Aurora Beckons! Surfing paradise fronting the Pacific Ocean. Off the beaten track crossing the Sierra Madre Mountain range. Unpaved mountain road leading to Baler with 3,000 curves. As of January 2008 the road leading to Baler from Bongabon is well graded and is now relatively easy to travel. Only a few short distances have off-road challenges that any vehicle can take. The wooden bridge over a river is still there and looks stable enough.
Find your way to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija and head towards Palayan City. From here its 6 kms to Bongabon. And from Bongabon to San Luis,crossing the Sierra Madre is 72 kilometers. From San Luis to Baler its 8 kms. More or less about a 250 kilometer stretch from Manila. From Manila it takes about 6 hours thereabouts.
Take a rest in one of the resorts at Barangay Sabang in Baler. Look for Barangay Sabang where the resorts are located. Bays Inn is where the surfers take off to do their thing. The food here is not bad but the resto closes its kitchen at 8 pm. A much quieter setting is the Bahia de Baler,a 10 room affair that charges about P1,350 for a double. The Front Desk Officer Nhelz Proceso 0928 3702910. They have 2 family type rooms. This is a nice quiet place that is walking distance to Bay's Inn for your meals.
The next day ride the coast line leading to Casiguran and past that to Dinapigue where the road ends. Be sure to load up gas in Baler. The route is will be Baler to Maria Aurora (12 kms), then to Dipaculao (7 kms) to appreciate the Amper/Borlongan shorelines. Onwards to Dinadiawan which is the route to Madella Quirino (51 kms).
There is a good eating place here called Lily's Restaurant. Be sure to stop here as there is no other place to eat up to Casiguran. This resto has a 2 bedroom unit in case for any reason you will be caught by nightfall. Across the street is a small store that sells gasoline in coke liter bottles so a nice chance to load up on gas too.
Then onwards to Dinalungan (28 kms) where you could take a 150 meter walk to see the Bulawan Falls from a 4.5 km detour. Not a bad break from doing rough roads all throughout.
Then on to Casiguran (28 kms). If you have time proceed further to the Dilasag town where the Pateco airstrip is (22 kms) and the dead-end town of Dinapigue (23 kms) of Aurora. (total of 171 kms)
Casiguran is such a small town that it doesn't really have any formal resorts or eating places. Stay at a place called Bulo restaurant and lodge. This place has just 4 rooms,very crude bathroom for a fee of P350 per night. Its a safe place. To find it,ask where the old NFA warehouse is before reaching the town proper. Its just past the NFA warehouse which itself is off the main highway by around 500 meters. There is a sign along the highway saying NFA this way.
The whole way from Baler to Casiguran is a dirt bikers dream ride with all kinds of rough road surfaces and conditions,newly cut roads,sometimes land slides,with some spectacular Pacific Ocean views and beaches along the way. Passable to 4x4s,dirt bikes,ATVs,etc. The people of Aurora along the way,while poor,are very friendly and helpful to travellers. It seems to be extremely safe to travellers.
Explore the area the next morning and when you feel like it head back towards Baler. Take a rest and head back towards Manila in the evening (if you bring service vehicles to take the bikes down. If not then spend the night in Baler and for a different view take the Pantabangan way back towards San Jose Nueva Ecija.
Last updated: 2008-01-24 14:17:37.453
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