Some office mates (Leslie, Raine, Karen, Joset, JB, JC) and I headed over to Crystal Beach for a weekend surf. We were joined by Jimmy, Crissy, and family including Cassel. Jeanne was also supposed to join but she still had a slight fever from UTI the night before the trip so we decided she and Michelle won’t go. But she was really excited especially when she learned Cassel was going. While I was packing, she was also packing her little bag.
I left the house around 4AM Saturday morning and met up with the rest of the guys around 5PM at the first regroup point at Shell NLEX. I learned that Jimmy wasn’t able to get away from work so they will just catch up at Crystal Beach. Once everyone else were in, we had a quick breakfast at Jollibee before heading off.
JC, who was riding shotgun with me, and I did a little experiment and took the San Fernando route. The road was better than the last time I took the route but there were quite a few slow trucks. We ended up arriving last at the second regroup point at Subic. I guess SCTEX really is the way to go if you’re after saving time.
As soon as we arrived, we checked out the beach. The waves we’re huge! Definitely they were higher than I’ve ever seen them at Crystal Beach. We watched as the surfing instructors attempted to ride the waves with limited success. Giving up, they told us we’ll just head over to Pundaquit whenever we’re ready.
As it was close to lunch, we decided to eat and rest first. After that, we headed over to Pundaquit, San Antonio. It’s not the most convenient surfing spot. You have to drive quite a distance from the highway. Then you have park and walk the rest of the way. This includes crossing a small river before you get to the surf spot called Magic Left. Why it’s called Magic Left, we don’t know. Nor did anyone care to ask. All we cared about is the waves were looking less daunting and a little bit more rideable.
As there were limited boards and instructors, we split into two batches. I was in the first batch. We were just in time to catch a letup in the rain and a mellowing of the waves. Because of this we were able to catch and ride a few waves. The second batch wasn’t as fortunate, the rain came back stronger than ever and the waves went wild. Still, they were able to catch some waves. Everyone had fun.
After the great surfing session, we headed back to Crystal Beach where we showered, dinnered, and then it was drinking time. Karen and Joset had bought lemons and chips supposedly to go with tequila. However, I wasn’t able to get the tequila so we ended up with what’s available from the local store beer and some vodka mixes. We had quite a jolly discussion going on. But everyone was tired and soon hit the sack just around 10.
The next day, I got up early as I still have a kiddie birthday party to catch. I left for my solo drive around 7:30AM. It was raining hard especially at SCTEX and NLEX but I managed to get home around 11AM. A record 3.5 hours Zambales-to-Manila drive for me.
