20 March 2015

A LOOK BACK IN CALICOAN SURF CAMP


            Calicoan Surf Camp is located in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Its name obviously stand on what it is for, surfing. Its location is perfect for riding the waves to surf since the resort faces the Pacific Ocean. It is known for its well-known for its well-furnished cottages and villas that takes inspiration from the culture of Thai, Balinese, Indonesia, and, of course, Filipino.


            Before Typhoon Yolanda ruined the rest of the resort and the whole town of Guiuan last two thousand thirteen (2013) I had the chance to have a peek of the famous resort. That is, according to the locals and those locals include some of my high school friends. It is such a shame telling you that it was my first time. My roots are from Guiuan yet I was not aware about it.

            To give myself some credit, I think, it was still under construction when I leave for college.
              We rented a tricycle for the trip. You can easily found one in the poblacion. The poblacion is practically the center of the town. The locals called it Sawang or market. There you can ask the tricycle drivers if they are up for a trip to Calicooan. If you are new and completely a tourist in the place it would not be a problem because the Guiuananons are very hospitable. Negotiating the price would be easy since almost everyone can understand both the Filipino and English language. It is important that you tell the driver that he would be the one to take you back if you won’t stay on the resorts villas. Transportation is quite difficult so you have to make arrangement in advance.
            Aside from the transportation that you have to keep in mind you have to carry cash in lower bills.

            You cannot easily go in the resort unless you book for accommodations beforehand. In our case, it was sheer luck. It was July 2012 and it was off season. The staff that let us in looked like he was not expecting us. Who wouldn’t be? It was low tide and there were no big waves for surfing. He politely asked if we would use one of the villas. In which we answered no.
            We did not go to surf. We just want a good place to stay, take photographs, and catch – up with each other.
            After paying for the entrance the staff leaves us on our own. I cannot believe that the place actually exist in my hometown. You will feel the heat yet would not mind because the sight is so real. The ocean is so wide and since it was low tide I have thought of walking in it. It would probably take half an hour before we made it back to the shore. We did not do it because it is not worth doing if you do not have someone with you that who know when the water is going get high.
            There was a bridge that made in wood leading to a gazebo near the beach front. We took the liberty of photos making the Pacific Ocean as our background. There is also a pool in case you just want to take it easy swimming.

            We clearly enjoyed Calicoan Surf Camp that day.
               I know that there are other important things to restore in Guiuan like the church that is located in the heart of its town. Aside from that the residents should be the priority of the government, like shelter  and food.
            I hope that the owner would not hesitate to spend his money for the restoration and beautification of the resort. It would clearly help the tourism industry of Guiuan.

            It would be one of the places that I will visit when I go back to my home town.


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Maira Gall