Travelogue XXV: Wake Boarding Trip Part II

After breakfast, we headed to Calatagan, Batangas. Satiated, most of us just napped on our way there. Every time I opened my eyes, I saw breathtaking views of green and lush mountains and plains. I missed these kinds of sights! It’s so refreshing and relaxing. It totally brought down my stress levels and I felt renewed. I thought “This is the life! C’est la vie!”

A little past 10 am, we were already parking at Lago de Oro grounds. I didn’t realize that this resort is quite huge! From the parking lot, you can already see from afar their swimming pool with sauna bath (usually locked unless rented at Php450/hour) and jacuzzi. This is just across their restaurant/café and reception area, all situated near the beach front.

They also have a couple of two-floor hotel-like building structures with balcony and porch. And of course, their famous man-made lake with its own cable system for board activities (knee boarding, water skiing, wake boarding). And I thought we’d be dragged by a speedboat while wake boarding. I knew then that this would be so much more fun! Plus, there’d less accidents since every move would be according to the cable system’s precision. But still, I can’t help but feel nervous about it.

We settled in, ordered some lunch which is inclusive in the fees each of us paid for ( breakfast, lunch, dinner and two half day tickets for wake boarding), and prepared our hearts, bodies and souls for the afternoon activities. Spontaneously, we decided to do a bit of beach sight seeing after lunch. We took a stroll along the beach (sea is at low tide at that time) and passed by several starfish.

It reminded me and Peter of our times in Bohol, back at Danao Beach which was covered with a blanket of various starfish at that time (summer of 2005). There were also several Mangrove trees along the coastline. Though the weather was cloudy that day, it was still perfect for hanging out by the beach. So, we rented this house boat for Php300/hour which brought us to the deeper part of the sea and frolicked a bit in the water. We simply had fun! After an hour, it was time to face our fate with the board.

Actually, that afternoon, I only managed to take pictures and videos of my friends. Wake boarding is scheduled at 9:30am – 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm everyday. It was already 4:00 pm when Peachie and I decided to finally give it a go. With shaking knees and cold sweat, each of us took our turn. It was so scary, but in a different way than surfing ever made me feel! For one, there were no huge fatal waves; two, the lake is not that deep (around 2-4 feet deep); and three, the speed with which a boarder travels is constant due to the cable system. So I was sure I wouldn’t die.

It’s just that earlier that morning, when an instructor was showing us the ropes, he urged us to be more cautious than usual coz anything can go wrong. When you do this type of sport for the first time, a knee board is used. You kneel and sit on your legs as you strap your thighs to the knee board. Hold on tightly to the handle attached to the cable system, crouch your back with elbows, arms and wrists close to the chest, breathe normally and focus. As the cable catches your turn, hold on tightly and don’t lose your grip on the handle. When you are near the turn, start leaning to the right and make sure that you pass between the two round floaters. As you turn, the grip of the cable loosens and then immediately tightens as soon as the turn is made so don’t lose tension on your grip with the handle, otherwise, as soon as the cable wire tightens again, you’d be in for a surprise and you might just find yourself being thrown off balance into the brackish, foul-smelling lake water. That’s enough motivation for you not to fall off, right?

Fortunately (or is it UNfortunately?), I was able to make two successful turns out of four. On the third corner, I wasn’t able to lean enough to the right, in time to pass between the two floaters. For fear of losing balance and being thrown off, I let go of my grip and fell into the murky lake water. Eeeeewwwwww!!!! 

The main thing you have to remember when you are thrown off or when you let go of the cable wire is to get your board, look around you to check if another wake boarder is nearby so you can get out of his way, otherwise, you might get hit and that is not a pretty sight, and head immediately to the nearest yellow ladder. You can either walk bare-foot back to the starting point or wait for this special jeep that goes around the lake perimeter to pick up wake boarders. I decided to walk all the way to the station while carrying the wake board on top of my head, the way I do my own surf board. It was a long, tiring walk. I even stepped on several goat pupu scattered on the grass along the side walk. Another eeewwwww!!!! (Things I do for adventure, sigh!)

After I returned my board, I headed to our cozy and spacious room (with 1 cr with hot and cold shower, 1 queen bed, 1 double deck and two single beds.) and took a looooong hot shower. I scrubbed myself clean as if there was no tomorrow! This was when I appreciated surfing even more and realized how much I miss it! If only wake boarding is not done on lakes, it would’ve been a much better sport for us coz it’s close to Alabang (as compared to going all the way to La Union to surf), they offer day packages at Php1,260 per person and we get to pass by Tagaytay for shopping and food tripping every time! Nice!

In the evening, we dined at their café and hung out by the pool. It was cool hanging out with Peachie’s elder sister Marichit. I learned a lot from her and she made me feel a little better about myself and the way I’m living my life. Like me, she’s also the eldest sibling and the primary breadwinner of their family and I can relate a lot to her experiences. It’s like having my own cool elder sister, even for just a short while (*tear*).

Later that night, we watched a scary flick entitled The Messenger. Too bad, it was a pirated DVD being played using Marichit’s Apple Mac Book. So halfway into the movie, it froze. There went our plan to sleep peacefully, hehehe. We got so scared that we decided to rearrange our sleeping spots. Marichit and I shared the big bed, Peachie took the single bed at he other side of the room and Peter got the bed in the middle. Hahaha!

To be continued… Watch out for a fantastic clip. Guess who perfected one round of Knee Boarding…?