Late entry: Lanuza

The fifth leg of the Philippine Surf Federation's year-long circuit hauled us back towards Surigao. This time, we landed at the airport and took a four-hour van ride to the seaside town of Lanuza.

Some things to note:

- There are no resorts in Lanuza so everyone stays with a family that is part of the homestay program. The PSF girls (and the Living Asia girls) were housed together in a lovely house. We had a balcony that overlooked the road and secretly renamed the place KPP (kappa pi pi -- you either get it or you dont).
- They make killer nipa wine and sell it for Php20!
- Their boulevard is loooooong! And the break goes from one end of it to the other. Bjornika and I were watching the comps one afternoon and inhaling the smell of the Jollibee truck that they drove over from Butuan just for the event. And we got to talking about what it would be like if there was a break in front of Roxas Blvd. You'd have clubs like "168 Mall Boardriders" and "The Baclaron Boys." (It was funnier when we were talking about it)
- This is going to be super vague but I had two really mind blowing conversations during this trip. One short one with Archie Martinez while we sat in the sun about happiness and surfing and skill. The other was with "kapatid" Ian Saguan at awarding night where he told me about his goals and we talked about the surf community. (Chie/Kap: I remember every word).


Two photos:


Argie "Bad Boy" Hugo tucks himself deep in a barrel.

And a few heats later finds himself at the receiving end of a huge winner's check... with floral head dress, flowing Red Horse, 540 gear and all.


Birang-bira! Congrats Bad Boy!

More photos are up on my galleries. :)

Props to the Almost Famous peeps, the Philippine Longboarding Club, Erik Liongoren for loaning the lens, Albert Labrador for the manual focus tutorials, Pao for the tripod, Sly for the dry bag, Tor for the coffee, the Balconaje Diary Girls of KPP for the late night chika sessions, Red Horse for the buzz, everyone we hung out with who was super chill and of course to all the local surfers that ripped and shredded.

Life in a hammock

Some time last month I was in Catanduanes. And when I got back, I didnt really have the time to blog about it. So now that I do have time (sort of), I dont know exactly what I want to say anymore. Haha.


Life in hammocks. Lui, Pat and me.

Instead, here are some random thoughts:

- three hammocks on the porch with me, Lui and Pat enjoying an afternoon siesta.
- having eight guys tell me that "ang ganda mo" five minutes after I put my bags down ... largely because there were no girls for them to hit on while we were there.
- a family style belated happy birthday dinner for Zaldy
- watching Martin Taniegra, a local hero and surf legend, come home to win the competition
- dancing on the sand under strings of flashy neon lights to really bad disco songs... and loving it
- waking up at 4am because the hammock was drenched by a sudden downpour
- singing with Pat and Cris
- chillaxing while the Siargao and Baler boys played a crazy game of patintero on the beach
- making impromptu water housing for my camera alongside Pat
- the view from "Olin's Tower"
- waking up every day knowing I was going to be watching some of the best surfers in the country paddling out at one of the best waves in the country.
- the birth of the "Almost Famous" surf tour analogy
- 'abusing' our grommet Hawaiian Mic
- bathing with a view of the bukid
- the Siargao boys deciding to take off early... which led to some really emotional grup hugs and goodbyes.



Yok and Dodo, grinning in the sun. Also know as "damn those tans!"

Heehee!

Taking a short break from travel posts to share one of the funniest websites I've come across. I first saw this website featured on a late night talk show. And kind of forgot about it til today when my officemates and I were, basically, not working. Haha.

Waste of internet space or oddly enriching to one's soul? You decide. And then let me know. So, without any further commentary I give you:

Crying While Eating