The scorching heat of the sun and humid summer weather gave us the go signal that we're in need of vitamin SEA! ASAP…
So mid-april, Aria Ariba at NAGSASA COVE, Zambales!
We decided to tag and invite interested and kaladkarin adventurers (in a short notice) but only one accepted the challenge, little sissy katkat.
We only had one weekend for the trip, so we had to maximize our time. First challenge was our mode of transportation. We left Dagupan at 3am via Victory Liner ordinary bus bound to Sta Cruz, Zambales. It was the first trip and there were lots of passengers waiting when we arrived, so we had to jam the crowd to get good seats. Off we go! We arrived Sta Cruz after 3 hours of travel-sleeping, heads jolting. Aka tugkinger. We transferred to another bus bound to Olongapo and traveled for another 3 hours… whoa! We actually didn't expect it. Initially, we were informed by our good friend google, that it would only take 1-2 hours to reach our destination. But yeah, wrong ta-wrong!
We arrived San Antonio, Zambales past 9am. Twas a long ride! Before we headed to the jump off point, we went to the town’s market to buy our baon. Good buy alert! Fresh squids are cheap here! We bought 4 pcs of it, average pang-ihaw size for only 20pesos. Do the math, 5 pesos each!
After buying our baon and some needed stuffs, we texted our contact Ate Alice whom we avail of the 2d1n Nagsaza Cove Package. It includes the hatid-sundo from town proper to the beach area-jump-off point, boat ride going to Nagsaza Cove, island hopping (Capones and Camara island), camping equipment (tents, water, icebox, bonfire woods) and bonus pa, the bangkero-Lakay Marlon turned PA/julalay na rin! ;)
We boarded on a small boat, I mean really small because its good for 2-4 pax only. No top cover so we were like, hello mr sunshine at 11am! Lakay Marlon had to put our bags inside a big trash bag to keep it dry. It was a fun boat ride during the 1st 30 minutes… with the turquoise colored sea water, fresh air and rock formations as our view, perfect! Not until we felt the scorching heat of the sun and splash of sea water on our faces! After more than an hour of sailing, we finally reached Nagsasa Cove!
It was very relaxing to feel the cookies-and-cream-like sand on our feet… the cove and its mountain range is a perfect backdraft for photos! We opted the nipahut at the beach front. After pitching our tents and settling down, we were all hungry and could eat a cow! So together, we ate our yummy baon, cooked chicken adobo. (TIP: better prepare a packed lunch so you wont need to cook your firstmeal na. less hassle!) after devouring our first meal at the cove we took a rest. Kanya kanyang pwestong presko! We bought a hammock and tied it infront of our kubo. Power nap time!
After more than an hour of rest… beach time! We were like kids who enjoyed the sand-sun basking and clear nagsaza waters. We were amazed with the color of the sand which according to the locals is mixture of the original gray sand and lahar. Its like glittering!
We enjoyed goofing and rolling on the sand! But before sunset came, we decided to get off the beach and enjoy the perfect sunset view at the shore.
Mike and Lakay Marlon started to build fire for cooking food and source of light as well, while Kat and I took a bath/rinsed off. It was convenient for the campers to attend to their 'number 1 and 2' needs since there are concrete comfort and bathroom at the campsite.
Night time came... We savored our inihaw na pork and squid with sawsawang ensaladang talong and kamatis! to complete the ideal "outdoor camping" ambiance, we stargazed and circled around a bonfire, drank some booze and satisfied our sweet tooth with s'more! (roasted mallows)
Fast as Manny Pacquiao’s signature punch, we were knocked down at 10PM. Kat and I slept inside our tent while Mike opted to feel the outdoor breeze and stayed at the hammock.
Day 2 came… we woke up 6:30AM. Off we hiked unto the mountain! We had to pay P20 as “entrance” daw? I was kinda hesitant at first, cmon! It's OUR mountain! Why pay?! But since an aeta guy is in-charge of it, I gave in na rin. Tulong na lang sa local aeta community.
We hiked for 15minutes to get a good view of the cove. We planned to climb to the peak, but other campers were already coming. We didn’t want to stay there with a big crowd. We witnessed the sunrise at a vantage point. Of course, we didn't want to miss the perfect view so we took pictures.
Before Mr Sunshine’s scorching heat got into our skin, we decided to go back to our campsite. Kat and Mike enjoyed another morning swim while I prepared our bread and leftover-dinner-meal for breakfast.
After eating, we break camp and started island hopping.
Our first stop was at Capones Island. We were amazed with it's beauty from afar, even more when we got to see and explore it. We climbed our way up to the lighthouse. The old and rusty look added some classic retro beauty. And since we were all super-model-wanna-be’s we had our own time to shine on our Iphone5 photoshoot. Look!
But, wait there’s more! We were stunned after seeing this view at the lighthouse view deck, just WOW!
Time for another swimming! Our 2nd stop, Camara island. Water here is more clear compared to Nagsaza, we saw the school of fish swimming along with us... we fed them with our baon breads. And the sand? Geez! Pang-aquarium! We enjoyed our snorkeling…
After an hour of swimming, we decided to go back to the main land. It was kinda “bitin” but we had to leave soon for our 6 hours travel time. We returned to Ate Alice's place, took a bath to freshen up before our viaje. We left San Antonio, Zambales around 2pm and arrived Dagupan past 8pm.
Overall, it was a fun outdoor summer activity. I've always loved the beach and it never fails to make my heart happy. Moreover, twas extra special since I got to share it with my sissy kat and sweetie mike.
I guess the generic name of Vitamin SEA is Happy Pill. ;)
-joyce :)
-joyce :)
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