Baler
Where Spanish Soldiers Held A Church For 337 Days After The War Ended, And Where Apocalypse Now Left The Surfboards That Started Philippine Surfing · Baler, Aurora
TWO UNLIKELY THINGS HAPPENED IN BALER. IN JUNE 1898 A SPANISH GARRISON BARRICADED ITSELF IN THE CHURCH OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND HELD OUT FOR THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN DAYS - through the end of the war, through Spain ceding the Philippines entirely, refusing to believe the news because they assumed it was a trick. They finally surrendered in June 1899 and went home as heroes, remembered in Spain as the Last of the Philippines. AND IN 1976 THE APOCALYPSE NOW PRODUCTION FILMED ITS SURFING SCENE AT CHARLIE'S POINT ON BALER BAY AND LEFT THE BOARDS BEHIND, which is how surfing started in this country. LOCAL PEOPLE PICKED THEM UP AND TAUGHT THEMSELVES. Baler is now a weekend surf town five to six hours from Manila, with forgiving beach breaks at Sabang and a road in that slides. The church is still an active parish, free and open, and standing in it with the siege in mind is the best ten minutes in town; the Museo de Baler closes on Mondays.
Baler, Aurora, Central Luzon, Baler, Aurora, Philippines
BALER IS ROUGHLY FIVE TO SIX HOURS FROM MANILA by bus, on a mountain road through the SIERRA MADRE THAT IS PRONE TO LANDSLIDES in heavy rain - there is a small airport with very limited service. THERE IS NO GATE ANYWHERE; the town is covered by tricycle. THE CHURCH OF SAN LUIS OBISPO is an active parish, open and free, with a small museum nearby; THE MUSEO DE BALER keeps daytime hours and CLOSES ON MONDAYS. SURF LESSONS AND BOARD HIRE ARE ARRANGED ON SABANG BEACH, which is a FORGIVING BEACH BREAK suited to beginners; the bigger swell is roughly OCTOBER TO FEBRUARY, which is also when the weather is worst. DITUMABO FALLS is a walk of about forty-five minutes upriver. WEEKENDS ARE BUSY with Manila visitors.