwear so you might want to just wear sandals or loafers.

• Bring a change of clothes, towels and umbrellas. They don't have pathways so the walk from one house to another is literally under the sun. 

• Don't forget to bring your camera so you could take hundreds of photos!

So that's how I was able to spend my long weekend. How about yours? Remember that it doesn't always follow that every holiday/long weekend needs to be spent outside of our homes. What is more important is that we are able to relax and recharge away from the hustle and bustle of our work.