ramblings, random musings, fascinations, rants, raves and revelations

Friday night which extended to that morning of a Saturday was chaotic! Everyone [except for me] was cramming on their reports and work loads just so we could leave the office, go home and head to the bus terminal… Maybe it was the excitement that drove us crazy. Weird, but I was half hearted and couldn’t fully join the fun because Agnes’ birthday will be on a Sunday. The thought of being out of town made my heart jump and beat twice but missing my friends birthday held me from being on an ecstatic mode.

When I got home I texted Joanne and Mia about joining them on our way to the bus terminal. Few changes of our route plan made me feel cramming but thanks to great heavens we still made to the terminal early!

The bus was supposed to leave at 12:00, Lou, Ryan and Ivan were already there when we arrived. Cj then came after few minutes. Everyone shifted mood because Beto was nowhere in sight and the bus is about to leave in 15 minutes. Good thing he made it before the scheduled departure.

We arrived at San Antonio at around 3:00 am, which was earlier than our expected time of arrival. From there, we met our guide and rode a tricycle to Pundaquit Beach. While Mia, Joanne and Ivan were doing the pamamalengke, the rest of us just took time taking pictures, enjoying the beach and wandering how it would be like to be in Anawangin while staring at Capones Island and another one which I soon heard to be Camara Island.

Capones Island and a couple of other smaller islands [the Camara Islands] lie a few kilometers from the shores of Pundaquit, Zambales. The Camara islands are 2km offshore and Capones is 3 kilometers farther [5.2 km offshore]. Capones and Camara are known for their white beaches, speckled with colorful crushed coral. Clear turquoise waters held us spell-bound. High rock cliffs beckon rappellers. Capones is known for an old Spanish-era lighthouse that brings visitors back in time.

The boat was small and I can see some were hesitant to ride it! It was my first time to ride a small boat, but the excitement consumed it.

About 15-20 minutes later, we docked at Anawangin Cove. All the while I thought that Anawangin is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered. But we were surprised to see that there were actually a lot of people that weekend! Lucky us, we got a space near the improvised CR and poso [well].

I had fun at Anawangin. This is the first time I’ve set up a tent and actually felt like a real camper! Our trip from one island to another was a real scare and adventure at the same time! Imagine going against the waves, in a small boat, at the middle of the sea! But it was fun and really something worth sharing.

Before we head back to Pundaquit Beach the next day, we made a side trip to Capones Island. It rained hard while we were packing our things and unfolding our tent. We wore our “Anawangin - Capones Adventure shirts” and decided to brave the rain showers. The Capones adventure will be on my next blog post.

The locals of San Antonio should take care of their beaches and other natural resources around the place. Tourists should likewise do their part in preserving the beauty of Anawangin [and Capones too]. Everyone should do their share in preserving the place so that a lot more would also be awed by its beauty and serenity. As my fellow campers say: “Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints; kill nothing but time…”

The entire Zambales experience was capped with Jollibee treat for ourselves as we board Victory Liner. Definitely, a good way to end a good long weekend with a good out-of-town trip.

I’d like to thank of course everybody who made the trip memorable and really enjoyable. Lou [my husbandry], Beto [boyprend], Ryan [ex], CJ [hmmm.. gretch's], Joanne [porky], Mia [chuchay] and siyempre lalong higit kay Ivan na sobra bait at nag-asikaso ng halos lahat.