Friday, April 04, 2008

Anawangin: How to's

Years ago, Anawangin is a secret place, a paradise known and frequented by mountaineers, a very serene cove hidden from the tourists' eyes, behind the grassy mountains and fenced by the sometime powerful waves of the South China Sea. And the beach is basically free.

2008. The place is no longer secret, mountaineers now shared the still serene but now very fragile cove to throng of tourists, behind the burnt grassy mountains and fenced not just by waves but also by barbed wire. And it's no longer free.

Before the place gets commercialized (hopefully not! hopefully not!), it would be nice if you can experience a slice of one of the Philippines unexpected beach sceneries. Here's how to go to Anawangin, in San Antonio, Zambales (based on my third time in Anawangin):

Take an early morning Iba, Zambales-bound Victory Liner bus either in Pasay or better yet in Caloocan (bus leaves every 30 minutes starting at 4:20 am). It will pass on the San Antonio town proper. Ask the bus conductor to drop you off near the public market. Travel time is normally three to three-and-a-half hours of bus ride. Fare (Caloocan-San Antonio) P227.00 (including P5.00 for insurance).

Once in San Antonio, you have the option to get your provisions (foods, water) in the public market. The market usually opens at 7 in the morning, so to get the freshest catch of the day, going there early is better. You can also have your breakfast there and your lunch as take out. :)

After doing the market rounds, look for a tricycle (they're everywhere) to take you to Brgy. Pundaquit. It can load a maximum of four passengers plus baggages, and the 10-15 minute bumpy ride will cost you P20.00 per head, but it would nice if you can give the driver P100.00 for four passengers and your baggages (diesel is expensive and most of the time, he will be going back to the town proper without a passenger, so consider the excess P20.00 as a tip).

In Brgy. Pundaquit, looking for a boat is next, and it's not going to be very hard as there are a lot of them who'll offer their service once you've alighted from the tricycle (don't worry, boat operators here are much, much, much nicer as they won't harass you like those in Batangas pier). The standard price for a small banca that can sit a maximum of four is P800.00, two-way (Pundaquit-Anawangin-Pundaquit). Just specify to the boatman the time that you need to be fetch the next day (if you are staying overnight in anawangin). There are also bigger boats that can sit six (P900.00) but there's very few. The biggest boat that can bring up to 15 persons is on the P2000-3000 price range, but i think it needs a prior arrangement.

The boat ride will be 20-30 minutes depending on how calm the sea is. If you can secure a lifevest, that would be better. A little warning though, not all boats can provide a lifevest. And make sure that your things are properly sealed/waterproofed as the water can sometimes be rough. You won't really feel the 20-30 minute boat ride as the view offers a very relaxing mood, it actually readies you for a change of sceneries.

As your boat pass the second hat-like islet (it's actuall a rock), Anawangin cove is now visible to your left and you will be welcomed by the pine tree-lined shore and the clear water will call you like how a flower attracts a bee.

Anawangin now has a conservation fee (glamorous term for entrance fee) of P150.00 and P50.00 depending on where you want to camp. Except for the price, the two campsites actually are the same, they're just separated with a barbed wire (i don't want to dig deeper into those wire, let us just put it as a "boundary" to one's property). The more expensive campsite is the "wholesome side" as it do not allow drinking and smoking in the area, but it doesn't mean that the less expensive is not wholesome. :)

Ask your boatman where is the P150 and where is the P50, and set your tent to where you want to camp. Whichever, a caretaker will welcome you and remind you of the conservation fee that you will settle before you leave the cove. Again, arrange with your boatman the time that you will be picked up (don't pay them yet).

When you already settled your things and camping gears, you can now roam and explore the area and have an endless (and i mean, eeeendless!) photo-ops. TIP: facing the sea, walk towards the left side of the shore, you will see a swamp with poetically lined pine trees ala-New Zealand, and if you walk farther until the you reach the foot of the rocky mountain (and sometimes where fresh and saltwater meet), you can climb that mountain (just follow the trail) and have a better view of the sandbar. believe me, the view there is awesome!

The best sunset spot in Anawangin is near that mountain/swamp as you can clearly see the sun setting.

In the morning, in time for sunrise, go back to the swamp and have another round of picture taking as the view's different with the swamp water completely still and the reflections of trees and mountains are so perfect you'll forget you're still in the Philippines.

You can also bring a hammock and a book. Or take a nap. Or explore the right side of the cove and discover a little cave (and another round of photo-ops). It is also the better site for snorkeling as this is where the fishes are.

When you go to Anawangin, don't forget to bring garbage bag. The garbage/waste that you bring is not the caretakers responsibility, it's yours. Be courteous and responsible enough to clean the area where you camp. There are other people who also need to see the place in it's serenity.

When the boatman arrived to pick you up, pay the caretaker the conservation fee. Although you can clean and take a bath in Anawangin, it would be better if you'll that in Pundaquit (just ask your boatman where) as you can get wet from the boat ride.

In Pundaquit, there are a lot of tricycles that can bring you to the highway, same price. You just have to wait for a Manila-bound bus which is normally full. The best option is for you to ride an ordinary bus going to Olongapo (which is usually half-full) and then in Olongapo, go to the Victory Liner terminal and fall in line to get your bus ticket going to Manila.

There. Next time, I'll post about things to bring.

Happy weekend everyone! kanpai!

39 comments:

jho said...

mahabang post. later ko na lang babasahin. hehehe. Teka, bakit kailangan may red horse?

Anonymous said...

sana makapunta din ako dyan, pero ang first na gusto kong puntahan pag uwi ko e Batanes..sana matuloy lol!

Anonymous said...

waah, tumira din kami saglit ng zambales bago umalis pero nde nakarating jan, twice ata ngpundaquit din kami..family reunion ata ung 1. ppilitin ko makapunta jan kung meron
chance umuwi.

@ate melai nakita ko din sa tv ung batanes, klase maganda din. sana magkasabay tayo pauwi.

Panaderos said...

Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures and information about Anawangin. It seems that the place was one of Zambales' best kept secrets until now.

Just goes to show that there are so many beautiful spots in our country. Peace and order lang talaga ang problema in some areas. If we didn't have such a problem, millions of tourists (local and foreign) would be enjoying more such areas around our country.

Gypsy said...

Wow, beautiful place! Thanks for the tip on how to get there, hopefully I can get some friends to go with me when I return to the Phils. By the way, I hope you took your Red Horse bottle back home with you!! :)

Abaniko said...

Thanks for the tips, Zherwin. I'm definitely going there SOON! Parang ang ganda mag photo ops. Safe ba ang lugar? Okay lang ba mag-camp ang dalawang tao? Salamat!

Unknown said...

Ooh nice place, and you're right, para ka ngang hindi nasa Pinas. Talagang pang camping ang lugar, I wish I can be more adventurous and go there now... and I mean NOW. :-D

Toe said...

I love that sunset silhouette photo Zherwin!

Hey... inuwi mo yang bote diba? :)

Anawangin sounds so magical... and this information is really useful. I want to be able to need it when I go home. Teka lang, san ang banyo? O malaki at maganda yung banyo? ;)

IA. said...

Zherwin, awesome pictures! sigh. ganda ng place! hmm, habang kulang pa ang ipon ko for a trip back to New Zealand, siguro dyan muna ako punta. Kaya lang, parang ang haba ng biyahe (sorry you lost me sa ride the tricyle part yata)...pa NZ kasi, sakay lang ako ng eroplano, pagbaba andyan na (pasensya ka na sa nanay na kulang sa tulog, a nice long trip on the plane is more inviting at this moment)

carlotta1924 said...

naku, pundaquit? i went there with family and family friends eons ago an d we went to one of the islands too. not sure if that was anawangin. man, post mo na yung things to bring! hehehe. =) sana makapunta na ko jan this summer. =)

zherwin said...

jho, nakita lang namin yang bote, at sakto sya sa kanpai hehe. :)

zherwin said...

manilenya, nasa wishlist ko rin ang batanes, and this batanes dream is worth P17K per head (pero all-in na sya)! puntahan mo si mother violet sa multiply site ko, nag-ooffer sila ng batanes. :)

pero bago ka mag-batanes, anawangin na muna, mas malapit at mas mura. hehe

zherwin said...

toni, naku, anlapit mo na dun hehehe. try mo next time, basta wag lang tag-ulan. :)

zherwin said...

panaderos, true, there are so many unexplored places here in the philippines that even the locals doesn't know exists.

in some way, it is better that these unexplored places remain as they are because once they become popular, commercialism follows (which is bad).

zherwin said...

gypsy, if you'll show them a picture of anawangin, definitely, makakakuha ka ng mga kasama, just let them know na back to basics ang drama sa anawangin at walang accomodations (pero merong cr saka poso).

zherwin said...

abaniko, di ko nga alam bakit di mo pa sya napupuntahan, ansarap mag-picture dun!!!

yes, safe yung lugar, thrice na akong nakapunta dun at wala namang untoward incidents akong nalaman (well, don't count alcohol related stuffs hehehe).

anawangin is now a popular camping destination, so chances are, ngayong summer, marami kayong makakasabay.

zherwin said...

rudy, sama ka kay abaniko! magandang mag-recharge dun. :)

zherwin said...

toe, maraming banyo dun, kelangan mo lang mag-igib mula sa poso hehehe.

yung bote ng red horse, di sa amin yun, naki-picture lang ako hehe.

zherwin said...

ia, the more that you need to go to anawangin, you can sleep all day kasi ansarap ng hangin dun. :)

zherwin said...

carlotta, maybe you went to capones island, yun yung isa sa dalawang island na natatanaw sa pundaquit (na gamit na gamit sa marimar, maging sino ka man, kung fu kids, etc).

yung capones ang di ko pa nararating, next time dun naman kami.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if I should be happy with the popularity of Anawangin lately. Anwangin is a privately owned land so I guess it's okay for me if the owners decided to have a fee here. Kalungkot lang na madaming irresponsible climbers/campers din dito. And seeing those barb wires is really disappointing.

There is another cove that's a lot like Anawangin but bigger ad I'll soon explore. I'm not sure if I'll write about it publicly. We'll see...

zherwin said...

ferdz, my group is also planning to explore a cove similar to anawangin, i just don't know if we're talking about the same cove :)

Anawangin has been very crowded lately...

ysrael said...

Ganda ng place at fantastic yung mga photo shots mo, palagay ko lamang ka ng isang paligo kay Abaniko. I just purchased my first digital camera mura lang at siguro magpa-practice muna ako sa mga sala-salabat na kuryente sa poste.

zherwin said...

isang paligo? patay tayo dyan hehehe, kung sa pagkuha ng pictures di hamak na mas magaling sa akin si abaniko. :)

nadadaan naman yan sa practice kaya wala yan sa camera, ako nga 5 year old na yung point and shoot camera na ginagamit ko eh. basta shoot lang ng shoot. :)

Anonymous said...

hehehe ganun ba Zherwin? e alangan namang magdalawang trip ako pag uwi ko e wala akong anda lol!!

toniii kelan ka uuwi? tara sabay tayo, it's either December this year or March next year ako e.

zherwin said...

manilenya, gawin mo na lang side trip ang anawangin hehehe.

ness said...

beautiful pictures! nice composition.

Anonymous said...

grbe! nice pix!!! totoo, phils has many unexplored places and truly, our country is a paradise. last month, we went to vietnam. grbe, when we had our mekong delta tour, my friends and i were a bit disappointed of the site. parang baha lang ung mekong delta, tas medyo mabaho pa. wala silang natural resources na tulad ng saten. no beaches, very few mountains and yet, mas madami silang tourists!!! sa saigon, kaliwa't kanan ang turista. samantalang mas madami tayo na magagandang tourist spots! we really have to push for progress in our tourism, kse sayang. kaya let us support phil tourism.

thanks zherwin for sharing this post. looking forward to your post on things to bring. i will definitely visit this place.

zherwin said...

thanks ness. :)

zherwin said...

akane, it's a given fact na mas marami talagang mas magagandang lugar dito sa pinas, ang ikinalamang lang ng mga kapitbahay nating bansa ay mas magaling silang mag-market ng kanilang mga tourist spot. pero once maging mas aggressive pa ang tourism authorities natin about marketing the philippines as the backpacking destination in asia, naku, kakain ng alikabok ang mga kapitbahay natin. :)

salamat sa dalaw.

Anonymous said...

sir, pupunta kami jan sa anawangin (sana) this april with my friends..ilang hours po ba papunta dun galing pasay ang ask ko na din po sana kung magkano po ang budget papunta/pabalik?sana po tulungan nyo po kami..maraming salamat po!!
--lianne

aln311 said...

tricycle diesel??????

Anonymous said...

really usefuL! thanks!

Anonymous said...

wow, complete guide. thanks! :D

nini said...

thanks for the info.

btw, do u know if we can go to dawal (and check in at sun bloom for potipot) in the afternoon after enjoying anawangin?

Ian said...

Hi, I'm also planning to go to Anawangin, but problem is I dont have a tent. Are there any tents for rent there?

dindo said...

Standard Boat rate in PUNDAQUIT.
Feel FREE to call or txt us if there is anything that you need to know.

Contact Person: DINDO NIEVA/LIEZEL NIEVA
Contact number: (+63) 09172022692
Website: http://dindonieva.multiply.com

NON PACKAGE RATE
SMALL BOAT….(max of 4 pax)balikan
Pundakit to CAMARA island = P700
Pundakit to CAPONES = P1,000
Pundakit to Annawangin = P1,000
Pundakit to Talesayen = P1,500
Pundakit to Nagsasa = P1,800
Pundakit to Silanguin = P2,500
NOTE: Island HOPPING (CAMARA, CAPONES to ANNAWANGIN) = P1,500
BIG BOAT (5 to 10 pax) balikan
Pundakit to CAMARA island = P1500
Pundakit to CAPONES = P2000
Pundakit to Annawangin = P2000
Pundakit to Talesayen = P3000
Pundakit to Nagsasa = P4000
Pundakit to Silanguin = P6000
Island HOPPING (CAMARA or CAPONES to ANNAWANGIN) = P2500
Island HOPPING (CAMARA, CAPONES to ANNAWANGIN) = P3000

BIG BOAT 11 pax and ABOVE
Pundakit to CAMARA island = P150/head
Pundakit to CAPONES = P200/head
Pundakit to Annawangin = P200/head
Pundakit to Talesayen = P300/head
Pundakit to Nagsasa = P400/head
Pundakit to Silanguin = P600/head
Island HOPPING (CAMARA, CAPONES to ANNAWANGIN) = P300/head
NOTE: All passenger will be issued with a lifjacket.
Tent
3 person = P250
4 person = P300
6 person = P500

dindo

Anonymous said...

good day
we are offering packaged tour going to anawangin and to nearby island.. tet us 09193910016. we are offering the lowest package ..
joan

Anonymous said...

hi im joan, i am offering to you our packaged going to anawangin and to nearby island..

here is our package rate:

P 600 per head for 9- 10 persons
P 650 per head for 8 persons
P 700 per head for 7 persons
P760 per head for 6 persons
P 600 per head for 5 persons
P 650 per head for 4 persons
P 760 per head for 3 persons
P 1010 per head for 2 person
*****************ALL IN-- FOOD NALANG ANG KULANG*******
Inclusive of the foloowing:
-round trip tour to anawangin
-island hopping to camara and capones island
-hatid sundo san antonio town to pundakit
-entrance fee in anawangin
-tent
-ihawan, cooking utensils and cooler will be provide for free..
-shower before and after is free
-emergency lights additional 100 pesos for electric fee(charging)
-
for other concern text me or call at 09193910016

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