I’m so pumped it’s a brand new year already! I can’t wait to share with you the best of 2017 in a few weeks time but before that, I just have to get out this story that I promised a few weeks ago.
La Union is more than a surfer’s paradise, it’s a foodie place and a coffee haven! As I went through my collection of photos from my trip last month, I couldn’t help but crave for these to be in my mouth again.
Being a morning person, I value my magic mornings. Whether I’m out to surf a dawn session or set to write in my journal, my mornings are when I’m most awake and it’s the peak of my creative hours.
Even in the water, I’m not mindlessly floating waiting for a wave to come my way. I think! Or you could say I’m already crafting what I’d want to write about later in my mind. I try to observe things around me, the water, the people, the view and yes, the waves!
Before everything though, there’s nothing like a great cup of coffee to watch the sun rise while doing a wave check. What’s so beautiful about La Union is that there are a lot of coffee shops that front the beach, my favorites being Clean Beach Coffee and El Union Coffee.
Again, this is where the supposedly ‘photographer’ in me scolds me for not taking enough facade shots of the places because these two coffee shops have the best views in surf town!
It came no surprise that I’ve mentally pinned these two coffee shops upon arriving in La Union. These were marketed quite well on Instagram where I’ve been following them for quite sometime. From where we stayed, the Circle Hostel, it was around a five to 10 minute walk to El Union Coffee.
It was late afternoon and we had just finished surfing an hour ago. I begged my food buddies, Josh and Connor, to walk with me and look for coffee. El Union Coffee’s signage could easily be spotted if you’re walking along the highway. It was quite a long walk for thirsty surfers and one needing her daily dosage of caffeine.
El Union Coffee’s facade was tastefully done and looked very modern, and yes, hip. There weren’t much seats right in front of the bar counter but this wasn’t where you’d want to enjoy your cup of hot coffee or glass of iced dirty horchata (this was my favorite, hot or cold).
The best view in this area was right out the back, with gabions constructed to look like seats in arena. It was a great job of landscaping since it looked perfect along the backdrop of La Union’s setting with the silhouette of more than a dozen surfers.
In my whole stay in La Union, I went here twice and both times ordering the dirty horchata. It’s ‘dirty’ because there’s espresso in it. If you don’t like coffee but love the sweet taste of this originally Mexican rice milk drink, order the horchata plain.
The first time we went here, my friends and I just enjoyed watching the sun set and the surfers at the pointbreak practice for the competition the following day. The second time we visited was when I had my face all swollen from the minor injury the day before.
All my friends left me watching their belongings because they all ran back to get their surfboards. I was fuming with envy because the waves were perfect. Glassy, just the right size for maneuvers and there weren’t a million people out in the line up.
What keeps me going back (and wishing I could if it weren’t for the distance) was the people behind El Union (and the baristas) were the most hospitable people ever. They would ask you were you’re from, intentional questions that would start interesting conversations. Most of the baristas were surfers, and if you’re one, you can tell if you’re talking to one. These surfer-baristas were my sources of local surf information, I’m so grateful!
If you’re with your special someone or with someone you just met that you want to melt away with La Union’s romantic sunset, bring them here to El Union Coffee’s beach front view. Don’t forget to order just one cup of coffee since you’ll need your other hand to either take photos of the sunset or hold somebody else’s hand. *wink*
