So it's here, we have set our foot at the Central Luzon of the Philippines. Zambales has become a tourist destination of the people from the North. Just 6 hours away from Metro Manila. Here are our itineraries.
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| the rock formation on our way to Anawangin shore
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 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.
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.
