altum viditur

calm water on the way to Capones Island

One of the best things to do on the island, aside from just hanging around and not being able to enjoy the beach, is go up and take a tour of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is at the back of the island when you’re facing the open sea.

reference: Pundaquit’s Website

the Capones Island lighthouse on top of a big rock formation, from afar

Capones Island is 3 kilometers away from its neighboring island, Camara Island. Both islands are side-trip destinations from the more popular Anawangin Cove. offshore).  A Spanish-era lighthouse which visitors can explore lies on top of the Island.

a steep ascend to the lighthouse

To get to the lighthouse, visitors would go up a steep hill (but actually is a large rock formation) from the shore.

beautiful rocks that will make your ascend a bit difficult

hundreds of slippers scattered in the rocky shore of the island

I never found out why but there were a hundred of footwear scattered all over the rocky shore of the island. Maybe the visitors were not careful during their trek that they bust their footwear there. It’s the only realistic explanation, though it wasn’t very hard to trek along the rocky ground. I hope to find out why when I come back.

Before reaching the lighthouse, visitors will enter a forest-like area, then a canopy of trees that will show the gate that welcomes everyone to the lighthouse.

on the way to the Capones Island lighthouse, lush greens

canopy of trees (view of the ocean)

the lighthouse at Capones Island

Inside, everyone can explore the whole vicinity. Visitors are allowed to go to the top of the lighthouse to view the ocean. There is a beautiful spiral staircase in the main entrance, and some enchanting Spanish floors, walls, doors and windows.

spiral staircase – ornate, rusty and beautiful

Spanish window with the view of the sky, the ocean and the hills

After exploring the lighthouse, we frolicked in the water around the island for a while before boarding our boat to Camara Island.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Sunset Skies
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

Though the sun setting and fading out from the horizon is not visible from Anawangin Cove, you will surely appreciate the sky at dawn. As I have mentioned in previous articles about the cove, the sky that one sees from Brgy. Pundaquit to Anawangin Cove has a naturally beautiful blue gradation, fading to white as it touches the horizon.

As there is no electricity in the cove, no one will miss the vibrant colors of the sky as it changes from blue to warm colors, while the water catches and reflects the hues.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Capones Island, Pundaquit Zambales
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

scenic

Continued from Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field

I wondered why the photos of Anawangin Cove that I see online are shots from the top. I did not know that there’s actually a view deck. No one mentioned it in blogs that I’ve read. It always seemed like an areal shot from hiking Mt. Pundaquit. Truth is, the view deck is only about 5-10 minutes of trekking. Easy, breezy and really pretty. :)

easy

These are what you see on the way to the top:

breezy

pretty

The view deck has two levels, the one steeper than the other. We settled for the lower deck. Enough to see the whole cove.

view of the sand, swamp, trees and mountains

cove next to Anawangin

We would have waited for the sunset but we did not bring flashlights with us, and the group’s mainly composed of inexperienced hikers, so going down the hill would be difficult in the dark. Sunrise and sunsets cannot be seen on the cove because mountains and rock formations would obstruct the view. But the blue sky turning red was a wonderful scene.

before the blue skies turn to red

Thanks to Reden, Redentor and Dave, our tour guides from Adventure Road Trip for the fun weekend!

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Sunset Skies
Capones Island, Pundaquit Zambales
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River / Swamp

Dave took us to the Anawangin Cove’s open field at the back of the island. It’s a nice place to play frisbee! He said wild tamaraws roam freely there. Too bad they were not around when we came. But there were a lot of dungs and mud baths. Since there’s no electricity in Anawangin, and the open field reminded me of the UP Sunken Garden, but much wider, and Jma said it’s like a “party place”, I named the area as “The Anawangin Concert Grounds”. We would have a blast mosh pitting in the mud baths! Haha.

The open field is like a challenge in Tomb Raider, you can see a vast open field, and the trees that surrounded it. You can run towards the trees, but some are dead ends, some are opening up to unknown forests.

The golden Mt. Pundaquit more visible in the open field.

After taking photos, Dave led us back to the beach. Crossing the shallow river once more, I did not pass the chance to experience it more than dipping my feet on it. I laid down the shallow flowing water. It was soothing. I did not want to leave, but we need to go to the view deck to see the whole island.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn
Capones Island, Pundaquit Zambales
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

From Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach

the river

There were barb wires fencing off the river or swamp of Anawangin Cove from visitors. Red2 said there used to be no fence there. The fence is probably because of the Frank incident where the river rose and produced massive flash floods.

clear water

Red2 checked the river, it was only ankle deep, sometimes knee deep in some parts. One member of our group went in, I did too. A little later, everyone was in the river, taking photos of each other. The setting was like the in the movies where you see a fairy in the wild, nearby a beautiful river.

tall Agoho trees, with white sand beach at the end

The river was calm, clear and glistening. From afar, green plants and shrubs, sun rays penetrating the leaves of the taller trees. We walked a little farther, in the mini forest, then met another river. We followed the river’s current. And it led us to a wider opening, to a white sand area at the end. A river with white sand, yes. It turned out that this area is connecting to the beach, and to the first river that we crossed. Anawangin’s layout is really amazing.

river connecting to the white sand beach

If I had more time, and if I had my life vest with me, I would have explored that area with the wider river more. I was taking precautions because I don’t really know how deep the water ahead could be.

like a scene from M. Knight's The Village. Haha.

Of course the river is shaded by the Agoho trees that dwell well in Anawangin Cove.

the river and the Agoho trees

We came back to camp for lunch. We had a feast, of course. We took our time eating and digesting our food. It seemed that Anawangin has this calming breeze that made us slow down. I wasn’t even in a hurry to go the water, I even took a nap at around 3-4 PM. Ktin woke me up and it’s time to explore the island, again. Next destinations: the open field, and the view deck.

Related Posts:

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 1) – The Beach
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Sunset Skies
Capones Island, Pundaquit Zambales
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

relax in nature

It is really beautiful. I’ve been to a lot of beaches before, and this, by far, is one of my favorites. Imagine the layers of Anawangin Cove: alighting the boat, the water touches your feet – it is really calm and clean. Then walk towards the sand that is white at high sunlight. After the clear shoreline, rows and columns of tall Agoho trees (which look like pine trees), behind them, a river, only ankle deep, with brown flat stones. Surrounding the sand, Agoho trees and river, as if embracing them, are green and yellow gold mountains.

layers of Anawangin Cove

the view from Anawangin Cove

campers coming in

look up, what do you see?

campers

We arrived at the beautiful cove at around 7:30 AM, there were only about three groups that were already there. We chose a table nearest Aling Ligaya’s kubo (nipa hut). Aling Ligaya is the caretaker of the island. We then set up our tents, in the sands. I helped set up two tents :)

our tents, overlooking the beach, the mountains and the sky

There are no resorts or lodges in the cove and the only way to stay overnight is by tent camping. There’s also no electricity. It’s a good thing the cove is not infested by mosquito and other insects or bugs. You have to bring your own drinking water, or arrange for delivery from the barangay/mainland. If it’s peak season or weekend, the locals may have a few gallons to sell.  I only saw one make shift store there and they sell beer at double the price, so better bring everything you need. If you’ll hike and would camp overnight, you can send your stuff (tent, gears, food, water) via pump boat, make sure someone comes along with your stuff to prepare/unpack because the pumpboat ride is only 30 minutes and the hike is about 6 hours, you do not want to spoil your food.

After setting up the tent, some of us started to prepare the our stocked foods in the table, some surveyed the place, some looked for a spot to set up our grill and cookwares. I walked away from the sands to be under the canopy of the Agoho trees, picked a table in the middle of a wide human trail, and lied down on it to relax. This was my view above:

my view with moving clouds

Tall Agoho trees that are probably in the family as the pine trees:

tall pine trees

A few minutes later, I went back to our camp to check on the group. Some were already grilling pokchop and chicken wings. Our tour guide Dave was preparing his SuperKalan (a small stove). Our two other tour guides namely Red1 and Red2, were also busy preparing other stuff. Before lunch, Red2 invited the group to walk deeper into the woods to see the river.

preview of the river

Getting to Anawangin Cove, Zambales
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 2) – The River
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 3) – The Open Field
Anawangin Cove, Zambales (part 4) – The View Deck
Anawangin Cove, Zambales – The Dawn
Capones Island, Pundaquit Zambales
Camara Island, Pundaquit Zambales

I would like to congratulate the AMCI Mountaineering Club Inc. for its successful Anniversary Weekend held at Mengie’s Beach Resort in Talipanan Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro.

amci anniversary weekend - iron manny

I was tagged along  by my friend Jay, a member of the AMCI, to the event. We had a fun climb at Mt. Malasimbo, one of the mountains surrounding Talipanan Beach. I am proud of myself for completing the trek, my first, without stairs! I’ve trekked Mt. Isarog and Sagada already and both had concrete steps. I experienced the real thrill of falling or slipping on narrow and sometimes steep mountain trails, resting on top of the mountain with a wonderful view of the beaches below, and traversing on a path with sharp grasses and plants with thorns.

view from Mt. Malasimbo

view of the Talipanan beach below

Back on the beach, I had a few bottles of beer and a relaxing afternoon, while watching the swimming leg of the org’s first Iron Manny triathlon. At 7:30 PM, the party started with a live band and a feast. Then the booze started flowing. It was a night full of fun. :)

beer on the beach

AMCI members watching the swimmers

AMCI members posing for the camera

jay skimming (look at the purple sky)

The next morning, we awoke at 8:30, had breakfast and prepared to walk to the next beach (which was said to be Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala’s property) to go swimming. Jay brought a friend’s skim board so I tried it as well. No luck, my patience kinda ran out, so I did not learn how to ride the board. But I had fun swimming and chatting with a group of kids on the beach.

We left the resort at 3PM. And I have to say that I enjoyed everything in Talipanan – the beach, the party, the trek, the people and the wonderful experience of nature tripping. :)

*Thanks Jay and Nelson! I will post the photos very soon! :)