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About Me
My name is Michelle. I am 26 years old and currently residing in Manila, Philippines. I'm a big fan of life. Just this year I resigned from my work and decided to pursue web designing. I love encouraging friends and loved ones. Traveling, writing, business and astronomy are stuffs I find so interesting. I am a Christian and I have always desired to walk in faith, hope and love wherever I am.NetworkedBlogs on Facebook
I know, I know. This post is long overdue. But considering how fun our Zambales trip was with former colleagues and some new acquaintances, I just can’t let this all pass without writing about it. With a budget of 2000 pesos (about 43 USD) I wasn’t convinced at first that this would cover all my personal contribution for a two-day trip and some other expenses we could be having but it actually did! I still had extra to buy me a halo-halo from Razon’s.
On May 15th, we left Manila by 1:00AM and arrived at Pundaquit bay by 4:00, no signs of dawn yet. Torn between loving and hating our driver, we made it earlier as expected having endured a very rough drive.
Destinations
- Anawangin
- Talisayin, a private beach where we stayed overnight
- Nagsasa
- Capones Island
What Made This Trip Remarkably Affordable
13 of us went on a trip and 13 of us get to share the load of expenses. Thanks to our organizers, they already planned about the food and water, cooked our breakfast and lunch ahead of time, went on to the grocery, brought a cooking set and other things we should ever need.
Worry-Free Weekend
It’s a good factor that some of us have been to Zambales and they found locals they may contact anytime they would feel like coming back. If you don’t know anyone from this place it would be more convenient to do some research first about people who can probably help so you don’t have to worry so much about the boat, the places you can stay and things you might need.
We also made sure that our families and friends knew about this trip. We sent messages just before we went off shore. Just so if anything unusual happens, they would be the first set of people who would know how to manage the unmanageable for us on these secluded coves and island.
Things You Need to Know About the Islands
- No Cellphone Signals. The moment you leave Pundaquit bay, expect that soon enough you would no longer be able to call and send SMS to your friends and loved ones. So before leaving, make sure you’ve told your parents about how lovely the beach is, you have left a clear instruction to your co-worker about the pending task you have entrusted her, or you have already called your ex telling him you would survive without him. The bottom line is make sure you’ve done everything that needs to be properly done before leaving. For me, no signal means I’m away from all the buzz and noises I deal with everyday of my life so I found it something new. And besides, I can live a month without using my cellphone; tried and tested. How about you? How does that sound to you?
- No Hotels, No Airconditioned Room, No Wifi. I personally loved this. Aetas occupying the beaches and other locals so far have maintained the environment same way it was given to them by God except for minor renovations and changes as witnessed by my friends who have been here especially in Anawangin. This is now well-known to Filipino travelers and so we were not actually surprised seeing Anawangin a bit crowded compared to 2 other beaches we have stayed a bit longer. But yes, if you love trekking over the mountains or sleeping inside tents give you that this-feels-so-much-like-home feeling, then you would probably enjoy there.
- Where’s the Nearest Convenience Store? Not so surprising, there are no signs of convenience store planned to be put up anytime soon. But there are small sari-sari store especially at Nagsasa beach owned mostly by aetas. So you can still drink common cola and juice you get to see in convenience stores. They also sell halo-halo too. And you know what? A man sells ice creams on stick at Capones island just along the surroundings of the lighthouse same as the cost when you buy it inland. I wonder if he has his own boat that gets him to and from the island and if the ice creams on stick had given him enough earnings to buy him that boat for his small business (who knows?).
- How about Souvenir Shops? There is a small souvenir shop in Anawangin. Should you be going to other beaches and island and planning not to get back, make sure you already bought the items you want. They are just so affordable and cute like those souvenirs given on weddings. Why did I say that? I just saw one exactly similar to a giveaway given to me when one of my friends got married. She would hate that once I tell her.
Eye Candies
Maureen and Era walking along Anawangin beach.
On our way to Talisayin beach where we stayed overnight. We left our things. It was safe except for a slight problem. Our things were moved to another hut because some people just felt like doing it. But I have already moved on from that so no big deal.
Nagsasa cove, the best place among all the coves and island. Those mountains magically transform colors from charcoal to golden brown within the day.
A cottage under a sun-shiny clear sky at Nagsasa beach cove.
Nagsasa beach view from up the hill.
An after-lunch gathering.
Awesome scenery from the unfinished grotto in Talisayin.
Karen and me after the stroll.
Happy people waiting to grab their dinner plates. Yeah, my whole face turned red.
This is where we stayed for the night. A small hut we rented in Talisayin. It is a private cove though so we are still blessed to find some place to stay instead of tents.
The following day, May 16, we went to Capones island to take more shots. The Lighthouse.
Cliff view at the top of the lighthouse. We were able to go up and see the vast blue sea.
Choco Chonggo shot at Capones island. 
At Megastation along NLEX on our way home, enjoying Razon’s Halo-halo.
Grayscaled!
Convinced Enough and Wanting to Try a Trip?
Anyone may come and visit these places during summer. It would be more convenient if you would go with friends or loved ones and make sure there’s someone who can swim well. If you’ve tried searching other blogs, you must have read some incidents of drowning and people who got lost on the mountains. Observe proper safety measures to avoid unwanted incidents. Remember that on some certain situations, we can’t count too much on anything or anyone but rather on ourselves when it comes to safety.
Little Things Do Count
And we felt a beach shot will never be complete without trying our own jump shot…
Preparing…
Not the most successful jump I’ve seen so far but it wasn’t bad though. We had so much fun!
Acknowledements
My deepest gratitude to Joey, Neo and Era for allowing me to post their photos on this site. Hoping for another travel adventure with you again guys.
Tags: anawangin cove, beaches, capones island, island hopping, nagsasa cove, philippines, pundaquit, summer, talisayin cove, zambales
nice pics! you had a great time, undeniably.
I agree w/ your testimony about the place. “para kang wala sa Pilipinas” was our feeling when we were here last 2008. we’re suppose to go back last summer hoping to conquer Nagsasa, kaya lang di na kami natuloy.
I just hope that the local gov’t would preserve this place. Cleanliness and vandalism are some of the issues that they need to resolve.
wow ang saya saya naman sayang di ako nakasama dyan!
: )
yup marami nga akong nabasa nang kagimbal gimbal na unfortunate events dyan ng mga local tourists. mabuti at naging safe kayo at nag-enjoy pa.