Anawangin: Paradise in its cheapest form

2008-06-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Went on a weekend trip to Anawangin with my friends the other week. Anawangin is a secluded cove on the other side of the Zambales mainland, opposite the town of San Antonio. Allegedly "discovered" only in recent years, this place is hyped to be a haven for trekkers and camping enthusiasts, as well as nature photographers. If you try googling Anawangin, you're bound to come across dozens of blogs that describe in detail the beauty and simplicity of this place. Well, after hearing so much about this place in the past few weeks, we decided to see for ourselves what all the fuzz was about.

Trese kami lahat! The date was May 24, Saturday. Call time was at 4am. We crammed all our stuff into two vehicles then sped off to Zambales -- most of us still having terrible hangovers from an all-night drinking session the night before. Mabuti na lang, the journey from Eastwood to Zambales was a breeze. Astig yung bagong Clark-Subic tollway! Yun lang, dimonyo sa mahal ang mga toll fees! -- 180 pesos for the whole NLEX stretch, 112 for the new tollway to subic, and another 20 bucks before you enter Subic. That's 312 freakin' peysos just getting there! Well at least mabilis naman ang biyahe. Took as roughly just 30 mins to get from the NLEX Dau exit to Subic! Then, once you've navigated through SBMA, mga 45 mins pa, nasa Pundaquit ka na!

Pundaquit is one of the 14 baranggays of San Antonio, Zambales. Having a decent shoreline, this place is said to be frequented by local surfers during surfing season (sabi lang saken ng boss ko). This is the sole entry point for people going to Anawangin. From Pundaquit, there are 2 ways to get to Anawangin. You can either rent a boat that will take you around the mainland going to the Anawangin cove, or you can risk getting lost in the woods or get eaten by wild boars on a 5-6 hour mountainous trek to the cove. You can guess which option we took.

Medyo natagalan kami sa pag iintay ng boats sa Pundaquit. By the time we got on our respective boats, grabe na ang init ng araw. These boats are around 15-20 feet in length. Judging from their size, I'm thinking they should only carry a maximum of 4 passengers plus their baggage. So nagulat kami nung malaman naming 6-7 passengers kami sa isang boat. But upon seeing that the sun was up and the sea was very calm, di na lang kami kumibo. Hahaha. Yung mga bangka na 'to, hindi katulad nung mga passenger boats sa Boracay, kung saan may mga dedicated seats for each passenger. Dito, papaupuin ka lang sa gilid ng bangka, then bahala ka nang humanap ng kakapitan mo. Hahaha. Mga 30 minutes yung boat ride to Anawangin. With a majestic view from all around, this kinda reminds you of those boat rides you take around the Boracay island or the ones from Sabang going to the Underground River in Palawan.

As we were approaching Anawangin, you could already see na marami nang campers na nauna na sa amin dun. The beach looks decent enough. (Naks! angas 'no?) Sa estimate ko, more or less mga one kilometer ang haba nung shoreline nya. Sabi sa ilang blogs, white sand beach daw ang Anawangin. From a distance, parang pure white sand nga siya. But upclose, you'll see na hindi pala siya ganun kaputi. Medyo silvery or grayish lang. Nevertheless, this is still a very nice beach. The water is clear and malinis at hindi masyadong mabato yung buhangin.

Right behind the beach area, you'll find hundreds of tall pine trees. This is the camp area. Actually, hinati sa dalawa yung camp area. At the left-most part (if you're facing the cove), 150 pesos ang camp fee (per head). Sa kabilang part naman, 50 pesos lang. As you can imagine, mas marami ang campers dun sa 50-peso area. However, it isn't because of the cheaper fee. Bawal daw kasi ang yosi at toma sa 150 area. Alam mo na siguro kung saan kami pumwesto.

We initially set camp by the beach, right next to the caretaker's hut (and near the artesian wells and toilets). BTW, walang sariling tubig ang mga toilets dito. So if you feel the need to go number two, kailangan mo munang mag-igib ng tubig sa poso (shet, pumping scene! Hahaha) Anyway, we had already settled in nung biglang dumilim ang langit at lumakas ang hangin. Puta, grabe yung sipol ng hangin. Parang may parating na tsunami. Hahaha. So we packed up our gear and moved to the area with the pine trees.

If you look closely, this area seemed a lot better than the first one. For one, the ground here is not sandy so you can avoid getting sand inside your tent. Also, if the weather turns bad, the tall trees should protect you from the strong winds. I was actually wondering why other people would rather set up their camps in the sand. We later found out that you're not allowed to start a bonfire within the pine tree area. Kaya siguro ayaw nila dito. And another thing, andami palang lamok dito! Everyone went scrambling for their Off lotions. Later that night though, a strange thing happened. For some unknown reason, nawala bigla lahat ng lamok. It's as if someone just turned off a switch and all the insects just left us alone. Weird.

We spent the entire afternoon exploring the areas surrounding the camp. Picture dito, picture doon. At the back of our camp, there were 3 or 4 separate fresh water streams that merge together into a kind mini lake, then empties itself onto the ocean. This was my favorite part of Anawangin! It felt very relaxing just to submerge your feet on these crystal-clear waters flowing down from the mountain. Later on, we tried to go as far upstream as we could -- to see if there was some sort of lagoon or water falls where all this fresh water is coming from. However, it was getting dark already so we decided to head back to camp.

Back at camp, everyone was busy getting ready for dinner. Irish, our sexy (and single) resident cook, went on preparing a hot pot of CPP (that's Chicken Pork Pochero you moron!) The other guys took care of the ihaw-ihaw duties. Shyempre, kaming mga buraot, we just stayed at the sidelines waiting for the food to be served. Sinimulan ko na ring paikutin yung tagay while they were still cooking. Every so often, merong sisimple papunta sa batis to light up a joint. Hahaha. Mga adik amputa! Without electricity (or any other amenities for that matter), nightlife in Anawangin is limited to getting wasted on booze or getting wasted on weed. Either way, you end your day being wasted. Mabuti na lang may dala kami pareho nun (although mga 10pm pa lang, naubos na agad yung baon naming tatlong boteng Bacardi Rum) Word of advice for first time visitors: be sure to bring a sufficient amount of booze for your group. The same goes for your drinking water (and food of course). Kasi, pag naubusan ka dito ng pagkain, tubig o toma, wala ka nang mabibilihan. Except for the camp fees, your money is useless here.

The next morning, the food committee was up early to prepare breakfast for the group. There's nothing like waking up to freshly cooked hotdogs, eggs and tocino. Sayang lang at nalimutan namin magdala ng kape. The smell of fresh pine mixed with the cool morning air from the nearby mountains makes you crave for a cup of hot coffee and a smoke. Reminds you of Camp John Hay, minus the expensive cost.

Except for me and Allan, the rest of the group set off on a short hike up a nearby hill. Di nako sumama sa kanila kasi, sabi ko, wala naman akong gagawin dun, plus mapapagod lang ako sa akyatan. But after seeing the pics they took up there, I kinda felt sorry I hadn't come along. Ganda pala ng view dun. Sayang.

At 10:30am, as soon as the group got back from their hike, we packed our stuff and boarded the same 2 boats that brought us here the day before. As part of the agreement, the rental fee for the boats includes side trips to both Capones and Camara Islands. The boat ride from Anawangin to Capones Island took around 45 minutes. Puta, nalimutan ko pang ilabas yung sunblock ko sa bag. Naka sando pa naman ako. Ayun, sunog yung mukha at mga braso ko.

Capones is a small island, about 5 kilometers off Pundaquit. One one side, the island has an isolated beach area (ideal for swimming) On the farther end, you'll find an old lighthouse perched on top of a hill. That's where we went. From where we docked our boats, there was a brief climb up a cemented stairway. This takes you to a short trail that leads directly to the lighthouse. This is another certified "friendster-friendly" place. Great views all around. Everyone was firing-away with their cameras from the foot of the hill, all the way to the top of the lighthouse. The base of the lighthouse was old and dilapidated. Not sure if it's still operational today. Several blogs indicate that this lighthouse dates back to the Spanish era. However, you can tell from its looks that it had already gone through a lot of renovations. An hour and hundeds of pics later, we headed back to our respective boats and sailed back to Pundaquit. We decided to skip the Camara trip because the sun was getting too hot already. Another 30 mins later, we were back in the real world. The world that accepts cash! First thing I did? Bought a bottle of ice-cold Coke. Ahhhh....Sarap!

All things considered, panalo 'tong lakad na 'to. Anawangin is such a beautiful place that it's hard to believe that it's only 3 or 4 hrs away from Manila. If you're into camping, trekking, and photography, this place is definitely right for you. If you haven't been there yet, I strongly suggest that you do so now, while the place is still unspoiled.

Scratch and Sniff

Anawangin: Paradise in its cheapest form