I've longed to go back to the coves of Zambales and J's company outing was the perfect opportunity for some beach bumming again. I loved Nagsasa for the black sand, clear waters, picturesque mountain background and pine trees. I finally got to try out an overnight camping experience in Anawangin one Friday to Saturday.
We had breakfast of sopas, lugaw (congee) or champorado c/o our packaged tour.
We paid 2000 pesos per person then the airconditioned van to and from Manila is included, along with boatride to Anawangin, Capones Island, Day 1 breakfast, lunch (sinigang and fish), dinner and Day 2 breakfast, lunch. 2 local ladies went with us overnight and they cooked our food.
I think it has to do with the season and the time.
We didn't have to go very far to get to the boat and the waves were not strong unlike my first trip.
They suggested that we go to Capones Island first.
Personally, I didn't like it for the lack of shade and it's only for an hour or less for me due to the intense heat even at 7am..
Our boatride from Pundaquit to Capones was 30 minutes.
Based on my Nagsasa experience a few years ago, Anawangin is much bigger in terms of area. There are more pine trees, more huts and structures like stores here.
The area after the beach is also filled with fences indicating ownership most probably.
I heard from a fresh boat that arrived that they were charging a P50 entrance if they want to go in (maybe daytrip). Ours was already included.
They gave us just one uncovered table (for 19 of us..) so maybe this (number of tables and cover) should be one of the things you can haggle with before agreeing to the package.
They set up 4 tents for us (in the package), some a bit cramped and no soft bottom mat.
Bring sleeping bag for added comfort if you want. Then there's some coal (buy extra here if needed) and 4 jugs of water (I think mainly for cooking and some for drinking). Ice you can also buy here. I'm not sure if we bought our own rice but we bought extra fish and squid at the wet market then they grilled it for us with sauce and all.
Bring sleeping bag for added comfort if you want. Then there's some coal (buy extra here if needed) and 4 jugs of water (I think mainly for cooking and some for drinking). Ice you can also buy here. I'm not sure if we bought our own rice but we bought extra fish and squid at the wet market then they grilled it for us with sauce and all.
Other observations:
- They sell netted hammocks for P300 (P100 in Pundaquit), shotglasses (3 for P100), souvenir items and bamboo amplifiers. There are sari-sari stores. There's plenty of trees to hang hammocks on. Maybe just bring straw rope or sarong or banig if you want ;)
- We went swimming at 8am when they said it's not so hot. The sun was too hot for me though and the water was cold so you might just overstay and unnoticeably burn your back hehe.
From 2 p.m., we went in the water again and the water was hot. There were also clouds this time around so the sun situation was ideal. Bringing rashguard and some sunblock is always a good idea.
- I have a favorite spot - the water is shallow and there's shade so J and I just sat there for an hour in the afternoon haha.
The rest of the water level is around 4 to 5 feet for a few meters from the shore. I think Nagsasa is more shallow :) I heard though that it's "biglang bagsak" (suddenly goes deep). So both coves are ideal for swimming horizontally. Have your goggles ready. There's not much fish (which was good for me) but I ran back to shore when we had close encounters with 2 giant jellyfish (bigger than J's palm). And so we walked to the end to my fav spot haha.
- There's a row of covered shower stalls and basic toilet bowl with no flush, faucet in the stall with running water in daylight and a pail near our camping area. There's a poso nearby. Then there's minimal light at night so bring a lamp or flashlight, toiletries and tissue (just throw it outside properly). Better if you can take a bath before it gets dark (no more water in the stall faucets) unless you want common bath time outside with the general public in the dark near the poso (I actually did this as fast as I could and at that point, you just want to get things over with...) or carry a pail of water to the toilet stalls with light.
- For food, bring a bowl for multipurpose soup and plate, spoon, fork and your own water bottle. There are a lot of flies around eating time and also big dogs.
Some of us also did some trekking (P50 per person, steep according to one, you have to hold on to bamboo at some point)
And, there's no cell signal here at all so do fix your boat pickup sched before they leave you at Day 1.
Whoops! Almost missed the sunset! It's so calming to look out in the water while the sun is setting.
The sound of the waves and the colors of the sky just put me in a good mood to write nonstop.
- Good thing I also brought my aquashoes (super duper hot sand, J had Crocs), extra slippers, lag time snacks, charged powerbank, ear plugs (socials, bonfire, dogs barking and running water motor at night) and sleeping mask haha.
Don't forget to waterproof your bags and use it as a weight inside the tent (very windy at times). The only things I forgot to bring were my bucket hat and a portable fan..
- For local packages (no van from Manila included), here's the number of boatman Kuya Carlos and his wife Doris - +639424902188 :) The rate is around P650 per head for the packaged boat and utensils.
They said you can ride a Victory Liner bus to Iba (Zambales) or San Antonio.
The Galleon.ph family below! Check out some cool pieces from the US that you can buy in their site. They will do everything for you door-to-door. I bring with me in my travels - the ever-so-reliable Ear Plugs and My Bucket Hat!
The Galleon.ph family below! Check out some cool pieces from the US that you can buy in their site. They will do everything for you door-to-door. I bring with me in my travels - the ever-so-reliable Ear Plugs and My Bucket Hat!
Hope this helps your Anawangin beach camping in any way :D Stopover at Subic Duty Free after! Thanks, Capt. for a fun day with yer mates!
One last bit of info - before Anawangin cove is a more private cove called Silanguin. Maybe you'd like to check it out. =) It's a lot nearer and not that many people I assume.
