Oct 22, 2006 Omni-Baler (RPUR)-Omni

Our visitors in the office were working so hard for the past week and I think they deserve a break. I invited them to fly on the weekend to tour them around Central Luzon. My original plan was to fly them to Iba, but later changed my mind and just decided to go to Baler.

Baler, capital of Aurora province and infamous for its big waves, is more than 150 kilometers away from Manila. It was founded in 1609 and offers a lot of historical sites as well. One can find cheap but comfortable accommodation near the beach. Sumptuous seafoods are often served in this coastal town.

I asked my roommate Kozo to fly with us split the cost of the flight. He flew the OMNI-BALER route and I flew the BALER-OMNI route. We departed around 2400z on a clear, cloudless day. Passing by the provinces of Tarlac, Pangasinan, Isabela. The route offers spectacular view of the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera Mountain range.

To new pilots, this route offers the challenge of mountain flying. Aside from the steep rising terrain, often times the mountain ranges are covered with clouds. There are times of the year that this route is not passable by air. Total en-route time to Baler from Omni is around an hour.

After landing an hour after, we secured the aircraft and headed to the town. From the airport, the town is 20 minutes away by tricycle. We went straight to Bay's Inn, a cabin that overlooks the coast of Baler. Bay's Inn offers cheap accomodation rates and serves superb meals. The surf is a couple meters away from the hotel. One can get a quick dip on the Pacific Ocean right after having a nice meal.

We departed thirty minutes past the hour of eleven (local time). I'll be flying this leg back to Omni. The route will take us around the picturesque view of the jagged mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Passing by the town of Dingalan and heading straight to Cabanatuan then Clark. Dingalan is the southern most town of Aurora province. Seperated by the Sierra Madre from Baler, the only access by land is thru Nueva Ecija. Nature lovers and adventure seekers often flock to this isolated town.

The flight back was a bit bumpy due to thermals, but I managed to pull a greaser on the landing. Filed our post-flight paper-works and went out for lunch in Pampanga. I do hope that one of these days I can take you to Baler.