My 2nd Zambales Experience (05/15-16/2010)

We were left wanting more of Nagsasa after our first camping experience there. The beauty of the place really captured our hearts and we definitely miss the place so much. We were given the chance when Lani, a friend, asked us if we want to go to Zambales again because she wants to have a vacation and she’s looking for companions. Of course we didn’t refuse to go with her. It’s our chance to go back to Nagsasa again. Btw she is also accompanied by her friend, Eric.

This time we took the morning trip through Victory Liner at Caloocan station. Good thing traffic was not that heavy and we arrived in San Antonio at around lunch time. We got Mang Johnny again for this trip as our tour guide and this time he really was the one who accompanied us with our trip. Last time it was Mang Nanti who came with us.

We skipped Island hopping for the day and moved it for tomorrow because sun is strikingly hot. We went immediately to Nagsasa where we stayed again and dropped off our belongings. People packed up the place slowly. Good thing we got the corner of the shore and we had the table for us only.

our tents

narrow strip of water

another strip of water projecting the lagoon

nagsasa lagoon

We took a quick dip at the beach that afternoon when my gf noticed something while swimming. She saw a jellyfish. I didn’t believe her at first because we never encountered jellyfishes in our first visit here. We didn’t stay that long in the beach and we got back to our tents. While exploring the place I noticed something silicone-like in the shore. Hmmmm… it was a dead jellyfish! I even joke it as some woman’s silicone popped out without her noticing. Hahaha…

a dead jellyfish

They plagued the shore and the beach which dragged us to swim in the lagoon. Water is warm in the lagoon but is a little dirty when you get farther away to the middle so we only stayed on its shore.

The rest of the afternoon is picture time of course… hehe…

at a rock formation

sunset caught up on us

We took our dinner early since we have no light source. We also requested for a bonfire but it withered quickly. While the fire is on I toasted some mallows for our delight.

bonfire light our night

Good morning Nagsasa!!! We have to pack up early that morning because we have Anawangin and Capones still in our itinerary. So far in my experience, sunrise and sunset in Nagsasa are almost the same.

sunrise in Nagsasa

more of the rock formation in Nagsasa

First was Anawangin cove. Surprisingly the lagoon at Anawangin is flooded opposite to what it was before when we first came here. Anyway, it was more beautiful than before though we had a little difficulty crossing the other side of the lagoon because the bridge connecting them is also dipped in the water.

submerged bridge

Off to Capones, this time we promised ourselves that we will get to the top of the lighthouse. And we have indeed. I was a little scared when I got to the top since I felt like I might fall but I hid the feeling once my gf is on top too. Anyway it was wonderful. A 360° view of the island surrounded by South China Sea is just breathtaking.

a view from a cliff

from inside the lighthouse

the famous lighthouse

finally at the top of the lighthouse!

It’s now time we leave again. We took a bath at Mang Johnny’s place and also had our lunch there. His family was very accommodating. They let us inside their house and treated us like special guests. Btw, their bathroom is very clean and beautiful.

If you would ever visit Zambales and plan to stay either in Anawangin or Nagsasa, do get his services. He’s very nice and accommodating. As for us, we aren’t sure when we will go back to Zambales, maybe someday. But for now, we’re off to try other places.

My 1st Zambales Experience (04/10-11/2010)

It was another long weekend following last week's 4-day break. How we spent this weekend? We went camping! We decided to camp at Nagsasa, since it is just a 4-hour trip from Manila and is very affordable for a budget of only 1,500 per person. We were also accompanied by Rea and Mark.

We got to Zambales through Victory Liner bus line, stationed in Pasay. We took the 1130PM trip and it only took us 3 hours to get to San Antonio since there's no traffic. Ticket price is at P271.

at the bus' back seat

Many of us were dropped off by the bus in San Antonio where lots of tricycles were already waiting. Maybe they are used to campers/backpackers who visit Zambales.

Tricycle drivers are quite familiar with Mang Johnny’s place so we didn’t have a hard time giving directions. We stayed there and waited for daybreak before we set sail.

It was just a short walk to the shore, maybe about few meters. The sand is grainy but soft to the feet. We got excited and scared when we saw the slightly strong waves but we still went on and surprising enough the sea is tranquil when we are far enough from the shore.

set to sail

First stop is Camara Island. Nothing much to see here, just a small island with limited rock formations but is great for portrait shots.

camara island from a view

from another view point

Second stop is Capones Island where the famous lighthouse is situated. This island seems to be the opposite of Camara since it has lots of rock formation from small ones to big ones. Coast is quite rough here since boulders of dried corals stacked together filled the entire shoreline.

stony shore

Mark @ capones rocks

Rea @ capones rocks

me & my gf @ capones rocks

Trail to the lighthouse was a little tiring but we still managed to get there but wait until you get to the lighthouse itself. The spiral staircase was scary because the bolts attached to the walls were detached. The stairs also got steeper and steeper to the very last one, a vertical ladder. Well, it's only Mark who got to the topmost part of the lighthouse and Rea, my girlfriend and I just went down quite exhausted or should I say scared... honestly I do have some fear of heights depending on the platform I’m stepping to. I tend to think that I might slip and fall. hehehe

at the foot of the lighthouse

Now it's time we went to our campsite. We decided to camp at Nagsasa since Mang Johnny told us that Anawangin is crowded already. From afar, Nagsasa shore was a beauty. Surrounded by beautiful mountains and pine trees gives you a feeling that you are somehow in a foreign land.

After setting our tent we took a quick dip and enjoyed the pleasure of the clear water. The water is warm so I really enjoyed it. After spending some time in the beach we decided to eat since it was late already and we haven't had our breakfast yet. We had adobong pusit, fried chicken, calamares, and fried tilapia as our supply for this overnight camping experience. What I liked most from the list is adobong pusit because it's yummy!

trying to build our tent

My stomach didn't quite feel good after eating. I'm not sure what caused it, maybe eating right away after swimming plus it's so hot and we have not taken our breakfast yet. I just rested a little and took a quick nap with my girlfriend. It was a good nap, I could tell that because my stomach felt good after the nap, but as I thought everything seems okay, I was wrong.

We were awakened by our 2 friends and surprised us. Rea told us she needs to leave already. The reason, we don’t know. Mark of course can't let Rea leave alone so he accompanied her. We got pretty stirred up that it's been hard for us to say at least a word. We had no choice. I just told them to go since the boat is waiting for them. Right then and there we were with ourselves for the rest of the day.

It's been a lousy afternoon since then. We were slow on our feet as if we're just waiting for the day to pass. But thank God we changed our minds. We've finally come to our senses and decided to move on. We have to enjoy this vacation since it's just overnight. So we explored the place and took some pictures since that's really the reason why we went there in the first place.

The place is indeed wonderful. I really loved the setting of mountains, rock formations, river and sea.

Nagsasa lagoon

Mang Johnny's boat

It's getting dark already so we took a quick shower. If in case there are lots of people that day, you have to fall in line before you could use the CR so just be patient.

My girlfriend got sick that night, actually she isn't already feeling well that afternoon but she just forced herself so she could also enjoy the place. We slept early and took dinner late.

Nagsasa sunset

We alarmed our phones at 5AM so we could set-up for sunrise shots. =) It's breezing cold outside that morning and we only had one jacket so I borrowed hers and I set off for some shots and she just followed. I managed to take some sunrise shots but too bad it's hazy that morning, so no sun, just an overcast of orange in the sky.

Nagsasa sunrise

After breakfast, we prepared our things already since Mang Nanti was scheduled to pick us up at 9AM. He was there so early we got pressured a little. =) For today, we only had Anawangin in our list. We left the camp early at around 830AM and off we go to Anawangin.

outside our tent

Anawangin has a more scenic lagoon than Nagsasa despite being dried up in some portions due to El Nino. We have not explored Anawangin much just the lagoon and the battery of our camera died so we left the place already.

Anawangin cove

Anawangin lagoon

We went back to Mang Johnny's place to take a shower and before riding a bus home we decided to buy some of the famous Zambales mangoes for pasalubong.

A great experience and we're definitely going back.