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The appeal of surfing is so powerful, and you can feel the presence of it in the
archipelago. It doesn't matter if you live right on the beach or have never set eyes on
the ocean. Everyone wants to try and feel for what a surfer has. It is the outgrowth
progression in the Philippine extreme sports, a fashion that omnipresent generations are
looking for... "FREEDOM". Surfers have freedom. That's what makes the
sport so special, the lifestyle so unique. That's why the world is fascinated by this
eclectic subculture of men and women who have seemingly turned their backs on society and
dedicated their lives to follow the sun armed with their trusted surfboard in search for
the perfect wave, wherever it might lead, and whatever it may cost.
["Gliding down from the apex of a thundering tons of water, the wind in your hair,
water sparkling on tight muscles, mastering and yet being mastered by all the power and
grandeur of the ocean, the enjoyment of actually riding a wave. The joy of surfing is so
many things combined, from the physical exertion of it, to the challenge of it, to the
mental side of the sport. And there's a lot of solitude in surfing, time to be on your
own, think and express the sleek hungry animal that dwells within you to the face of the
wave.]" [WORDS FROM SAM GEORGE] former editor in chief Surfer Magazine.)
Surfing appeal has gone deeper than just appreciation of the physical act. "You
really appreciate surfing when the time you're sort of becoming one with nature".
Surfing is as raw as a sport can get."[ You're riding a man made thing but you're
riding it on the top of the nature, and nature is all around you.]" (WORDS FROM KELLY
SLATER),( 6 times World Champ)
Yet Society doesn't really understand surfers. People may try to dress like surfers or
act, or speak like them. Many are imitating the image of this rugged individual.
Advertisements use the representation of this uneven entity to sell everything from hair
products to beachwear. But the rest of the world, those who don't actually surf are no
closer to understanding this most free spirited of sports.
("Famous British explorer Captain James Cook was the first European to conquer this
curios pastime in Tahiti in 1777. He felt the vibe, penning in his log the first
description of a surfer with the characteristic envy of those who have ridden a wave.
"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he
was driven so fast and so smoothly by the sea".
For the ancient Polynesians it was a supreme pleasure for which surfing was an integral
part of life. And beyond doubt it was a pleasure for all who have tasted the pungent wine
of curl in the centuries following the glimpse at the surfing as a way of
life").(FROM THE BOOK WAY OF LIFE)
There's no denying it---surfers have style. But defining that style is not as easy as
simply recognizing it. The average onlooker has seen surfers as hoodlums, proud beach
bums, and lazy dropouts who'd rather hang around the beach all day drinking and smoking
any intoxicated spirit than get real jobs and become functioning member of society.
And today here in the Philippines, there are varieties of characters who hope to look like
these crazy beings called surfers. And they don't even know what one is.
Over the years, I have become a surfing animal, so have some of my friends. We share a
common bond but we are not all alike. I have been a surfer for over fifteen years, roughly
half of my life. From the moment I caught my first wave, I have lived and breathed every
moment as a surfer. I traveled almost the whole archipelago and searched every coastline
to surf the perfect waves. I must live near the surf. When I'm away from the ocean, I get
nervous and disoriented. When passing a flagpole, I must check the direction of the wind.
My hair is almost bleached and my skin is burnished brown, my feet wide and splayed from
years of not wearing shoes, my eyes squint as if scanning an imaginary horizon.
Along the way I met a fate of various moral fibers that gave me a good and enjoyable
period of existence. I've exchanged words and experienced mixture of nationalities with
different ages. There were clusters of expatriate who made their living out of the bounty
of this wave-rich country. Australian, German and American nationals who own and manage
surf resorts. I came across a Japanese who put up a surfing school but doesn't even know
how to swim. I stumbled upon an Indian who made a fortune from surf cloth and surfing
gear. I hovered with a number of yuppies that desire to get in to the big picture of the
industry. I grew well from the outflow of a professional organizer, contest director, surf
film producers, photographers, surfing journalist, professional surfers and politicians.
All of them play an extensive part in the inescapable rise of Philippine surfing kinship.
They are the sanity behind everything.
Now I witness the fruition of this subculture in our society. The highlanders from Baguio
province who like to pretend that they have a home break. The celebrities, affluent
offspring and city slickers from Manila soothing to become affable in every locale,
present at the surf spot. The Borongan group with the aim of keeping the Philippine Dream
forever in any hostile alien. The Puraran rippers that seemed to have lost in the brink of
extinction. The Bagasbas assembly who loves to contest on who's going to be in charge in
their modest world. The fresh untaught waveriders of Zambales and Vigan who are just
starting to flee out of their cosset. The La Union Boardriders who has the most numbers of
half-bred waverider's and possess a large amount of self-confessed proud beach bums in the
country. The Siargao chargers who at all times create an intense impression into the eye
of international surfing correspondents. And the Baler Boys with their manner of
"live to surf and surf to live" the rest of their lives. But all we say, is that
we are surfers first, everything comes in second. It's been said that there's no such
thing as an ex surfer "if you don't surf anymore, you never did". It's that kind
of fashion. It's that sort of sport. And if you're someone who, deep down inside, dreams
of riding a crest of your own to know, for a moment, the mad, magnificent exhilaration of
riding an ocean wave, then you better try because "only a surfer knows the
feeling".
::Photos by:
Vangie Palacios (travels with juliana)
Olin Duaso
::
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Vangie is a writer/ photographer /surfer, among other things, on a mission of
documenting on the net her adventure travels in the Philippines and around the world,
hoping that you, too will be inspired with the places she had the opportunity to visit.
TRAVELS WITH JULIANA
FEATURES ARTICLES ON:
:: 5th Aurora
Surfing Cup
:: 1998 Action Asia
Aurora Surfing Cup
:: 1st Aurora Surfing Cup
LINKWORTHY
:: wannasurf.com
:: surf.com.ph
WEATHER
:: buoyweather.com
:: Baler
Weather
wunderground.com
Travel info:
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