Day 1
We went off to the North of Luzon and stepped into the islands of Zambales. I and my travel companions geared up to conquer the mountains and the ocean. This travel was on a tight budget and on a last minute yet it was all worth it and a lot of firsts happened.
We have to ride the tricycle and reach Brgy. Pundaquit where we have to rent a boat. Boat rental was expensive (P1500 roundtrip) but we bargained too much to the owner and a little charm worked. Kuya Mike agreed to take us to two islands, Anawangin and Capones. He’s so kind that he even wanted to take us to another island but his boat can’t endure the strong and big waves that day.
Our
first stop was Anawangin Cove. You’ll never get bored within that 45-minute
boat ride. The scenery, the ocean, the sky and the mountains were majestic and
exquisite. I have never seen anything like that before. I felt so overwhelmed.
I can’t stop clicking my camera to take that beauty with me.
At last, we came ashore in Anawangin cove. Our boatmen helped us to carry our baggage, lent us some cooking utensils, and set-up the tent. We were so thankful that they took the initiative to set up our tent because we don’t know how to do it. Less worries and works in our part.
We settled in a camping site in the island. There were other tourists too but not so crowded. I observed that there were no houses around. The island was uninhabited. There’s only one sari-sari store which sells expensive goods, and spot for toilets and washing dishes. There’s no electricity and cell phone signal. The sand was made of white ashes from the erupted Mt. Pinatubo. There were also pine trees on the other side of the beach. The sunrays broke its way to the thick pine trees in the forest. It was nice to gaze at the sunlight and to feel the cool breeze. Day-trippers like us were encouraged to do outdoor activities like swimming, exploring, and hiking.
We cooked our breakfast, ate it and slept. Yeah, we dozed off because we didn’t have enough sleep. We were drowsy and we needed strength to trek the hills.
Later
that afternoon, we asked a local guide to accompany us to trek. He was so
shocked that we wanted to start right away at 12 noon. He suggested hiking at
2PM because it’s less sunny and less warm. That made us shocked! He’s more
concerned with his dark skin and the heat. We were like ‘one-eyebrow-raised’. Anyway,
we agreed to start later and then he offered different hiking destinations.
Eventually, we chose the easier trek and paid him P300.
We wanted a short easy trek to the hills but we were in for rock climbing, hiking and bushy trail. It was exhausting, difficult, and scorching hot! For starters like us, it took 40 minutes to reach the peak (normally, it would only take 30minutes). Imagine how slow we were! hahaha… All the hardships on our trail paid off as we saw the beautiful sight overlooking from the top. The West Philippine Sea was calming and refreshing. The mountains were green and perfectly shaped across the sea. I was so mesmerized. Zambales was love at first sight for me.
We went downhill after seizing the moment at the peak. Finally, we succumbed ourselves to the sea. The water was cold, refreshing and so blue. It was also literally very salty which irritates our eyes. We enjoyed the big waves and screamed like children as the waves hit us. We had swimming until the sunset. We ate halo-halo and sat peacefully as we watched the orange sky and the sun setting down. It was so carefree staring at the sunset. I love this feeling and I couldn’t trade it with anything in this world. *sigh
At nightfall, we prepared our dinner and our tent. As we drifted ourselves to sleep, we could hear the ocean waves and the sound of the forest. Indeed, we had a good night rest.
Day 2
We woke up early and just in time to see the sunrise. We were supposed to cook our breakfast. Unfortunately, we ran out of butane gas. We humbly asked the caretaker to let us cook in their hut. He volunteered to cook our breakfast and asked P50. It was a good deal and while he did the cooking, we explored the other side of the island.
It was a good morning in Zambales plus a hearty breakfast for our growling tummy. While we were eating our breakfast, our boat arrived. We packed up quickly and prepared ourselves to the next stop—Capones Island.
Before we sailed off, we paid P100 per head for the overnight stay and maintenance.
Capones Island was 25-minute boat ride from Anawangin Cove. Our boatman was our guide to trek the top of the hill where the old Spanish lighthouse is located. According to him, it was an hour and a half hike and very steep which require us to climb with ropes. He didn’t exaggerate and it was indeed rocky and tough trail. Honestly, we didn’t sign up for this but we’re up to the challenge and we can be very determined to overcome it.
We climbed the steep hill with gigantic boulders on our path which we held on to keep us from rolling down the hillside. We also crossed the rocky seashore and it wasn’t easy ‘coz it’s wet so we have to be careful. We noticed that there were many broken shoes and slippers on the seaside. No wonder because the way wasn’t smooth which made my friend’s slippers to break too. We picked up some slippers around the area for her to use.
On our way to the forest, we met two Australian surfers. They wanted to go to the lighthouse but they got lost and didn’t know the way. Eventually, they joined us on our trail. The forest was rich with large trees. For sure, you’ll get lost in the thick woods so better get local people to guide you.
Finally,
we reached the summit of the hills and saw the lighthouse. It was so old and
the stairs to the top were bubbly. The guide told us that they limit the people
inside. Only 10 people were allowed to stay on top. For more than hundred
years, the lighthouse was still there to provide its purpose to the sailors and
boatmen.
The view from the peak of the lighthouse was breathtaking! We stayed a little bit longer and got cell phone signal up there. The Philippine Sea was so blue and striking. It’s a beauty in different angles and very picturesque.
We followed the same trail on our way back to our boat. We asked our guide/boatman to let us spend more time swimming. He agreed and told us not to stray away because the waves are strong. We were tired from climbing and the seawater took it all. It’s nice to swim in Capones Island but it’s not the best spot because there were large rocks. We had bruises after our dip in the sea.
Off we sailed back to Brgy. Pundaquit and Kuya Mike gave us time to wash up and freshen up in a little hut. We gave him P150 for the guide/boatman who accompanied us.
We had our lunch in San Antonio’s 7/11 store before we rode the bus bound to Olongapo City. We dropped off the Victory Liner bus terminal and got stuck there. There were a lot of people and the line for the ticket was so long. We spent 2-long hours waiting for the bus and got home around 10:30PM.
We were back in Manila safe and sound. The Zambales trip was another worth-sharing experience and very unforgettable. One good thing about it was we spent roughly around P1500 each all-in!
Contact person
Mike Bactad
0928-3405136
0927-7801312
We went off to the North of Luzon and stepped into the islands of Zambales. I and my travel companions geared up to conquer the mountains and the ocean. This travel was on a tight budget and on a last minute yet it was all worth it and a lot of firsts happened.
We rode the 11:30pm-bus bound to Iba, Zambales. We availed the discounted bus tickets (P220) just by showing our student ID. It’s a good thing that we still had it. We arrived in Brgy. San Antonio at 3am (earlier than we expected) and waited for the market to open. We bought all the necessary ingredients and drinks for our meals in 2 days. The vendors were so kind for giving us discounts, so we were able to fit our budget on food.
We have to ride the tricycle and reach Brgy. Pundaquit where we have to rent a boat. Boat rental was expensive (P1500 roundtrip) but we bargained too much to the owner and a little charm worked. Kuya Mike agreed to take us to two islands, Anawangin and Capones. He’s so kind that he even wanted to take us to another island but his boat can’t endure the strong and big waves that day.
Our
first stop was Anawangin Cove. You’ll never get bored within that 45-minute
boat ride. The scenery, the ocean, the sky and the mountains were majestic and
exquisite. I have never seen anything like that before. I felt so overwhelmed.
I can’t stop clicking my camera to take that beauty with me.At last, we came ashore in Anawangin cove. Our boatmen helped us to carry our baggage, lent us some cooking utensils, and set-up the tent. We were so thankful that they took the initiative to set up our tent because we don’t know how to do it. Less worries and works in our part.
We settled in a camping site in the island. There were other tourists too but not so crowded. I observed that there were no houses around. The island was uninhabited. There’s only one sari-sari store which sells expensive goods, and spot for toilets and washing dishes. There’s no electricity and cell phone signal. The sand was made of white ashes from the erupted Mt. Pinatubo. There were also pine trees on the other side of the beach. The sunrays broke its way to the thick pine trees in the forest. It was nice to gaze at the sunlight and to feel the cool breeze. Day-trippers like us were encouraged to do outdoor activities like swimming, exploring, and hiking.
We cooked our breakfast, ate it and slept. Yeah, we dozed off because we didn’t have enough sleep. We were drowsy and we needed strength to trek the hills.
Later
that afternoon, we asked a local guide to accompany us to trek. He was so
shocked that we wanted to start right away at 12 noon. He suggested hiking at
2PM because it’s less sunny and less warm. That made us shocked! He’s more
concerned with his dark skin and the heat. We were like ‘one-eyebrow-raised’. Anyway,
we agreed to start later and then he offered different hiking destinations.
Eventually, we chose the easier trek and paid him P300.We wanted a short easy trek to the hills but we were in for rock climbing, hiking and bushy trail. It was exhausting, difficult, and scorching hot! For starters like us, it took 40 minutes to reach the peak (normally, it would only take 30minutes). Imagine how slow we were! hahaha… All the hardships on our trail paid off as we saw the beautiful sight overlooking from the top. The West Philippine Sea was calming and refreshing. The mountains were green and perfectly shaped across the sea. I was so mesmerized. Zambales was love at first sight for me.
We went downhill after seizing the moment at the peak. Finally, we succumbed ourselves to the sea. The water was cold, refreshing and so blue. It was also literally very salty which irritates our eyes. We enjoyed the big waves and screamed like children as the waves hit us. We had swimming until the sunset. We ate halo-halo and sat peacefully as we watched the orange sky and the sun setting down. It was so carefree staring at the sunset. I love this feeling and I couldn’t trade it with anything in this world. *sigh
At nightfall, we prepared our dinner and our tent. As we drifted ourselves to sleep, we could hear the ocean waves and the sound of the forest. Indeed, we had a good night rest.
Day 2
We woke up early and just in time to see the sunrise. We were supposed to cook our breakfast. Unfortunately, we ran out of butane gas. We humbly asked the caretaker to let us cook in their hut. He volunteered to cook our breakfast and asked P50. It was a good deal and while he did the cooking, we explored the other side of the island.
It was a good morning in Zambales plus a hearty breakfast for our growling tummy. While we were eating our breakfast, our boat arrived. We packed up quickly and prepared ourselves to the next stop—Capones Island.
Before we sailed off, we paid P100 per head for the overnight stay and maintenance.
Capones Island was 25-minute boat ride from Anawangin Cove. Our boatman was our guide to trek the top of the hill where the old Spanish lighthouse is located. According to him, it was an hour and a half hike and very steep which require us to climb with ropes. He didn’t exaggerate and it was indeed rocky and tough trail. Honestly, we didn’t sign up for this but we’re up to the challenge and we can be very determined to overcome it.
We climbed the steep hill with gigantic boulders on our path which we held on to keep us from rolling down the hillside. We also crossed the rocky seashore and it wasn’t easy ‘coz it’s wet so we have to be careful. We noticed that there were many broken shoes and slippers on the seaside. No wonder because the way wasn’t smooth which made my friend’s slippers to break too. We picked up some slippers around the area for her to use.
On our way to the forest, we met two Australian surfers. They wanted to go to the lighthouse but they got lost and didn’t know the way. Eventually, they joined us on our trail. The forest was rich with large trees. For sure, you’ll get lost in the thick woods so better get local people to guide you.
Finally,
we reached the summit of the hills and saw the lighthouse. It was so old and
the stairs to the top were bubbly. The guide told us that they limit the people
inside. Only 10 people were allowed to stay on top. For more than hundred
years, the lighthouse was still there to provide its purpose to the sailors and
boatmen.The view from the peak of the lighthouse was breathtaking! We stayed a little bit longer and got cell phone signal up there. The Philippine Sea was so blue and striking. It’s a beauty in different angles and very picturesque.
We followed the same trail on our way back to our boat. We asked our guide/boatman to let us spend more time swimming. He agreed and told us not to stray away because the waves are strong. We were tired from climbing and the seawater took it all. It’s nice to swim in Capones Island but it’s not the best spot because there were large rocks. We had bruises after our dip in the sea.
Off we sailed back to Brgy. Pundaquit and Kuya Mike gave us time to wash up and freshen up in a little hut. We gave him P150 for the guide/boatman who accompanied us.
We had our lunch in San Antonio’s 7/11 store before we rode the bus bound to Olongapo City. We dropped off the Victory Liner bus terminal and got stuck there. There were a lot of people and the line for the ticket was so long. We spent 2-long hours waiting for the bus and got home around 10:30PM.
We were back in Manila safe and sound. The Zambales trip was another worth-sharing experience and very unforgettable. One good thing about it was we spent roughly around P1500 each all-in!
Contact person
Mike Bactad
0928-3405136
0927-7801312
