The Chronicles of Jill: October 2012

Nagsasa and Anawangin Cove, Zambales

I have relatives from San Antonio and Pundaquit, Zambales and it has always been a vacation destination for me and my family. I have heard of stories that there are more to see in this area aside from the river and the Pundaquit beach whose waves kept me from enjoying the waters for I am not a swimmer. My brother used to tell me that he have been to some coves that will make you feel you are not in the Philippines but he doesn't know the name of the place. So after those long years, I finally made a decision, I will go there and now it has a name, Nagsasa and Anawangin Cove. I invited some travel buddies and viola were driving going to San Antonio, Zambales. First stop is to see relatives and then went to the town's market to buy food and stuff needed to Nagsasa Cove where I intend to stay overnight. My cousin who lives in Pundaquit beach got us a boat that will bring us to Nagsasa Cove and fetch us the next day for only 2,500 pesos for 7 adults and one kid. So after around 45 minutes boat ride we are already in the shores of Nagsasa cove. As soon as feet touches the sand, we hurriedly looked for a place to set up our tents. There are no lodging inns in the cove that makes it really backpackers haven. One should bring a tent or just sleep on the tables of nipa huts rented by Aetas in the cove. There is an entrance fee of 100 per head for an overnight stay which was collected by the natives of the cove. Since we are tired of our long day travel, we fall asleep but we are sometimes awaken by the noise of some mountaineers who were so drunk that night. Early morning we are greeted by the scenery of the place. Here's some of my pics

El Nino Phenomenon have affected the grasses of the nearby mountains that envelops the cove

Our crib during the night

After our photoshoots, we overheard that there is a small falls that can be reached by a 15 minute hike but one needs to hire a local guide. My travel buddies wanted to see it so we got our own guide and walked under the summer heat to see that falls and to our surprise, there is very little water running on the rocks. So we just said maybe it is because of El Nino that is why there is no much water but we took the opportunity to play and took pictures again.

After our mini hiking, we learned that the boat that is getting us back is ready so we started our journey to the next cove, the more famous Anawangin. Since it is holy week during this trip, the place was so crowded so I did not enjoy it much. We just ate our lunch and strolled around to get pictures. By the way there is also an entrance fee here of 100 pesos per pax by I bargained and told the one collecting the fees that we will not be staying long and we are from Pundaquit. So she agreed and I just paid her 50 pesos per pax. Anawangin is good place to have picnic because it is cooler due to the pine trees that is scattered in the place. There is a small lagoon that is ideal for picture taking and playing around with friends. After several pictures we decided to go back to Pundaquit.

How to get there:

Via Commute: Take Victory Liner Bus going to Botolan or Sta. Cruz, Zambales and take off at the municipal town of San Antonio, take a trike going to Pundaquit Beach and from there get a boat going to the selected cove.

If you want hassle free trip to Anawangin or Nagsasa, contact gotravel.ph. They offer cheap packages that includes tent usage and meal preparation. Enjoy.

What to do in Culion, Palawan?

Culion, Palawan was famous because of its history specially on the case of leprosy. It was selected as a containment site of leprosy victims during the American Period. We are lucky to visit this town after convincing our colleague to adopt us for a while in their town in Culion. Thanks to the Lopez's and we were able to explore this historical town. We arrived late at night after a 1 and half hour boat ride from Coron, Palawan. During our travel, we were not able to appreciate the beauty of Coron waters because it was so dark and when we arrived at Culion, we learned that there were no electricity at night. We were so dead tired during our trip so we hurriedly slept without any plans for the next day.

We were greeted by the morning sun when we woke up and we start to appreciate the beauty of the island. It was surprising to see that there are a lot of people living in the sleepy town. This town offers its own tourist spots like the following

1. Culion Church

2. Culion Museum.. (Fees are Php 250 for foreigners, 100 for non locals, 50 for locals and 20 for students with ID)

3. Fort Culion

4. Agila Mountain. This gives you an excellent view of the island and the nearby islets

5. Culion Port at night (We went here, ate grilled tuna, noodles and played pinoy henyo, awesome)

6. The town itself. People here are warm and courteous

How to get there:

Via Plane: Book via Cebu Pacific, Zest Air, or Airphil going to Busuanga. Its better to get a morning flight so that you can get a ferry to Culion to see the beauty of the ocean. From the airport take a van going to Port of Coron then transfer to a ferry going to Culion.

Via Ship. Since we are budget travelers and we are not able to get a seat sale for plane we opted to travel via ship. We've got superferry on a sale price too. However, we traveled November and the water was rough that I was sleeping the whole time. From Coron get another ferry ride to Culion, we got our own boat for 2,500 which is a lot cheaper because my colleague was able to contact somebody from Culion.

Reminiscing Coron

My first ever visit to Coron, Palawan in 2009 have triggered the moles in my feet to start wanderlusting the wondrous beauty of the country. Since then I can't stop browsing for promo fares, checking groupon deals and looking for next adventures. The experience I had in this island kept me wanting for more experiences... travel experiences. What made this trip special.. well, special because it was spent with colleagues from the university where I was working and we stayed in a co-worker's home in Culion, Palawan... How did it go? I want to remember... Well, I was the one in charge looking for cheap fares and I was able to get promo Cebu Pacific seats and sail tickets from Aboitiz. Everything went well, toured around Culion, went to their museum (by the way.. museum fee is 100 at that time) some of my travel buddies did not entered the museum but I have this thinking that if I visit a place, a want to see every bit of it because I do not know if I can visit it again. I enjoyed eating fresh fish and the good laugh I had with friends. Our second day was the highlight of our trip because we did our island hopping. As soon as we ride the boat, everybody kept on admiring the rock formations on each islet that we are passing by. First destination was Banol beach and everybody was awed by its beauty... the sand are stunning white and we swam a little and ate our lunch.

We have jump shots and multiple pictures taken in that beach but our enjoyment was cut short because we were informed that there are more spots to visit.

Next is the Kayangan Lake known as the cleanest freshwater lake in the country. This is my favorite place because of its tranquility and mysterious beauty. There is an entrance fee of 100 pesos each but we got a discount because we are with a Culion resident with us. Going to the lake, one must climb several steps but it is not tiring because as you reach the top, one can have a good view of the different islets of Palawan. Most of us swam in the freshwater lake and I enjoyed very much because the water did not gave me a stingy feeling like what salt water usually do.

(view at the Kayangan Lake)

We spent around 45 minutes here and went to the next place which is the twin lagoon. It is also a pristine beauty but I had a minor accident where I slipped in one of the rock formations that gave me bruises in my legs and feet. Nevertheless it did not stopped me from joining my colleagues in rafting in the twin lagoon. Our last stop is at the Siete Pecados where one can do snorkeling in the middle of the ocean and feed big angel fish (I really don't know what kind of fish they are). What amazed me here is that while some of my friends are swimming and feeding the fish, one paddle boat came and gave us tickets which happens to be the entrance ticket for visiting the place. The old man in that paddle boat told us that they are really watching the place and are using the funds to ensure that illegal fishing will not take place in the seas of Coron, Palawan. This is something that we can share to our students as we discuss next semester. We had a tiring but fulfilling day because our eyes and our minds have seen one of the most beautiful places in the country. Three years have gone and the experience I got in this place are still in my mind. I kept on saying I want to go back...

More of my Coron Pics