An Overnight Stay at Anawangin Cove, Zambales

Last Wednesday at exactly 1 in the afternoon, we decided to meet at Alphaland Magallanes to buy everything we need for the outing. At around 3 p.m we finished buying the groceries when one of our companions called us to wait for him because he’s coming late from work. It was 4:30 in the afternoon when he finally reached our meeting place. It was a bit disappointing because our booking schedule was 5 p.m and we should be there 15 to 30 minutes prior. Since we were in Makati area and our bus is in Buendia, I doubted that we will reach the bus terminal on-time. Although we were late, we were fortunate enough that the conductor allowed us to enter the bus but as a chance passengers which means we had to stand all throughout the four to five hours of travel going to our destination. 

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Good thing was that some of the passengers allowed us to sit in the isle. Even though there were a lot of hassle happened, it was still a good travel going to Zambales, we enjoyed each others company and had fun with other girls that we just met inside the bus. 

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Around 10PM when we arrived at Zambales, since our call time is 5 in the morning of the next day, we don’t have choice but to wait for a couple of hours. We had decided to stay at the covered court of the school and wait until morning for the market to open and buy some wet products. While we were waiting we don’t let the time passed without doing anything fun. We played volleyball together with the girls that we met inside the bus, we have drinking sessions and pictorials.

Around 3:40am when the market was opened and so we bought some foods. After that our long wait is over and we went to our destination which is the Anawangin.  Anawangin is a crescent shaped cove with a pristine white sand beach. What makes the place unique is the unusual riddle of tall pine trees flourishing round its vicinity. There are no roads leading to Anawangin. It is only accessible by a 30 minute boat ride from Pundaquit, San Antonio, or by a six-hour trek through hot, open trails thru the Pundaquit range. The cove’s relative isolation has kept it free from development, there are no resorts on this sparkling piece of natural beauty, save for a few huts and deep wells. Just behind the beach is the pine forest and a marsh, where one can find natural springs feeding to the sea. The area is home to a number of bird species. Anawangin is one of the beautiful cove in Zambales that surrounded by great mountains and clear waters.  And as we were approaching Anawangin Cove I can’t help myself but to mesmerize with the greatness of the creation of God. I was staring at the huge mountain, as clear as crystal water and green and healthy valleys.

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We got to Anawangin around 5:30 in the morning; we set up the tent, cooked food for breakfast. We had Adobo courtesy of Ar Mond. To be honest I really loved his adobo, there something in his adobo that I never found in any other adobo that I tasted. Although when I mentioned it to him he never believed me that’s why I decided to include it here in my article. I’m looking forward to eat some of his specialty someday and learn from him as well.  After our breakfast we played volleyball, we toured around the cove while Alvin was preparing our food and this time he prepared the very appetizing Inihaw na Bangus. Later on we had our lunch and while eating our meal we had a non-stop conversation about life, likes and dislikes, I really had a great time chatting to all of them especially little by little I got a chance to know them more. We had so much fun and a bunch of laughter especially with the jokes of James. James is one of the funniest person I ever met and a great friend as well, he is like a magician that full of tricks under his sleeves that will make you laugh.

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After our lunch some of them go swimming in the beach, Alvin was preparing our food, Makee and I decided to take a nap. Then around 5 in the afternoon they prepared for our dinner, we had inihaw na liempo and hotdog for dinner. While they are all preparing, Kei, Armond and I go swimming and I must say that I really missed this moment until now, we shared stories with each other, answered some hypothetical questions that I threw which I really learned a lot from both of them. And of course the main reason why I really missed this moment is that because of “Laitan session” we trashed talk each other and we were just laughing the entire day. I really loved both of them and I don’t want to lose our friendship even if we part ways.

Our next activity is I think one of the main highlights of our Anawangin Experience, we had our drinking session. We played “truth or consequence”. It was memorable for me because I’ve got a chance to know all of them on a deeper level. Our great secrets were revealed, hidden feelings were burst out and all the crazy consequences were made. I’m not going into details because we had a promise to keep it safe but I’ll tell you honestly you will be blown away if you were there. After the night was over we had a group swimming and of course non-stop conversations and laugh was there and the night was ended.

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Day 2: We had our breakfast, then we rest a little bit then we went on climbing. Aside from the truth or consequence game, this Climbing session is one of the most memorable experience for me. This is my first time to climb up a mountain. A way up there was very tricky, I was sweating all over and I felt the pain in my feet but when I was in the middle of the mountain and when I opened my eyes and looked down I was amazed by the awesome landscape that I saw. I am a kind of person who really know how to appreciate all of the creation of God. I was goosebumps with the beauty of it. When we got to the tip of the mountain I really felt the happiness that all our pain and efforts going there were paid off.

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We went back down to our place, prepared for our lunch, while preparing some of them took a nap and rest but Ar mond and I had a little conversation about past experiences about work and life.  Then after our lunch we had decided to go swimming for the last time then prepared to return back to Manila.

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And as they say every beginning has an ending and this is it. But, even if our Anawangin Experience had ended, the memories and fun was still in my heart. All of them has a big place in my heart  and I will truly treasure every single moment that we shared. I know this won’t be our last but this is just a beginning of something amazing that will be going to happen in our friendships.

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Author: Vinz

Vinz is a part-time travel blogger, part-time digital marketing specialist, and full-time dreamer. He loves the photographic medium for expressing what he loves about life. He always finds himself lost during travel. But he loves unfamiliar territories and finding his way around. Aside from his taste for adventure, he loves two things while traveling - meeting new friends and food.

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  1. Summer 2015 - Vinz Ideas - […] and scenic coves. It is a favorite destination of campers and beach lovers. Last summer we went to Anawangin…

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