Liwliwa

Surfers and tourists alike bask in the landscape of High 5 Lahar (named from the lahar-filled landscape of San Felipe brought about by the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption) | TRAVEL |

Lay back in this plastic-conscious community of Liwliwa In this surfing town of San Felipe, locals and tourists come together to preserve the environment: free of plastic and aware of sustainability.

BY CHRISTIAN CARLO ACILO

RAW AND SURREAL - that’s what comes to mind when I think back on my travels to Liwa.

You have this fog-like blanket covering the mountains, agoho trees dotting the beach at the distance, branches and seaweeds on your feet, and especially the sound of waves crashing on the shore. It was a good escape from one’s day-to-day life.

Liwliwa is a surfing town in San Felipe. This is on the northern part of Zambales province and is frequented by tourists and surfers for its beginner waves, good for those who wanted to pick-up surfing. Its remote location allows as a perfect beach getaway where one can sleep and wake up in the sounds of raindrops and a view of sunrise breaking in.

SAN FELIPE IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE. Coming from Metro Manila, you only have to ride a provincial bus from EDSA going to Iba (the northern end of Zambales), drop at San Felipe and ride a trike. Travel time goes around 5-6 hours depending on the city traffic in Manila, but the roads past Olongapo are scenic showing lots of mountains and the ocean.

GETTING AROUND LIWA. On my first time the forest actually seemed like a maze to me. Everywhere you look there is a street and only a handful of signages point to you where the beach is. It took some talking and following around people to actually get to my destination, luckily the locals are very welcoming and helpful.

TOP: Narrow streets (up to 2 meters wide) lined with bamboos and concrete connect the town and beach of Liwa BOTTOM: As seen from the map, Liwa is a forest-covered town dotted with agoho trees fronting the lahar-filled landscape and beach

DOGS ARE PART OF THE BEACH SCENE IN LIWA. Dogs usually welcome you when you come out from the forest-covered paths. They are family to locals and they help go rounds around the beach entertaining tourists and serving as company and guide for the locals.

PLASTIC IS BANNED IN LIWA. This is actually less known but cigarettes is one of the most littered plastic items in the world. Filters from cigarettes are made from cellulose acetate containing nicotine and other chemicals. Most of these small items were getting dumped everywhere in the beach contaminating not only us humans, but also the environs.

That’s why a collective effort to control plastic waste is exercised in Liwa. This is not limited to cigarettes but also to any plastic items such as plastic bottles etc.

Be responsible and bring your own canteen and eco bags when going to Liwa!

TOP: Stray dogs scatter at the beach vicinity and has continued to be part of the families and Liwa community BOTTOM: As seen from the streets, cigarette butts fill empty liquor bottles hung on bamboo fences

View from the end of the agoho trail - sunset at Liwa Beach

CHILDHOOD SPENT ON THE BEACH. Kids that grew up in Liwa spend their afternoon after school in the beach.

Friends around the community usually gather in the afternoon before sunset and they play skimboard when weather conditions don’t allow for surfing.

Remote conditions at Liwa don’t usually allow families to get clear reception to connect via social media. This is why kids at this community still enjoy the oldschool ways of having fun and bonding with friends outdoors.

A kid smiles for the camera as he gets ready to play skimboard

SKIMBOARDING SCENE. Skimboarding is usually played with a shortboard (a shorter surfboard for professionals) along the ends of the beach.

You basically run and drop your board, then ride and balance it to glide along the surface of the water and hit a break of a wave to propel you upwards.

To some locals this takes much more practice than surfing to do well because of its fast pace and board mastery.

A local runs and gets ready to drop his board to skim along with the waves

Fishing still remains as the main source of livelihood in the community. Others get their livelihood in tours and assistance to tourist acting as surfing instructors, local tour guides and even your ice cream vendor in summer time.

CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY. Vangie, host of a local hostel in Liwa, believes that nobody should feel unwelcomed in the beach community.

“There are no strangers.”

This is the vision of her hostel and it became a haven for adventurous travel-seekers to share experiences with and create solid friendships along the way.

LOW-KEY NIGHT. Liwa observes a very laid back lifestyle in the community and even if there’s a party coming along, there’s really not much light and sound pollution that bother other residents in the streets and homes.

Homes constructed with wood and thatch glow with soft lights dotting the neighborhood and giving an ambiance of the good old life. C

TOP: Vangie, host of one of the hostels in the community holding her niece BOTTOM: As seen from the streets, cigarette butts fill empty liquor bottles hung on bamboo fences

Pink clouds adorn the sky at sunset in Liwa Beach