[TRAVEL] ZAMBALES: Anawangin cove, a stormy experience

Anawangin cove.... a mystical beach for some.

My blog about this place is one of the many blogs you can find in the internet. At first, I don't think that we would go to Anawangin that Sunday because according to the news, the weather will be clound and may have thunderstorms in the area of Zambales. But we pushed our luck that if the sun will shine that Sunday morning, we will go. It's that simple. Not to mention that our funds was only extact for our fares and food as we computed everything that Saturday. Well, our escapade to this beach differs to most of the other blogs: (1) because going to Anawangin was only 2days in a making (hahaha)... (2)we were only 2 people to invade the place on a stormy weather last May31-June1. (3)we were able to conquer the huge waves going to the cove on a rainy afternoon (quite scary)... and (4)we were not prepared with the "gear" especially with a tent to spend the night, so finding one before the boat ride was the first thing on our mind (luckily, with the help of manong bankero we are able to find one for rent). Most of the people will ask on a destination like this, "How much to spend?," "What are the things to bring?," and "What to do in Anawangin?." For an overnight stay on that place on a gloomy weather you will realize so much when you get back to the city.

Anyways, (for first time to go to Anawangin) before starting your adventure it is best to have a contact person on Pundaquit. From one of the blogs about Anawangin, shown is the photo was Mang Florante(0910 805 3380) came out with a contact number. We tried contacting him before going there to ensure the weather, volume of the people going to Anawangin, boat availability, fees (and any discount??hehe),etc. He also recommended to us a tricycle owner/driver Mang Gary Evangelista(0921 223 2055) to fetch us from San Antonio town proper.

You need to spend for :

P 251.00 each (one-way) for the bus ride from Victory Liner Terminal (Caloocan) to San Antonio, Zambales

P35.00 each (one-way) for a chartered ride on a tricycle to Pundaquit, San Antonio --->(this rate depends on how much you and the driver agrees; some says 30, some says 40)

P300.00 for the tent rental (overnight), good for 4 peeps. But if you have your own, magdala na lang kayo.

P1,500.00 for boat rental, complete with a boatman and an assistant, your ride from Pundaquit to Anawangin to Capones island to Camara island and back to Pundaquit. --->(going to the place is better for group of 5peeps, at least, para makapag-share kayo sa boat rental)

P100.00 each for entrance fee for an overnight stay sa Anawangin cove (get your own spot sa place, free use of the following necessities: a bamboo dining table, poso as the source of fresh water, and toilet).

When we called Mang Florante, we immediately asked for the fare for the boat. Just to have an idea because most of our money will be alotted for that. The boat ride is really dependent on your itinerary. For example, you may only choose to go to Anawangin only, automatically what you would pay is a round trip ride fr. Pundaquit-Anawangin-Pundaquit. Other packages include going to Anawangin and Capones island and /or Camara island. Capones island is famous for its century old yet functional light house. While Camara island was a pristine white sand beach much near in Pundaquit. The pricing for the boat ride may range from P700.00 to P1,500.00. We also asked Mang Florante of what would be the things to do while in Anawangin. He said, "Kumain...Matulog... :)" We also asked if there were many people at the cove that time, he said, "Madami po kasi kaninang umaga may hinatid kami mga 70 katao, Linggo ang uwi nila." Maybe the people he was referring to was the group of my friend Tin. Because according to her, they will be have their company outing in Anawangin by the end of May.

Next thing to do was to verify the fees that we also saw from the other blogs of people who have been on the place already. The tricycle fee should not exceed P40.00 each. He even gave us a recommendation for a tricycle driver with the contact number. Since we are only 2 going to the place, Mang Florante gave consideration for us giving us the boat ride of all 3 destinations (Anawangin, Camara, and Capones) at a rate of P1,500.00. I personally consider it quite pricey considering that we are only 2. But I thought it just make sense because no matter how many people ride the boat the gasoline it uses is the same. So, ok lng din....The experience is priceless.

We just did not assured Mang Florante that we are going because we were still undecided that time.

I just told my sister, if I will be receiving a bigger paycheck that pay day and it will be sunny, then we will go to Anawangin. If not, better stay at home. Ok, game!!!

During the pay day, I have checked my account and see how much was there. Well, ok naman xa, slightly bigger than the usual na na-re-receive ko, maybe because of the holiday pays.Kaching!!!

For the weather, I am not sure if the rains will stop. We just hope for the best. That night, we started preparing the things (even though we are not sure if we will push through with the plan...). I woke up at 5am, and see if the rain stopped already, and it did!! Well, I told my sister about it and start preparing for the Anawangin trip. ;-)

It was 8am already when we left the house at Sunday (May 31st). Upon arriving to Victory Liner-Kalookan, we purchased 2 tickets to San Antonio, Zambales on the Iba-Sta.Cruz,Zambales bus. It was 8:45am when the bus left the terminal. We are seated on the first row.hehe

We expect the travel tome to be 3-4hours to San Antonio.

When we reached San Fernando, Pampanga, we had a 15-minute stop-over on a Double Happiness fastfood. For most travelling to the North, you may see some of the branches of this fastfood. You find some on-the-go meals here like hamburgers, rice meals, snack, drinks, etc. Also, the area also has few cubicles for the comfort room for the "Wiwi break" the fee for the use of the CR was P1.00. On the other hand, We bought 4pcs. of Pork Barbeque for dinner there. Since we did not bring any cooking utensils, better to have food that is ready to eat. Since we already brought with us a microwavable container filled with rice, ripe tomatoes, some canned goods, and some hard-boiled eggs which will be consumed for our lunch and dinner. Next stop was in Victory Liner-Olongapo terminal to pick up some passengers and to re-fuel. While the bus was still stopped, I saw a 7-11 store and asked my sister to buy a loaf of bread and some sandwich spread for either merienda or breakfast.

At passed 1:30pm, we arrived at San Antonio Town proper. We now called the tricycle driver to ask how much would be the ride to Pundaquit. He sad, P35.00 each. We just waited for Mang Gary to fetch us. We got some photos during the Tricycle ride...hehe. It was 2pm when we met Mang Florante at Pundaquit as introduced by Mang Gary (the landmark for their area was the Our lady of Guadalupe church, wherein when you reach the church, just turn right and its already his house with some Nipa hut cottages).

Upon introducing ourselves to Mang Florante, he just smiled and welcomed us. He said, "Akala ko Ma'am, di na kayo matutuloy eh...", he added, "Ayos yan Ma'am, kakaalis lang nung mga dumating kahapon eh, makakapili kayo ng magandang lugar dun sa Anawangin..." He led us to the shore and showed us the boat and the boatman. Too bad, we didn't have the chance to ask his name and the of the assistant boatman.

We asked Mang Florante again regarding the rate to be sure that the fees will be the same. One thing was left, we still do not a tent. So the boatman helped us asking the locals for one. We manage to have one and haggle a bit, we rented the tent for P300.00 (good for 4 people).
As seen on the photo, that time the area had a cloudy weather. At Pundaquit, though there is no rain yet, the boatman assured us that it is safe. Everything is set and off we go to Anawangin. At first, mabilis magpatakbo yung bankero kaya naman unti-unti na kaming nababasa... That time it was fun, as we agreed, we wanted to go to Capones island first but the boatman asked us because from our location, we are able to see the furious waves on the island. Ang sabi ng bangkero, hindi rin kami makakadaong... so tumagal ang trip namin, kasi we have to detour going to Anawangin cove. That experience i think was really unforgettable. Me and my sister never had experience an actual huge waves na sinasagupa ng isang maliit na bangka. The experience was like riding the Jungle Log Jam of Enchanted Kingdom ten times (for the height, may be cut it in half...)mas nakakatakot ang experience kc kahit pumikit ka...pagmulat mo, nandun pa rin kayo.. parang ayaw mo na.... pero hindi pwede...combined with the salty water splashing all over your face as rain slowly falling from the sky.

That time, our only savior will be the life jacket... During the trip, many times I'll just close my eyes and hold the wood in the sides of the boat hard (as if di na ko maalis dun sa bangka khit anung mangyari, sa sobrang higpit ng hawak ko,when we arrived at Anawangin, my mga color blue paint sa hands ko, nabakbak form the boat... :) sobrang higpit tlga ng hawak ko...) Also include the color of the ocean, as in navy blue na...Just telling us that the area was extremely deep. Hindi pa naman ako marunong lumangoy...kaya, nag-pray na lang tlga ko.

When I saw the shores of Anawangin, I can't help it but exclaim, "WoW!! GRABE salamaT, may lupa na rin!!!" From the location where the boat stopped, the place where we stayed was quite far, that time it was raining and the wet sand was very difficult to walk on(its like lulubog ang paa mo pag-diniin mo ang pagtungtong...parang ang bigat-bigat...). There were few campers and swimmers when we got there who were about to leave that day.

Good for us, that we landed on the place safely...

On Anawangin cove, there was a house made of cement. It was the caretaker of the place. An Aeta and a resident of Pundaquit who was about to go to the town to buy some of their food supply and other stuffs. That time....

it rained....

it rained harder...

Those campers cannot leave Anawangin because as the rain came, the water got higher and higher together with enormous waves. Afterwards, since the house we saw did not have any shed, we decided to go to the water pump area because it has a shed made out of nipa. As it rained, the camper can't take staying wet because only a bamboo table was only available in the place. They came to our are and share the shed. The guys were geared up with their mountaineering bags (not to mention, one was carrying an bottle of Emperador Brandy as his jacket...hahaha), they were with a group of friends from Quezon city. Well, we stayed there for 20 minutes, I think. The caretaker and the boatmen arrived and decided to have a convoy to that if anything happens (got forbid...) they can help each other or easily contact Pundaquit.

10 minutes passed and the campers left Anawangin... That time me and sister where the only tourists on the place.There were some caretakers of certain areas in Anawangin. It feels like the island was exclusively for us....but its quite scary since the weather seems to get gloomy. Together with our Dicapac, me and Bec, stroll on the cove to take some pictures. We had the chance to glance on the unspoiled beauty of Anawangin with is lush array of pine trees and misty river. Time seemed to pass slowly at Anawangin cove.

The waves on the ocean was like a giant playground for surfers which made the shore difficult to walk on.

Parang nahuhukay nang malalim ang pangpang. I personally got afraid of even getting my feet submerged on the waters. I warned my sister to not to swim. Since there is no sign that the weather will get any better that day. And I'm thinking that the beach might get deep because of the huge waves.

We saw the famous river described in some blogs also located in Anawangin. That time, the water became amber in colour due to the dried pine needles and the water kept on flowing slowly through the ocean(as we have observed...).

After getting some pictures as we go along, we have to get something to have a light source. We saw a small stall that sold halo-halo and some instant noodles. We bought a piece of candle (but it didn't work because it became windy that night...). Then, we go back to our tent to fix our things and get ready for our dinner.

That night, we had rice, pork barbeque, hard-boiled eggs, and tomatoes for dinner. Too bad!! we are not able to the candle that we bought because of the wind. The caretaker saw us and gave us a small gas lamp.
It was a very unforgettable night because we can only here the sound of waves and kuliglig plus the pine trees seemed to have its own lights because of the fireflies. Its a very humbling experience seeing SOOO MAANNYY fireflies!!!

I don't know if the other campers or bloggers were able to take noteof this scenery...

After dinner, we decided to recall our expenses for that trip. Also computed what we will spend for tomorow, if we will run out of cash, we need to get to Olongapo to get access to ATM. So it turned out, we had enough cash.hehehe..

That night, the rain stopped and we turned the light off and say a prayer to keep us from any harm. My sister manage to go to sleep easily after few minutes. I personally had the tendency to have the difficulty of sleeping when I am somewhere unfamiliar or a new place.hehe (Namamahay ba...hehe) Maybe it took me til midnight before getting to sleep, then awake at 4am(it rained and area became cold...brrrrhh!! I wish we bought a thick blanket and a small bed...hehe),then get up at 6:30am to have our island hopping to Capones island and probably to Camara island if the weather will get better. We got our shot of a calmer Anawangin....

From the second shot, we can see that the ocean floor of Anawangin is uneven... As we approach Capones island, its shape resemble like a whale... ;-)

There were some fishermen along the coastline having their fishnets have some fresh catch. I personally saw some big fishes jumped over the waters...hehe...VERY NICE!! Unlike the waters of Anawangin, the coastline on Capones is bluer and the sand is whiter. The shore was filled with so many shells and hard coral stones. According to Manong, the passage way to the lighthouse was on the other side of the island wherein we cannot pass through because of the big waves. That is why we will take to 'long cut' to go to the Lighthouse. The wrong thing was he did not told us to bring our slippers with us because we will go to the lighthouse through the very ROCKY shore of Capones island....so we got there BAREFOOTED!!!! OUCH!! After walking on the coral stones, we must hike on the slippery slope of the island to go up to the location of the Lighthouse. Its very exhausting but its an experience surely we will never forget.... Our "foot-ache" seemed to fade when we saw the lighthouse. Full of fascination.... We just asked how they managed to get the materials to build this structure on the top of the montain??? The house itself was made up of bricks and iron similar with that of in ancestral houses in Intramuros. The area also have its own well as a source of fresh water. Though, house itself can be used as place to stay, Manong told us that the solar-powered lighthouse was well-maintained by the Phil. Coastguard. We got the chance of going to the top of the Lighthouse and glance a 360-degree view of Capones island. Its like a dream...or like a movie scene....just so breath-taking....

Manong told us that we need to get back on the boat before noon to not encounter the huge waves like we had the previous day. Sadly, we did not manage to see Camara island because the waves became furious again. We just to proceed ending the trip and go back to Pundaquit. As we walked the beach of Pundaquit, the waves that approached the town was like those for surfing. We met Mang Florante again and shared our experience on the Anawangin. Came along was Mang Abdul, a vendor of pearl jewelry from Zamboanga. We bought a pair of pink and black pearl studs for P200.00. Mang Florante offered us to take a shower on their private shower room for free since we are the only tourists on the area. Also, he brought us to the town using his tricycle to get a ride back to Manila. Getting an airconditioned bus to Manila was like impossible. Almost 3 ordinary buses already passed when we decided to get on an ordinary bus and get off to Olongapo, the fare was P44.00 each) and then transfer to an Aircon bus going to Manila, it was P190.00 each. Our lunch was the loaf of bread that we had the day before and a sandwich spread. It was 5pm when we arrived at the Caloocan Terminal and get a jeepney ride to Malinta exit afterwards a tricycle to get home....
This trip has been one of a kind... Lesson learned, do not go to Anawangin in a stormy weather...
We are very luck to be home safely...

Til our next adventure... ;-)