Behold The Surfing Capital Of The North! | San Juan, La Union Philippines

No, it's not Baler! Yeahh, that's what I thought, too.  But you know, summer's not over yet. Sooo, presto! Let me put on the line what San Juan, La Union can offer. 

Historically, La Unión is a Spanish term for The Union. It is called that way because during the Spanish Era, the Gobernador Heneral initiated to fuse Pangasinan-Cordillera-Ilocos area into La Union. This fun-filled province is just 6-7 hours away from Metro Manila. The most famous town is Urbiztondo where surfers, be it newbie or pro flock together and ride the swift waves from the South China Sea.

As you set foot on the sand by the beach, you will feel the tropical, warm and happy vibes all around. You'll see tourists playing volleyball, catching frisbee or eating along the beach. They're all laughing and chit chatting to catch up with friends. Everybody's smiling and delighted about their vacation.

Beach volleyball, amigos?

Since La Union claims that they are the surfing capital of the North, most of the people go here to learn how to surf, of course. That's why there's loads of  surfing schools in the vicinity. Their fee starts from 400 pesos per hour. If you have a talent then you can go haggle down with the locals to lower the fee. My friends were able to haggle it down to 350 pesos. Perfecto!

One of the many surfing schools along the beach 

Once the fees are settled down, you will be asked by the skilled Surfing Master to gather around for the lesson. He will show the step by step procedure on how to surf as a beginner. He will also demonstrate the right position and posture from being down on the surf board to standing up and how to brace yourself from the raging waves, as well as the scenarios you might encounter while on board and the possible solutions on how to get out of it. The lesson will just be short because most of the time you will be on the water practicing what the Master have taught you to do. If you're a group, don't worry because the Surfing Master will have other assistants to take care of all the student surfers. Each student will have their own guide supposing you need them, you have a dedicated person to call for HELP! Hahaha Just in case you're drowning or when your feet cramps. You'll never know, right? 😉

Few people left on the shore because most of 'em are on the water

If you got tired, you can just lie down on the sand and watch the stunning cold waves come into your feet while waiting for the marvelous sunset of the renowned San Juan Beach. Its actually the best time for you to mingle with your kids (if you have one! 👦👧) play on the sand, build a castle or just simply run around and have fun! Fun! Fun! til the sun sets. 

You won't indeed recognize San Juan at night. Most of the establishments are closed in the morning. However, when the night comes, all the restaurants are all light up and you'll see the menu stationed on the road. You'll smell the aroma of the food being cooked from one resto to another. Lots of people roaming around to look for the best place to spend the time with a cold beer. Woohoo! Yes to summer! 

So, we saw this small restaurant on the side of the road where people are willing to wait on the line for their orders. It's called TAGPUAN which means RENDEZVOUS in English. If you see something like this, you know that they are cooking something really good in this place. Due to curiosity, we checked their menu its a tad bit pricey but we still tried.They offer Asian cuisine so we ordered Bagnet (deep fried crispy pork cuts), Tokwa't Baboy (pork with Tofu topped with scallions and onion), Beef Pares (soft beef strips slow cooked in sweet brown sauce) and Arrozcaldo (Rice porridge with egg and chicken parts)  After about 30 long minutes of waiting we finally got our orders. It's actually appetizing just by looking at it. It's definitely tasty but salty.  Well, we still ate everything because we're super hungry and of course, it's somewhat expensive compared to other restos. 

To sum it all up, I was really, really, really pleased with our stay in La Union. All the people are ecstatic, upbeat and thrilled because of the ambiance living in a neighborhood that's full of vacation feels. Its like summer all year round in here. No ifs ands or buts we will absolutely go back here and ride the waves soon. Adios amigos!