seair flies to la union now?

i just found out that the san fernando airport is now open, and that seair now offers flights from manila to san fernando, la union.

flights are every monday, wednesday, and friday. in theory, this should be fantastic news for those who surf in san juan, la union, which is just 15 minutes away from san fernando. instead of taking the five-hour bus ride/drive to la union on weekends, flying should save you time on the road and give you more time to be one with the waves.

however, when i tried booking a flight to la union for june 11-14, i found out that the schedules aren't ideal for the usual la union weekend getaway. the flight leaves at 10am on friday, and arrives in san fernando at 11am (i also can't believe it takes an hour to get there--should be faster. manila to legazpi flights take 50 minutes.). this means you have to take friday off from work if you want to surf on the weekend, instead of just having saturday and sunday on the beach.

the flight back to manila leaves at 1130am and lands at 1230pm. this, again, eats up your working hours (of course, i'm talking about usual working hours for most people), and makes the idea of a weekend getaway quite useless.

then again, the flight wasn't made for those of us who are scrimping. roundtrip flights to san fernando, la union cost Php 7,375.20 per person, which is about seven times what you pay for a bus ride to LU.

so, it's back to partas rides and arnes bus stop meals for us surf-lovin' cheapos.

the great la union reunion

i spent my araw ng kagitingan long weekend on the beach of urbiztondo, san juan, la union, reacquainting myself with a place that's always been close to my heart. a lot has sure changed, but all for the better.

the part of la union where we usually go to now has a henna tattoo tent, and a couple of new restaurants. at the moment, there's a resort that's being built beside surfer's inn, where we stayed, and i was told that it's set to be the grandest resort in the area. it'll open in july this year.

the place now has a more... organized feel to it, with board stands lining the beach. at least you won't have to carry your board from the resort to the water anymore, and you can now choose among the different rental kiosks.

on the upside, though, i'm glad that the la union i know and love is still there. :) the people are still as nice, everything still comes easy, and nothing is pretentious. despite the developments, la union still has its rough edges, which i hope it doesn't lose.

i spent this break just enjoying the fact that i was back there, and i got to enjoy the water sans a board. i hope to be back in la union again this year, and this time, i'll rent a board and see if i can still take on the waves.