la union

Who goes to San Juan, La Union and does not surf? I did... and what a mistake that was!

This was a spontaneous trip, one that wasn't planned on my part. J went to La Union for work and I followed a few days later. It was a grueling 7-hour bus ride from Manila to San Juan, La Union but the sea took away my tiredness as soon as I saw it.

We were there for the Soul Surf (2013) event. It had all the elements that epic sem breaks are made of but not one that particularly appealed to my age group. Nonetheless, the beach was there and that was more than enough. While J worked, I engaged in another favorite pastime, people watching. This I did with music from The Cure playing in the background while I sipped a yogurt smoothie. This is how I knew that I was in the right place at the right time, that nothing could possibly go wrong. Everything was all right in the universe.

I watched surfers and skimboarders as they waited for the right time and eventually rode the waves. It looked so much fun and something I think I would really have enjoyed had I been prepared.

And there were people just like me, lounging by the shore, lost in conversations or in a sea of their own thoughts.

And there were couples that reminded me that love is indeed all around.

The following afternoon, we were treated to a most beautiful sunset.

We also checked out the bands but left soon after deciding we would rather conserve our energy for the long drive back to Manila the following day.

When we went back to the beach the following morning, it made me really sad that people partied carelessly. There were too many cigarette butts, too many plastic cups, bottles of alcoholic beverages and other trash littered on the shore. It was disheartening.

But then, I saw this...

... and hoped that one of these days, those who partied the night before would come to realize that the beach wouldn't be a place we'd feel lucky enough to be in if it weren't clean anymore.

As luck would have it, we were there early to catch the surfing competition. I know nothing about surfing but it felt amazing watching people ride wave after wave. That was the most amazing way to cap our La Union trip.

San Juan, La Union.
October 24, 2013