The Donavon Weekend. Sanuk's Opening Act.

Incredi-weekend. Glassy 3-4 foot right-handers, solid morning sessions, non-stop sunshine, the Donavon show on the beach, cold beer, random laughter, photos galore... good vibes all around. Love these trips where I not only get to hang out with old friends but meet new ones as well. ♥

It started on a Thursday afternoon when - through the kindness of Vangie and Ruby - I was given one-on-one time to interview Donavon Frankenreiter. See, I have been a fan of both his music and his philosophies on surfing/life since before I even learned to make the drop. So that afternoon? A good 10 years in the making. Brought Elaine with me so she could interview as well and we could maximize exposure for Sanuk. :) A few hours later, Donavon and Matt played at Gweilo's where good vibes and smiles were aplenty... and I won a pair of Sanuks! :D Just in time for my baby bro's birthday too!

Then it was off to El Yu at midnight on Friday. Left at midnight, arrived at 430am. Slept at 5, was putting sunblock on at 6:30. In the water by 7:30. Suffice it to say that it was three hours of super stoke -- friends in the line-up, 4 foot glassy peelers, sunshine, no jellyfish. The afternoon was filled with the costume surf contest, a lot of hanging out and prepping for the evening's concert... which by the way was likely the most amazing thing to happen for many a sexy surf beastie in the country.

Sunday: three hours at the Point, then got hit by the lazy stick and just hung out most of the afternoon with various peeps, using Kahuna's wifi to live Tweet photos.

On the road by 10pm and in Manila by 4am.

Long Weekend in Baler: End of August 2011

Started the long weekend with quiz at Pivo where we once again dominated the rounds. :) Good job to our very own Rainman - Vincenzo Giorgo Armommy Tagle. Then went to Senator's house to wait for everyone to trickle in so we could be on our way to Baler for the next two and a half days.

Baler was... amazing. In sunshine, in rain, in glassy conditions and horrifying close-outs... for some reason, Baler always finds a way to be good to me. And I would like to think that Baler was good to first-timers Jako and Will as well.

We surfed mostly at the beachie and once in Lobbot with waves varying from head high close outs to waist high peelers. The weather went from overcast to sunny to sunny but drizzling. Scored my personal best rides during the Sunday afternoon session -- clean drops on waist high left-handers with green walls just peeling down the line. Gill was able to stand on Pandora, Will and Jako were able to get waves and Senator was dominating on his 9'6. :) Stoke for everyone.

Hidden in between surf sessions (and sometimes during) were moments, hirits, conversations and jokes that I'm not likely to forget and I pray I never take for granted.

Ended the weekend with Casa Nami sing-along night -- sunkissed, stoked, kinda tired but ready to rock it out in celebration of Gill's last hosting night.

Philippines Yearbook 2008: San Juan, La Union

This is an intro to the article I did for the Philippines Yearbook 2008 whose theme for the year is Travel and Adventure. Filled with informative activities throughout this awesome archipelago, supported by excellent photography from some of the country's best, the book as a whole is an excellent addition to any bookshelf. It makes a great gift as well.

LONGBOARDING IN LA UNION
Text and photos: Kage Gozun

San Juan, La Union is in the Ilocos Region. La Union itself is considered to be one of the gateway provinces that connect Southern Luzon to the Northern provinces. It is bordered to the north by Ilocos Sur and to the south by Pangasinan. Its eastern border is Benguent province and to the west is the South China Sea.

Surfing came relatively early to San Juan and in the last decade alone, a growing surf industry has been witnessed along the stretch beach in the town of Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union. Most, if not all, of the residents living along this short strip of beach are part of the local surf community. Each household will have at least one member who surfs, teaches surfing or is a good friend of a surfer.

The laidback vibe has also attracted its fair share of foreigners, mostly of Japanese and Australian persuasion. Some have been living in town for over two decades and are considered as locals in the community.

A combination of an established surf industry and its accessibility from Manila has created one of the most tourist-friendly surf spots in Northern Luzon. Most would-be surfers choose travel to Urbiztondo simply because of the ready availability of boards, specifically longboards, for rent and instructors for hire. Beginners hooked on the sport but have no personal boards can easily rent one for the weekend.

The influx of beginners and students has also allowed for a longboarding culture to sprout in the water. Most of the local La Union surfers are equally adept at handling longboards as well as shortboards. It is not uncommon to find an equal amount of longboards and shortboards being ridden on any given day. Longboarding is in fact more commonly seen in La Union when compared to the other breaks nearby. In fact, the local La Union surfers have sort of a reputation for dominating longboard-related competitions and contests. And come the weekend, as more Manila longboarders pour out of cars and buses, expect to see more longboards sitting outside in the line-up.

Throughout the season, surf competitions are often held for both longboarders and shortboarders. But it is the annual international longboarding contest held town at the start of year that is the longest-running. . Run by long-term foreign residents in cooperation with the La Union Surf Club, the year 2008 will mark its tenth year in existence. The event is open to all people and has attracted its fair share of loyal followers who arrive each year to join the friendly competition.

For the rest of this... you'll have to buy the book.
For the rest of this, please go out and get yourself a copy of the yearbook. National Bookstore retails the yearbook for around Php1,800. Support your local travel writers and photographers!

Baler Summer Longboard Jam

Congratulations to ASRAI for the success of their very first longboard competition! Most of my photos are already up on my multiply site. The shortlist will be uploaded to my pbase galleries. (Mahdam and Kidlat - use whatever you want for your blogs.)

We all went up for a weekend of surfing, good vibes and magical Baler aura. On a personal note, I actually joined this comp because I figured it was a zero pressure situation -- first, it was a longboard comp and everyone knows I dont really know how to use longboard and second, I had zero expectations for myself. All I knew was that I wanted to get at least one wave during my heat. I cant help it, the competitive side of me just doesn't go to sleep I think.

I had a full day to get used to using a longboard and paddling for the super baby waves. First I used Aya's 540 Surf Buffalo board but come Sunday, it was decided that I was better off using Philip's 9'1 Southpoint.














My heat had Daisy, Elaine, and Jovin in it. And true enough, it was super fun and super zero stress. In fact, I was so stoked from that heat that I decided after this trip to seriously consider getting a longboard to widen my "quiver." (Addendum: I did buy a longboard a few weeks later. A 9'1 Southpoint we're currently calling Dagat because it seems like a suitable name for him)

The one thing wrong with this trip? We didnt get to eat at Gerry Shan's. :( Haaay. No mapo tofu, no sweet & sour fish, no buttered chicken. Sadness. BUT! We had Bay's Inn Onion Rings so I guess that makes it a little bit better.

Anyway, the results from the comp are as follows:

Men's Invitational:
Champion: Ian Saguan
1st Runner Up: Moro Gandawali
2nd runner up: Chris Par

3rd runner-up: Ronnie " Poks" Esquivel

Men's Open:
Champion: Okoy Rojo

1st Runner-up: Jefferson dela torre (AU)

2nd runner up: Allen De Vera (AU)

3rd runner up: Edmund mendoza (AU)

Wahine:













Champion: Daisy Valdez (LU)
1st Runner-up: Menchie Espenilla ( LU)
2nd runner-up: Marie Aquino (LU)
3rd Runner-up: Aubrey Namoro (AU)

Grommet:
Champion: Marvin Abat (LU)
1st Runner-up : Jefferey Esquivel ( LU)
2nd runner-up: Robin Dela Torre ( AU)
3rd Runner-up: Wilson Faraon ( AU)

Sunday Sessions in Ter's Front Yard

It was the second day of Rimat Ti Amianan. But since I hadn't surfed all weekend (and some of my friends wanted lessons), Moro and I followed Aya, Philip, Nicola, Ter and the Gabs to a supposedly secret spot.

Well, it's not a super secret but to respect the local boys who call this their "backyard" I am not going to say where we were. Ter calls it the Front Yard. I called it Yeah, Yeah Piggery. Someone else likes to call it Boracay Station 7. What do the locals call it? That's the secret part. ;-)

Suffice it to say we had a great day of sunshine, surf and good vibes. Dont believe me? Check this out then photos

What's On: Expat article

As published in an edition of What's On: Expat (November 2006)

For photos please go to this gallery.

SURFING LA UNION

La Union's Surfing Break, spearheaded by The Dept of Tourism Region 1 Office and The Provincial Government of La Union in cooperation with Power Up and the La Union Surf Club was billed as a four-day pre-Halloween surf camp. On the schedule for the long weekend were surf lessons handled by the local surfers of La Union, frisbee clinics courtesy of the Philippine Ultimate Association and wall-climbing basics brought to the beach by Power Up. Thrown in just for the fun of it was a speed climbing exhibition and an all-locals surf competition. All backed by the ska and reggae tunes of various bands, top-billed by Coffeebreak Island.

For regular La Union weekend warriors, such as myself, it sounded like a circus was about to roll through their favorite surf getaway. Suspicions ran high that there was going to be a crowd. The cordoned-off Tent City set up along the beach may have been the first clue as to how many people had truly shown up to take part of the event. The rare sight of concession stalls selling everything from bikinis to cold beers was likely the second indication. And for the truly dense, the two hundred beginners that had signed up for the first batch of lessons on Saturday sealed the deal.

La Union locals took turns teaching half-hour sessions that covered the basics in board safety, paddling and popping up. Starting on the beach, amped beginners learned about the proper stance and position before heading out to the water to try it out "for real."

As luck would have it, the waves had picked up in size and the current was stronger than usual. But it didn't seem to matter to the students as they got their first taste of surfing's elusive stoke. Meanwhile, beachgoers ran up and down a bordered area set aside specifically for the Frisbee enthusiasts. And further up the shoreline, eye-catching in its 20 foot glory, stood the Power Up climbing wall, already dotted with climbers and would-be climbers alike.

With all this activity going on, it seemed only fit to pop a cold beer, sit on the beach with some friends and let it all buzz around us.

The second day of the event was just as alive as the first. A seemingly endless amount of energy was pouring forth from participants and organizers alike. Beginners were given the beach to themselves as more advanced waveriders took cars and jeeps out to other surf spots. Not even the prospect of the oncoming typhoon could dampen the rising spirits of the crowd.

Forces of nature are stronger than sheer good vibes and along with the darkening Sunday sky came the first signs of rain. The scheduled Battle of the Bands was postponed due to the inclement weather and the Power Up team took down the climbing wall to reduce the risk of having a Milenyo-esque accident happen.

Typhoon Paeng rolled through La Union at about 3am. People woke up to a slate gray, overcast and chilly day. A decision was made to hold off the last of the surf clinics until the weather got better later on in the day. Freed from their coaching duties, the local boys took to the water to get in precious practice time in preparation for their competition the next day. Huddled under hoodies and sipping hot coffee, their students watched in frank admiration of true surfing skill.

After lunch, the first rays of sun began to break though the canopy of clouds. The current calmed down enough to resume the last batch of lessons. Impromptu frisbee teams were created for a fun game and the ever-intrepid wall climbers began re-assembling the Power Up wall.

The high point of the day came when the sun went down… and the bands set up at Sebay Resort for the ska and reggae party. Headlining the night's party was Coffeebreak Island, who played to a crowd of thrumming and thumping bodies all ready to let loose and have fun.

Tuesday was slow in coming. It was as though it knew that it marked the end of the La Union Surfing Break. Come that evening, bags would be packed, cars loaded, buses boarded… all bound for Manila again.

But before the sad business of ending a great surf weekend, there was the spectacle of witnessing great surfing. Grommets on shortboards paddled into head-high waves, all vying for that champion's trophy and bragging right. Next came the big boys and girls of La Union. The Men's Open Longboard and the Wahine Longboard divisions showed the grommets what levels of surfing they should aspire for. Saving the best for last, La Union Surf Club showcased their seeded surfers in both long and shortboard divisions in a friendly expression session.

It was a fitting end for a weekend that was mellow yet slightly frenetic. It was the kind of weekend that leaves you tired but wanting more. A feeling long time surfers have grown accustomed to and one that will soon become familiar to the newly baptized brethren of wave riders.

SIDEBAR:

Where: Urbiztondo, San Juan is the best place to head to for a weekend of surfing.

How: Buses leave for La Union on an almost hourly basis. The most popular of which is Partas. Get on a bus heading towards Laoag and get down at San Fernando, La Union. Alternately, you can cut some time off your travels by telling the conductor to let you off in front of Sebay Resort.

Driving up is another option. With the expansion of the North Luzon Expressway, the trip can be done in 5 hours.

Learn: Lessons can be booked through the various resorts and as well as through the La Union Surf Club. In Manila, boards and lessons can be booked through Fiveforty Surf Company.

Stay: There are several surf camps and resorts that line the stretch in front of Urbiztondo's beach break. Among the most popular are San Juan Surf Resort (Google-able) Hacienda Resort (no reservations, first come, first served) and Surfers Inn (mobile: 09285588265).