Every so often, my friends from the Philippine Surfing Academy text me about their packages for surf trips (“surfari”) to Quezon or Zambales. I’m always very tempted to go, but their schedules never quite fit with my free time. So, last Saturday I moved heaven and earth just so I could surf at Club Manila East’s wave pool, where the PSA hold surfing lessons.

waiting for the “surf treadmill”

I first visited this wave pool last June during a shoot for a (now-defunct) web TV show. A few weeks later I took some friends there. Unfortunately, that was the last time I was there. But you know what? Surfing is just like riding a bicycle. You never forget.

Since this was my third time there and I already knew how to get up on my board and ride a wave, coach Ejay Ventura began teaching me how to catch my own wave. Beginners get their boards pushed by the coach. I had to learn when to begin paddling hard so I could pick up enough speed to be in front of a wave when it breaks. Oh wow, was it hard on the arms! But the rush I got from catching my own wave was so worth it.

catching a wave

My appetite has been whetted. Next time, I’m going on surfari!

Surfing lessons at CME by the Philippine Surfing Academy are P1,500 for a 2-hour lesson, board rental, and whole-day use of other CME facilities.

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