North

I have to admit, I love love LOVE pagudpud and it's surf, but I always found it too... well... FAR.

But by some stroke of impulse/fate/luck/whim, this year, I found myself spending a lot of time with my friends over at Kapuluan Vista Resort and just enjoying the northern vibe.

Surf Kalikasan

If you're a surfer, you know this problem... you're at the mercy of mother nature. Both in the sense that She may give you massive waves or teeny tiny ripples. This is what happened to us last July 20-21 in La Union. The Manila Surfers' Association together with Maui & Sons organized a southswell surf comp. But, again, if you're a surfer from the Philippines, you know how unpredictable south swells are in Luzon.

True enough, the surf forecast said we would be getting 4-5 foot swells that weekend, so therefore MSA said the contest is a go! But wait! when we got to La Union... It. Was. (almost) Flat. Horror.

But being true blue troopers, the MSA crew made the most out of what waves God gave us and we all had a pretty good time. :)

see? TINY.

(photo from My Life on Board)

with the shortboard invitational finalist Thereze Lumdang & Champ Tin-tastic!! 

And thanks to my ever trusty LOG, i was able to catch some good ones during that almost flat spell... i got a new board! Thanks MSA & Maui!

For more photos, check these links out!

Manila Surfers' Association - Maui & Sons Surf Kalikasan Project 2013

My Life on Board - SurfKalikasan Competition

Sports Unlimited - SurfKalikasan 2013

magenta

Sitting in the line up, my friend Kim and I could not believe that we were seeing one of the moset awesome sunsets ever, we just HAD to run back to shore, drop our longboards, kim got her phone and snapped this photo, then we ran as quickly back to the line up and caught a few more small peelers as the sun continued to give us this light show.

photo by Kim Jones

bali bits

It's been a month since my last day in Bali and I'm missing it so much! Everything about that trip was just perfect -- the place, the company, the surf...

Reminiscing, here are some photos of us, out and about in Bali. 

(all photos by Charlie Gomez)

tunic: vintage; cargo shorts: Coast Thru Life

mismatched bikini: Victoria's Secret

bikini top: Victoria's Secret; shorts: Billabong

tunic: thrifted in Seminyak; sunnies: Vans -- (see Kim's look here!)

maxi dress: thrifted in Seminyak

top & shorts: F21

bikini bottom: VS; purple board: McTavish (unintentionally matching my bikini bottoms!)

Terimah Kasi!

Went on a surf trip with my best buddies last week and we spent 8 days in beautiful Bali. We stayed in the quiet town of Canggu, rode around town in our rented scooters, surfed, surfed with our idols (kassia, dane peterson, etc, etc), had nasi goreng, watched and experienced the Deus surf event, oggled the surf stars of the said event, shopped, had bintang, and laughed, laughed, laughed.

This trip couldn't have been better except if we had 8 days more. :) Here are photos from my instagram feed, but these don't even describe half of the fun we had. 

Terimah Kassi Indonesia! See you next year! :)

{all photos from my instagram feed: @nikkidelapaz)

inspirations

As 2012 ended, I looked back on that year and was quite thankful for the travel and adventure it gave me. And I dared 2013 to do the same.

So far not much has happened on the travel department but I was blessed with not only a lot of work but also with the opportunity to be able to surf with two of my ultimate surf idols within the last 2 months -- Belinda Baggs and Kassia Meador.

So thanks 2013! So far you've proven awesome. :)

with Bindy in Baler, Philippines

with Kassia in Bali, Indonesia

chillin' like villains

after a college-like hell week full of submissions and deadlines, errands and more errands, I flew to Cebu for some r & r with the family (missing one brother though!). It is always a fun time when I'm with these crazy cats, from road trips to swimming in the ocean, to swimming in the hotel sheets, to drinking mochaccinos from plastic cups (reused of course), to lunch buffets, to DESSERT BUFFETS, ordering sisig pizza, fighting over the hotel room temperature from normal to antarctica, and to 5 days of waking up with a beautiful view of Cebu City.

What a perfect pre-Bali holiday! Now I will start packing and bubble wrapping my board, for tomorrow, I'm heading to Canggu. 

#thatbalerweekend

photos from that baler weekend where we surfed with the most graceful lady slider i have ever seen - bindy.

(photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)

jeff g (photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)

my buj (photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)

bindy (photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)

(photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)

(photo from instagram.com/coastthrulife)