29.3.16

It #FeelsGood to #ChangeEverything with Freewaters in Baler

When Primer invited me to an out of town trip for their new footwear brand Freewaters, I immediately said yes! I love Primer, I love how they conduct events and I love how it was not just an ordinary beach trip to Baler. Well, it was also not just an ordinary footwear brand. Read on...



We were all whisked away to Costa Pacifica in Baler! It was my first time to stay here so I was super excited. It was exactly as I expected. So beautiful! 

After 7 hours on the road, finally in Baler!


 Costa Pacifica lobby:)


OOTD muna! Thanks Anagon for my photos!

Top from my tita, Something Borrowed from Zalora shorts, Fly shades, Shulong sneakers

Restroom art

More art

Inside out

Dining area
I can see the waves! Mejo scary hehe

Ms. Macel's breakfast. YUMMM.

 My breakfast! This is smoked bacon and eggs. So tasty and delicious!

After breakfast, it was finally time to check-in!

The famous Cafe Rosa. Wasn't able to avail but next time, I promise!

Ana and Mother Earth's room! Crashed with them muna while waiting for my new room assignment.

View from their room's balcony!

And this is my room!!! Which I shared with Noelle Hilario. :)

Such a pretty loft. I occupied the bed downstairs and Noelle occupied the 2nd floor. :)

Bathroom:)

Towels and free toiletries! :)

View from the other side

Hi, Noelle!:)

Banyo queen. Haha.


Our building's lobby and stairs

We had half an hour to freshen up and rest for a while. We also took a quick lunch and then it was time for an adventure! We were asked to choose between surfing, yoga or trekking. We wanted to take a photo of Aurora's gem, the famous Ditumabo falls, so all 4 of us bloggers chose trekking!:)


Coach Manny of Primer!


Ready!

Quick Baler history lesson by our guide:)


Jump-off point of Ditumabo Falls

Known as Baler's Mother Falls, Ditumabo Falls is the tallest waterfall (50 meteres high!) in the province of Aurora. It is located in Brgy. Ditumabo (obviouslyy), San Luis. It's a 20-minute drive from Costa Pacifica resort.  Trek to the falls takes around an hour. :)

Just look for this store!


Let's go!

Entrance fee of P30 is mandatory

It is used to maintain and develop the area


They said it was not like this before. The typhoon caused landslide hence the obstacles and challenging trail.


To see the majestic falls, we had to cross the river, hop on and hop off huge boulders and rocks, walk in water, duck for cover, squeeze ourselves in tight spaces. It was so much fun though! It was also a breeze doing all that wearing our Freewaters footwear. :)

Kapit mga bes!!!

Cute ni Ana hehe

Side A

Side B

Water break muna si Mother!

Bridge pa more

And more


Can you see the destruction the landslide caused?

Hello from us!

Love my Freewaters Tall Girl outdoor slippers! It's comfy and provides enough traction for treks!:)


Enjoying the lush green trail :)

Ayan na! JOKEEEE. D pa yan un. But malapit na!:)

Almost there...

FINALLY:)

Trying not to slip and die. Haha.

Bloggers at Ditumabo Falls

This is how it looked like before. No rocks in the middle. Bigger swimming area. Ganda!

The trek back was easier or maybe it's because we were so eager to get back to the hotel due to lack of sleep and hunger. Hehe. Anyway, we were given an hour to freshen up again and then we were taken to the event hall! 


We were treated to an amazing dinner! I ate so much haha. Anyway, a program was held to officially introduce Freewaters, its brand philosophy as a coastal lifestyle footwear and likewise to reveal the inspiration behind the event - which is to contribute to positive change through its advocacy. In its aim to provide clean drinking water all over the globe, Freewaters chose the municipality of Casiguran to be the benefactor of the brand’s "#FeelsGood to be Part of 1000" in-store campaign. 


Event was hosted by Kiko Rustia!

Nice set-up!

Ms. Leslie of Freewaters

A beautiful and relatively unknown surfing spot at the northern part of Aurora province, Casiguran is a coastal community that was devastated severely by Typhoon Lando. As such, Freewaters aims to provide filters to three barangays in the municipality through the "#FeelsGood to be Part of 1000 campaign". A total of 1,000 pairs of footwear are needed for the campaign to be consummated and for every pair of Freewaters purchased, a customer may sign his or name and pin it on the island which will be displayed in Freewaters stores. Shopping while also helping others! :)


Freewaters founder Martin Kim talking about the brand & his passion project of changing the world by providing clean water one town at a time. 

Freewaters is a company founded by natural born innovators and surf buddies, Eli Marmar and Martin Kim, who have set their sights on something great – the opportunity to fill a serious void in the market and likewise make the world a better place. It didn't take long for their idea to take off. By combining amazing comfort with sophisticated design, the duo officially launched Freewaters in 2012, a progressive footwear brand that has since been dedicated to fearless individuals who aren’t afraid to chart their own path in life.



As a company founded by surfers who share a deep respect for the healing and meditative power of water, Freewaters proves to be more than just a retail label as it seeks to address an issue that concerns a great percentage of the global population – access to clean drinking water. As such, Freewaters has since been devoting 1% of its top line sales to globally fund clean drinking water programs. 


Currently, Freewaters has mobilized projects in Kenya, Haiti, California, and much recently, the Philippines. WOW.


Love these flipflops!

Nice sneakers for the guys

more slippers for guys. love the brown one!

The Tall Boy slippers & the water filter to be distributed to the chosen towns!

More flipflops

More slippers

Love this!!! 

Most of us retired early because we wanted to catch up on sleep before our 4am calltime! I tried, but failed. Lol. I already bathed the night before so I can make it on time. Effective naman. Hehe! I don't know how I survived that day sa totoo lang. I guess the excitement of being part of something great, something that will be able to #changeeverything fueled me. Us. It always #feelsgood-- GREAT-- to be able to see smiles on people's faces especially when you know you just witnessed something monumental happen-- like changing their whole lives. :)


Our van service!

Bought breakfast during one of our quick stops or toilet break! D ko kinaya bumili ako sa carinderia for only P70. Morning made. Hehe.


No mishap like this could stop us! Hehe.

After 2 hours on the road, we finally arrived at our drop-off point! It's a pretty nice resort but I forgot the name.

Quick breakfast muna! 

Briefing & distribution of life vests after breakfast

We hopped inside the van again and it took us to this mini port where our boat was waiting!
Hello blogger loves

More briefing

And then, it was time to go!

Boat mates!

Police escort

Boat ride took around 30-40 minutes. I was even able to nap a little. Hehe.

Touchdown Dipontian, Casiguran!

We were greeted by the town mayor! Here he is talking to Mr. Martin Kim & Freewaters brand associate, Kayt Peret:)

We were then led to the community!

We were welcomed & greeted by these sweet Agta children from Dipontian school!:)

They even prepared special numbers for us. :)


From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!:)


And then it was time to turn over the water filters!
Explaining to the community leaders

Demo & instructions by Coach Manny 

These filters could last for 15 years!!! No more drinking of unsafe & unhealthy water for the people of Dipontian. So happy.

The elders listening intently:)

They were so happy and amazed by Mr. Kim's drone! Look at their beautiful faces!


So precious:)

We also gave away bracelets as a remembrance, so they won't forget us:) As a bond na din:)

Paul with this cute kid!

Mother Earth and Lolo:)

Class picture!

Farewells:) I love Lolo's expression. So full of hope! :)

This campaign doesn't end with the group distributing water filters, the Freewaters team will follow through and vowed to go back a few months after to check on the community and to check on the filters. Hope we could come with them again! :)

20 minutes away from Dipontian, we got down again at this beach....

From here, we then rode a tricycle heading to Dalungan Beach!

Also a relatively unknown surfing spot, Dalungan beach is located at the northern part of Aurora province, All in all, over 2,200 people in Casiguran are expected to benefit from the filters that will finally give them access to clean drinking water. Yipee!


Hello Paul and new friend. Hehe

The ride was so much fun!!!

Mejo parang rollercoaster minsan hehe

I could do this ALL day! And then...

There it is! Soooo beautiful. And so powerful. The waves are pretty scary ha. Reminds me of Batanes!

We all went down and took photos! 

I tried taking nice photos, but...
May mga photobomber na makukulit! Hahaha!

Love these 2! 
Thanks Mother Earth for these BTS photos. Haha!

Finally got my shot! Haha! Thanks Anagon!:)

So nice db? And wild lang ng waves!

Aura pa more

Lunch time!



Boodle fight! WOOOW.

There's fish, barbecue, red egg salad, green mango, steamed veggies. This is making me hungry hehe.


Our side! Ana and the other vegetarians had their own area. :)

Fresh buko for dessert and refreshments

After lunch, it was again time to turn over the water filters to Danlungan residents...
Love how eager and excited they look!:)

Demo again by Coach Martin

So cute this curious kid

It filters dirt and other harmful particles in water!

Curious din ako hehe

Water containers were also given:)

Time to head back. Bye, Danlungan!

The Freewaters gang:)

Fun tricycle ride na naman on our way back

Friendly & smiling faces along the way:)

Destroyed by Typhoon Lando:(

Trike seatmates

We did it!!!

There was an IG contest after dinner...

Didn't win, but Paul, Ana & Mother Earth did! Yey!

Paul won 2x so he gave me one of his shirts. Haha!

Closing remarks by the Freewaters team--Ms. Leslie:)

Mr. Martin Kim...

And also Tiffany!:)

I wanted to spend more time with the gang and also Costa Pacifica, but had to leave early because have Boracay flight that same day. Love this bus, btw!


Freewaters' campaign & the main point of this all is the ultimate message that water sets us free. I now know how lucky I am to have access to clean water everyday and yet I oftentimes take that for granted. 



A vast majority of people around the world have little to no access to clean water, Freewaters takes it upon itself to be an instrument of change. In line with its #ChangeEverything CSR program, the #FeelsGood event is just one among the ways in which Freewaters engages its customers to take part in making the world a better place. 


More than just a footwear brand, Freewaters combines fresh styling, comfort innovation, and social revolution with every step! Bravo!:)



Thank you again Freewaters for this amazing experience! Seeing the smiles on their faces and their eyes filled with hope & gratitude, made all the sleepless nights and pagod super worth it. Definitely one for the books. Hope we could do this again!:)



*The #FeelsGood event is sponsored by RES- TOE- RUN, R.O.X., Grind, Cobra, Summit, Brew Kettle, Great Escapes, Brush Stroke, Primer, Freewaters, NOA Watergear and Go Pro.


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