Its summer. Everyone of my friends are dying to go to the beach, especially my office buddies. So we did not hesitate when Yen invited us to go to Zambales. She was supposed to have a vacation there with her college friends last March but something not so good happened which resulted them on not pursuing with their much planned escape. That's why I didn't have but's when she asked me to come with her. (like her, ayoko rin kasi ng hindi natutuloy na lakad, sobrang heartbreaking).
Nagsasa Cove. It's one of the many beautiful islands located in Zambales. The place has no electricity, no network signals and no comforts at all. There are no hotels, no rooms or even open cottages on the island, so if you are planning to have an overnight stay, better bring your tent with you. And, if you're not that adventurer/survivor type, better not spend your vacation here.
We all agreed to do it on a Friday, (kasi, its my off, and so that they'll have Sunday for rest..ehehehe). April 15 marks the date of our escapade. We contacted the boatman, Mang Johnny for our island hopping. We also requested him to ready our stuffs for our overnight stay. He took care of almost everything, from our water jugs and water, ice and cooler, charcoal, rice, and the delicious chicken adobo his wife cooked for our lunch and dinner. Everything else is set. (from our super daming groceries of foodies, to the flashlights and the tents, and my ever helpful swiss knife)
The first trip of Victory Liner bus from Cubao Terminal to Iba Zambales is 6:00 a.m. so we all agreed to meet 15 minutes earlier. (muntik pa nga kaming maiwan ng bus dahil late si Ate Marilyn at Mitch, kung sino pa ang malapit sa Cubao..) Good thing, the bus hasn't left yet.
The bus ride had like, 2 stop overs, so we make it a point that we had our pictures taken every stop over. I have this one as my favorite, though a li'l blurry:
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| from the left: Yen, Marilyn, Mhaan, Mitch |
It was roughly 4-5 hours of travel time from Cubao to San Antonio Zambales and a short 5-10 minutes tricycle ride from San Antonio to San Miguel, where Mang Johnny's boatmen fetched us.
Seeing the seashore excites me. The view was so pretty.. the water's so inviting..
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| before our boat ride |
I admit, it will be my first time to ride a small boat. We are six in the group and the boat can only accommodate a maximum of four people so we had two boats and divided ourselves to three. The first was Jorge, Mitch and Yen then, Me, Marilyn and Fritz. After putting all our things in the boat, we're ready to set sail to the first destination of our island hopping, Camara Island.
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| ang aming grupo |
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| ang kabilang grupo |
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| Mitch, Yen, Jorge with Kuya Joel |
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| saka ko narealize na papalayo na kame sa mainland.. |
It was just a short boat ride to Camara Island, about 10-15minutes. The island is small, with lots of rocks and shells on its seashore. The sand is fine and gray, and the water is very clear.
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| approaching Camara island.. |
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| Camara Island Babes |
Camara Island is small, I think you can roam around it for less than an hour. It has this huge rock where we did our photo op under..hehehe.
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| ayan ung malaking bato (sa gilid) |
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| sa likod ng bato |
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| pektyur, pektyur |
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| japan-japan..:D |
And some more Camara shots:
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| Marilyn, Mhaan, Yen with Kuya Ryan |
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| ala- cast aways |
We didn't stay long on the island, we proceeded to Capones Island after like, 30 minutes of stay.
Next stop is Capones Island. We're supposed to visit its lighthouse but due to the rough sea on the way to it that day, we didn't pursue. Good thing, we still got the chance to lay our feet on the island. Capones is bigger than Camara, it has wider seashore, and sort of like a view deck where you can climb to see a good view of the island and the sea.
(we didn't take a dip here dahil sa lakas ng alon, we wouldn't want to take the risk..haha)
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| we just love to take pictures with the boat |
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| ang aming mga kabangkaan |
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| up to the view deck |
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| beauty.. |
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| ayoko mangitim..haha |
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W.O.W.
It was past lunch time when we got here, so we had our late lunch on this island. With the big shade of a huge rock, a calming sea air, and friends, we all had a bountiful lunch. |
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| here's where we had our lunch.. |
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| sarap kumain ng may humahampas na sariwang hangin |
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| busy sila! wag magulo! |
After having our meal, we rested for a while and went to the next island, Anawangin Island. I have read on blogs that this island is more famous than Nagsasa. And due to its popularity, it became crowded for the vacationers.
(disappointing, nung medyo malapit na kami sa shore nya, andami ng kalat, mga plastic bottles, at kung anu-anong foils and wrappers..i hope locals will do something about it)
I sat on the hammock and had a good view of the sea. The scenery is so relaxing, I can stay here for days without any complains.
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sobrang peaceful ng dagat
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| enjoying the hammocks (agawan sa duyan dito e, haha) |
I rested a bit before we dip into the water. After awhile, we all played with the waves of the sea.
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| ako lang ang ready, heheh |
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| hindi ko rin alam e..hahah |
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| pictorial |
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| ayan, ready na lahat..hehe |
After our photo ops, we took our bath (infairness, may cr naman dito, with clean water from the faucet, ;)..) and ate our dinner, (left overs from our lunch)
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| readying our dinner |
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| adobong manok, tilapia and some porkchops |
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| having our scrumptious dinner |
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| after the dinner |
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| peace! |
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| :) |
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| ikaw na ang sexy, yen. |
A bottle of mudshake is best after a tiring day with my buddies. So, after dinner, we lit the bonfire, sat around it, opened our bottles of liquor and started chitchatting.
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| btw, celebration itong outing ng berdey ni Yen at Mitch |
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| this was the only light we had that evening, (plus light from my ever helpful flashlight) |
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| toma kung toma |
We even tried to grill some marshmallows but none of them went successful..hehehe..:D
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| super sunog na mallows! |
That was the first night of my life I've spent sleeping under the stars. It was fascinating trying to live as castaways on an island with nothing but good company.
I tried to sleep peacefully that night and I'm lucky I get to find my slumber even before the sun shows up. Because I am so tired, and because I stayed up late, I didn't had the chance to see the sunrise. But its okay, atleast I get to rest more before we go snorkeling. :D
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| sunrise with yen (mother nature ang effect nito) |
I woke up craving for my hot choc, and instant noodles. (ang dami kong gutom pag gising ko)
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| Yen's cup of swissmiss |
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| ito ang nainom namen nung gabi |
The sun was shining magnificently that morning which is perfect for some dip, but we just waited for Kuya Ryan and Kuya Joel to fetch us and bring us to our snorkeling spot (after lunch ang usapan e). While we wait, we (with Mitch and Yen), had our photo opportunities by the lagoon and at the other side of the beach. (habang si Jorge, Fritz at ate Marilyn ay abala sa paghahanda ng lunch namen)
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| lagoon |
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| picturesque |
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| hehehehe!!! after like, dozen tries, may isang shot na lahat kami nakaangat sa lupa ang paa |
Kuya Ryan and Kuya Joel arrived early. They are supposed to fetch us after noon but they arrived even before we had our lunch. We proceeded to our snorkeling activity right after we eat our meals.
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| getting ready for the snorkeling |
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| kulitan lang |
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| orte lang! |
The sea was calm that day, and the sun, rolling high, providing us the heat of summer. I thought, this is a great time to try snorkeling on the vast sea.
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| jumpshot! |
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| ang cute lang e..hehe |
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| the whole group with the ever maasikaso, Mang Johnny |
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| with our dearest bangkeros |
It will be our first time to try snorkeling, that's why putting the gear on is a struggle. But nonetheless, we enjoyed playing with the fishes.
(Marilyn and Jorge didn't join us, sunog na raw kasi sila at ayaw na nilang tuluyang matusta sa init ng araw, haha)
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| ang grupong mag-i-isnorkel |
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| from the left, Mitch, Yen, me, Fritz |
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| struggle sa pag suot, igno, hehe |
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| fritz, playing with the fishes |
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| fishie, fishie, fish! |
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| corals |
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| starfish resting on the sea bed |
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| me (left), and Mitch (right) |
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| seabed's corals |
We only stayed for an hour visiting the fishes. After that, we headed to Mang Johnny's house to bathe.(btw, he allows his guests/customers to use their bathroom after the island hopping/snorkeling, winner toh, kasi we didn't have a good bath on Nagsasa)
It was such a wonderful experience exploring this side of Zambales. With its rich marine life, everyone who visits here will be able to appreciate the nature more. I'm sure I'll be visiting them again soon.
