Very often, ushering the new year means something new. New Year’s resolutions, a new wardrobe, a new hairstyle and maybe, for some just a new outlook on life.
Though despite the desire to change almost everything for what we think is better, there are some things where familiarity felt with new senses seems much better than a complete change.
Allow me to explain. I recently visited my home break, Dahican Beach in Mati City, Davao Oriental a few weeks back. That trip made me a firm believer of the saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It’s been months since I last was here and it’s been even longer from the last time I wrote about this place.
It was a weird, unfamiliar feeling of nostalgia that hit me. I thought I outgrew this place having stayed so long here from the previous year and the year before.
There were a few new good things that happened to Dahican in my absence. My friends, Cha and Carlos, finally got to open the coffee shop they have been talking about. Yes, I’m talking about Balud Coffee House which serves the best coffee by the beach in Dahican.
Carlos owns Taste of Home in Matina Town Square, and if you’ve been around Davao City long enough, you would know that their meals and pastries are just the best. Carlos brings Taste of Home’s signature quality of pastries to Balud Coffee House plus the chill, laidback vibes that Dahican Surf Resort naturally brings—Balud Coffee House simply is the coffee that chills you out.
They’re located within Dahican Surf Resort, the former lobby/play area that we frequented before. Combined with Sheepy Surf Shop, yes you read that right. There’s finally a decent surf shop that sells surf merchandise, equipment, and surf wax!
Now it’s even better working from the beachside in Dahican thanks to great coffee and the improved Surf Shack which is going steady and bringing great, gourmet renditions island-style.
There may have been a lot of changes, lots of new faces and lots of new developments around in Dahican but one thing remains, the wave it brings still teaches you things. I thought I couldn’t learn to have fun here anymore, but to my greatest surprise, I still do.
I guess the summation of the quick visit would be found in the single photo of myself in action by Dahican’s homegrown photographer, Dylan Uy. I’ve been surfing Dahican since 2014, and it’s only now that the timing served me well. The photo was perfect even if my form and the wave I was on wasn’t. It was a great day still because there were waves and I was still good enough to ride well. The only thing that matters—there were waves.
After this quick trip, I remember writing on an Instagram post how I felt about this place. I thought I already outgrew my fondness for Dahican. There was so much change that happened both to me personally and to this place I call my home by the sea. I’ll leave you with what I wrote, and I hope you’ll consider visiting Dahican with a fresh pair of eyes and heart.
“You’ll always be the view I’ll never get tired of looking at. The sound of the waves crashing and the laughter of local children—it’ll always be a welcome sound to my ear. You never get old, Dahican. I miss you, especially during Amihan.”
