My love story with San Felipe started one unforgettable summer. Mel and I are planning to spend our summer time Para-sailing in Subic Bay when out-of-the-blue, I asked her to try surfing instead. Hesitation is written all over her pretty face but picture my surprise when she immediately jump on her bed, turn on her laptop and her fingers start dancing on her keyboard to Google the best rash-guard, Zambales maps and tips on how to ride the surfing board. Hahaha! (Excited much, huh?! He-he!)
The six (6) hours travel time from Victory Liner, Cubao in Manila to Olongapo City are spent mostly by reading books and sleeping. Instead of dropping off Olongapo - to Subic, as what we first planned, we took another bus ride to San Felipe, Zambales.
After Olongapo, you will pass by Castillejos, San Antonio, San Marcelino, San Narciso and my love, San Felipe. You can ask the bus conductor to drop you off San Narciso town plaza and from there you can take a tricycle to bring you to San Felipe. You may also ask the bus driver to stop at San Felipe 'Welcome' signage and you can either hike to the nearest tricycle terminal or waiting shed or you may stay beside the road and wait for a tricycle to bring you to your destination. I never knew of this place before that summer escapade. We intend to surf in San Narciso where we should be staying - in the comfort and safe abode of Crystal Beach Resort. Virgel (surfing instructor of Crystal Beach Resort) suggested we try the waves in San Felipe for San Narciso's beach is quiet shy to show us its magnificent wonder when we arrived. So, off we rode a tricycle with our surfing boards to my love, San Felipe.
San Felipe is a 4th class municipality in Zambales. Mostly of residents are Ilocanos which came from the Ilocos region. This municipality is divided into eleven (11) barangays:
- Poblacion of Amagna
- Poblacion of Apostol
- Barangay of Balincaguing
- Poblacion of Farnal
- Poblacion of Feria
- Barangay of Maloma
- Poblacion of Manglicmot
- Poblacion of Rosete
- Barangay of San Rafael
- Barangay of Santo Nino
- Barangay of Sindol
You may notice some of the areas right next to the main road (including rice fields and vegetation) of San Felipe are dry and quite hard, that's because the town was a victim of the 2nd largest volcanic eruption of the 20Th century. It was in June of 1991 when Mt. Pinatubo (which is now a famous tourist attraction of Zambales) killed more than 800 people and leave more than 100,000 lives homeless. If that is not unfortunate enough, Tropical Storm Yunya was passing Mt. Pinatubo that time and it caused a large amount of rainfall in the whole region. The ash that was ejected from the volcano mixed with water vapor in the air formed a rain fall called 'Tehpra' - that fell across the region and almost the entire area of Luzon. Despite this tragedy, people of Zambales worked hard to rebuild their houses, livelihood and their lives.
It may be a cliché but its true that first times always unforgettable, fun (Well, not all fun coz you'll definitely get hurt), but its wonderfully exciting. I learned words and terms I wouldn't know has different meaning in the world of this 'now-so-famous' water sports. Here, let me share you some of it:
- Nose Dive - when you fall from the board thru its nose (its the point bit of the surfboard). Funny this is the first term I remembered, do I need to tell you why?
- Wiped Out - when you fall of your board (other terms are donut, muttering or anything you want to call it)
- 180/360 - it refers to the degree or the spin of the surfers board during a maneuver
- Washing Machine - you guess it right, when you are getting spun around and around underwater by a wave
- Tail - opposite of Nose, this is the bit of the surfboard at the opposite end
- Party Wave - waved surfed by several people at same time
- Longboard - a long surfboard with a rounded nose
- Leash - this is the cord which is attached between your leg and your surfboard
- Flat - no waves. Hahaha! It happened several times and we need to wait on the shore doing nothing but to bath under the sun.
- Fin - the curved bit hanging down under your surfboard. (Our instructor would always say, stay away from your fin! As if! Hahaha!)
There are still a lot of terms and slang words you need to learn if you want to speak like a real pro-surfer.
Many beach goers may seek for the comfort of an air-conditioned room, hot/cold shower, exotic and delicious food and a soft and fragrant bed (Who would not right? It will not be a dream vacation if not of those.) a resort can give which to be honest - San Felipe can't provide yet. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are cottages, Inns and transients houses but not as furnish as what you expect it to be. Nevertheless, I still found comfort and peace despite the lack of these factors.
How I love the old and big pine trees along the shoreline, the lack of modernization other municipalities are proud of and the simplicity of the place. San Felipe is not as famous as other towns and municipalities in Zambales. My heart swelled with appreciation on how San Felipe manage to appear so simple yet still painstakingly gorgeous (this adjective may not be applicable for places but what the heck, the place is more than pretty!).
I may fall in love again in the future and I may fall in love with some place else but like what the old saying goes: " First love never dies!". :D
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