Wakeboarding in Camarines Sur

Location: Camarines Sur Watersports Complex, Camarines Sur, Bicol Region
Dates: May 15-17, 2009
Activities: Wakeboarding, swingboarding, navigating the Lago Del Rey obstacle course, participating in the Havaianas event, bonding with other travel-oriented and adventurous peeps, camwhoring

Liquid Force's newest endorser?

An angel in front and one mean wakeboarder in the background

Like I told you I was planning to do (in Cam Sur, here I come!), I went to the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex last weekend, with other people who were either just curious about wakeboarding or who were already wakeboarding enthusiasts. I, myself, am both  a rookie and an enthusiast. The first time I saw a wakeboard, I said to it: “I will conquer you someday!” Well, I haven’t quite conquered it yet. I know that if I persevere, though, I’ll reach that goal soon. I just have to keep going to Cam Sur or Calatagan so I can practice. I also want to visit The Boardinghouse in Talisay, Batangas (near Tagaytay). I’ve read that the facility rents out speedboats and wakeboarding equipment so that one can wakeboard on Taal Lake. I’ve only tried wakeboarding using a cable system; I’ve never tried it behind a speedboat. The pros say it’s actually easier to wakeboard with a speedboat towing the wakeboarder because it’s the speedboat that will adjust to his wakeboarding speed and style, not the other way around. With a cable system, it’s the person who has to adjust his speed and style.

Two pros

To somebody as fascinated with wakeboarding as I am, this is one beautiful image

When I went to Lago de Oro, I only got to kneeboard and could never really maneuver the sharp turns. But in Cam Sur, not only did I get to finally nail the turns, I was actually able to cross the lake with my feet, NOT my knees, on the board! Now I can say that I really wakeboarded, not just kneeboarded!

Unfortunately, my shots are all of me IN the lake, not on it. I think there’s only one shot of me on the board. My triumph has not been documented! Hmp. But no worries, I know there will be more wakeboarding weekends for me. I can’t even wait to get back on the board, sore muscles and all.

Ready

Set

And down I go! Hehehe...;p

Kneeboarding

Wakeboarding session #2: Posing before I put my feet on the board

This is called having fun while being dragged by a rope.

Aside from wakeboarding, we also  tried swingboarding, with Tikoy of Travel Factor and Trish as our coaches.

One foot first, girl...

...Now put the other foot on the swingboard, too.

The Master and her young Jedi: Tikoy and Ian

I went to Cam Sur with a bunch of strangers, and now I have a whole new set of friends. My travel buddies were a cool bunch of people, adventurous, most of them within my age range, and quite easy to get along with. It was a breeze for me to bond with them. We’re even planning to go on other trips together!

Our travel team, having brunch at CWC's clubhouse

With my housemates

Giant flipflops, anyone?

A Havaianas-sponsored event

The obstacle course on Lago Del Rey

The Camarines Sur Watersports Complex

Of course, my summer travel photos will not be complete without my mandatory FHM pose:

Somewhere over the rainbow...is a Liquid Force wakeboard with my name on it!

Thanks, TF, for one awesome weekend!

Travel Factor's Cam Sur Surfvivors

Cam Sur, here I come!

I’m both psyched and apprehensive about going to Camarines Sur. But I’m going. And I’m going alone! Ok, so maybe officially, I won’t be alone. I’m going with other wakeboarding enthusiasts. But they’re all strangers. I’m not going with anybody I know! There’s an organization here in the Philippines comprised of young professionals who organize adventurous treks, hikes, surfing events, and wakeboarding events all over the Philippines and in some other parts of Asia. Even though I knew my best friend and my wakeboarding recruit couldn’t make it to the wakeboarding event, I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by. So I went ahead and signed myself up for it. I have made the reservation, sent out the forms and everything. So I am definitely going. But I’m apprehensive because I won’t be with anybody I know!

Let me repeat that to myself: RA, you’re going alone. To tell you the truth, I’m really excited about traveling alone. It’s just that I’ve never done it before. I’m a social person; I’m used to being surrounded with friends and familiar faces. Hence, the apprehension about being with strangers in an unfamiliar place. A guy I’m dating might be available to join me, I think, but he’s already a wakeboarding/surfing expert. So I don’t want to invite him. I’ll wakeboard in front of him when I can already show off my moves. Haha.

Bottomline is: I’m going alone. Let me repeat that to myself, for the nth time: RA, you’re going alone. I’ll use the opportunity to improve my moves so I can maybe one day become a wakeboarding champ. Also, I’m thinking of it as a chance to meet other people with the same interests. I’ll probably make some new friends on the tour.

I am getting more and more excited the more I repeat the statement to myself!

Just a brief background on Camarines Sur: It’s one of the provinces in the Bicol Region. It’s near Camarines Norte and Albay. The wakeboarding capital of the country is in this province, the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex. That’s where I and the other wakeboarding enthusiasts will be staying.

Wish me luck!