Driving to Paradise

It again took 3 solid days of convincing before I budged.
It wasn't that i had to be convinced about this place up north, but rather, it was the gruelling 600km drive sitting between me and the destination that was providing much of the resistance.

The place had convinced me once before that it was paradise.
And while my memory of that once before has started getting cloudy, the photographs I took there were still crystal clear in my mind. And then the 600 kilometer road trip started to become less objectionable.

It was pitched to me as a surfing destination. Not that it would appeal more to me because of that, but having successfully photographed the surfers of Baler a year ago, it kinda made me start thinking about it.

The person doing the convincing also knew which buttons to press. He got me by dangling images of the menu. aside from being a foodie, I also get my kicks looking at good photos of food. And the images were top-class; taken by several internationally known surfing photographers. I said yes at around this time.

I take time to browse their surfing photos and could not believe that the place actually had 7-10 foot waves breaking out into pipelines. In the Philippines, I have never seen anything like it. And so the roadtrip was on.

Of course I knew that waves in summer tend to be as flat as a pool. But I wanted to talk with the people who set up this resort while only on vacation from a first world country. I wanted to see what they saw 10 years ago, when all there was were four shacks scattered around. It isn't every day that you will get to have a conversation with people who could see paradise when just about everyone else saw desolation.

Just like me, Mike had hung out with people at least 20 years his senior early on in his life. And as I learned my life lessons from their collective wisdom, Mike picked up a common theme from them as well.

"It was like they would always say I should have done this or done that while I was young. And when Alma and I saw what Pagudpud had, we decided that we wanted to do this while we were still actually young!" And apparently, the rest is history.

They chose a rocky part of the long shoreline and started setting down their roots for the long haul. It was apparently a surfer's strategy so that their beachfront wouldn't be crowded by the sandlovers, which are simply too many. Surfers already have enough on their plate riding the monster waves; avoiding bobbing swimmers heads that suddenly appear in their line was something that was better if resolved from the start. I start seeing their logic.

Meanwhile, I get handed a Margarita. It is a special concoction originally mixed by Alma. I take a sip. And another.



And while refreshing for the summer heat, I prefer a stronger hit. Alcoholics also do. So they give me a slammer or banger. And even if i didn't catch the right name, I immediately ask for seconds. Mike returns with photos from his cellphone showing me waves that look like the pipelines of Hawaii. The photos are superb, as they were taken by some of the best international surfing photographers. Bali, I ask innocently half knowing the water quality had to be Hawaii and knowing that Mike was a sponsored surfer by a big and distinguished brand. "That's Pagudpud during typhoon season when they turn away towards Japan." My jaw drops. 10 to 15 foot swells. Pipelines big enough for buses to fit through. Now I suddenly see what they saw 10 years ago. They saw paradise on top of a surfboard while everyone else just saw an angry sea.

I reach for the menu. Mike takes the fish burger. I opt for the local meat favorite.
He talks about having many many beautiful action shots, done by the top photographers as part of his endorsement deal, but are never ever used by his sponsors. "You know there are days when you just want to be a model..." "yeah" i reply; having been an endorser as well. But I have had my billboards. And I have had people asking for my autograph in public gatherings. "yeah...its a nice feeling when people recognize you from this magazine or that cover shoot." But then, eventually you try to find your own shangri-la to escape from it all.



I look at the menu once more and I see the home made pancakes. They seem to be a metaphor of Pagudpud. Rough in places, but oozing with creamy goodness nonetheless.

Perhaps you just have to know what you are looking at.
And apparently, Alma & Mike did.


Jesus Paul C. Yan
for The Paul Yan Chronicles.


Kapuluan Vista Resort. Awarded "Most Innovative" beach resort in Northern Philippines.
www.kapuluanvista.com

to view more food offerings from kapuluan vista, please click
http://itspaulyan.weebly.com/hunger.html