i am a bit frustrated lately since I have not been to an out of town trip ever since my january surfing trip to crystal beach. partly of my own doing because i enrolled in basic photography class for five saturdays until the first week of march, so weekend road trips are out of the question for now. the day trip i was looking forward to - hot air balloon festival in clark - i was not able to go to because of work. =(
so until i finally finish my 5-weekend photography class, i content myself with researching on new places to discover, planning trips for the summer (and the rest of the year) and reminiscing about the places i have been to and long to go back to, one of which is anawangin in zambales.
anawangin is one of zambales' secret spots - well not so secret anymore i guess. it used to be known to a handful, mostly mountaineers who trek through Mt. Pundaquit (a 5-hour trek) or Mt. Balingkilat (a 2-day trek) and commences in paradise that is anawangin cove. nowadays, even adventurous beach bummers are in on this secret and head to anawangin for a weekend of serenity in the sun, sand & sea.
i have been to anawangin a total of three times last year - march during holy week, may to end the summer & november. it is so accessible and easy to find - from subic, it is around an hour away, taking the straight road to iba, zambales and the only major turn is upon entry to san antonio to reach brgy. pundaquit. bancas can be hired for around P800-P2500 depending on the size of the banca, the number of the passengers and the stops you want to take (capones or camara island stopover), this is where haggling skills come into play. after a 30-minute picturesque banca ride from the shores of barangay pundaquit, the banca makes a turn and from afar you glimpse the white sandy beach and the pine trees of anawangin cove set against mountain ranges.
anawangin is not for the resort-type, 5-star hotel vacationers as there are no resorts in the cove. there are makeshift restrooms -4 plyboards nailed together to provide privacy from the rest of the camp but offers a view of the blue skies or moonlit sky while you are doing your thing . there is weak or no cellphone signal at all, no electricity, just the light provided by the moon & the stars at night, no sari-sari stores or restaurants, just your personal provisions and food that you cook on your campfire. but the essentials are there, sun, sand, sea, pine trees, hillsides and deep well water. on the right side of the cove the caretakers charge P150/person, while on the middle part they charge P50. they say this is for keeping the cove clean and maintaining the deepwell. but P50 or P150 is a small price to pay for paradise. these caretakers sell potable drinking water, sometimes ice and chopped wood for cooking & bonfire if you don't fancy walking around the forest and collecting dry twigs & leaves.
necessities to bring for an enjoyable anawangin trip - tents, sleeping bags, light jacket, flashlight, drinking water (lots of it), food & utensils, first-aid kit, off lotion (although i haven't encountered any mosquitos the three times i was there), waterproof blanket or bag to keep essential things dry, like cameras! of course never forget the cameras! non-essentials but nice to have - marshmallows for bonfire, board-games, rubber shoes for trekking the nearby hillsides, acoustic guitar, body board or skim-board, a nice big ice chest filled with ice, sodas & alcohol!
to maximize an overnight trip to anawangin, arrive early, before sunrise and leave early afternoon-around after lunch the next day while the sea is still calm and to give you time to detour to capones island to visit the lighthouse. a stopover to capones can be tricky, you have to ask your boatman of the wave and tide conditions since the shore on capones is rocky and difficult to dock during low tide or strong waves. but once you manage to reach the shore and take the kinda steep climb to the lighthouse, your efforts will be rewarded with a unencumbered view of endless horizon on one side and the majestic mountains of zambales on the other. the lighthouse itself also provides an interesting subject in photographs.
i can't get enough of anawangin and i definitely will go back. maybe the next time i go i should try trekking via mt. pundaquit. anyone interested?
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