Just like in Zambales and La Union, the Circle Baler keeps its rustic charm with hand painted walls, no aircons, bamboo made sleeping quarters and breezy, spacious, common areas. This branch is the most spacious one, and can accommodate more people than the other two.
Their common areas are bigger and even has a mini skateboard ramp at the center. They still have the bunk bed setup as in other Circles, but this time it's divided into three rooms on the second floor, and a fourth room in the first floor. Unlike other branches, you now have the option to get a private room here. They have a Cuddle room with a queen sized bed, and a Buddy room with a bunk bed. The surfer breakfast (peanut butter sandwiches and bananas) comes free with all overnight reservations.
Luckily when we went, it still felt very new and we had the place to ourselves. Everything was clean and fixed, and the place was very peaceful. We were also able to have the second floor common area to ourselves at night, so we enjoyed the the cool breeze, the freedom to play music, play games and not worry about the noise we were making. As for the neighbors, well, they didn't seem to care as well about how loud they were being with all the karaoke they were doing.
After our morning surf, we decided to visit Ditumabo Motherfalls.
Thanks to Mocky's Urvan we didn't have trouble finding our way to the drop off for the falls. The drivers knew their way around the place, we just had to tell them the destination.
To get to the falls, we had a 20 minute car ride from the Circle to the drop off place and did an hour mini hike to the falls. There were some fees we had to pay (around P50-P100 per head for the entrance, then P600 for the tour guide). They don't allow you to bring food or any drinks up there because you "might dirty the place," but really it's because they have some stalls along the way they want you to buy from.
The hike was a bit longer than expected, but the trip to the falls was a beautiful one. The trail was kept cool by the surrounding trees and we walked to the sound of running water and birds chirping. It was tiring but quite relaxing, actually.
Not the best photo of the motherfalls, but I assure you it's ten times more majestic than what you see here. It's about 140 feet high, and the water is extremely cold, my feet and fingers were cramping up almost the whole time I was in the water. Some parts of the area are deep but majority of it's waist high, so you can walk your way in. To enjoy it, I suggest you jump in instead of easing your way through the cold. That'll take some time.
Another must visit (and our last stop) when visiting Baler: the Balete tree. It'll only take 15 minutes of your time to see this 600 year old Balete tree so I suggest you pass by it on your way out of Baler. Don't be afraid to enter, it's actually really beautiful inside once you see the roots of it come together and intertwine.
We visited Costa Pacifica and had our last lunch there before heading back to Manila. The place is owned by the Discovery group, so what you can expect is what you get in any Discovery owned establishment: a high-end luxurious experience. Everything was so nice and modern, the poolside looked like a relaxing place to chill, and the food was also really good. If not for the dirty bathroom and the waiter that didn't know much about the dishes, the short visit would've been a double thumbs up.
And here ends the short but sweet, mid week trip with the team. It was a good break from all the work we were doing, and I'm pretty happy we ended up choosing Baler for this. It truly is such a beautiful place, and returning there for the second time reminded me of how much I should visit it more. There have been a lot of changes from my last visit 3-4 years ago, but its long beach, clean waters, beautiful scenery and wonderful people remain the same.
