A place that has been created by nature and by time, a place called Anawangin. This pristine cove is located at Brgy. Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales. The word Anawangin is derived from the Ilocano word "nuang" which means carabao. ah yun pala yun, ok! Maybe the population of carabaos in this area are very abundant compared to other places in this province. Nowadays, Anawangin is one of the hottest tourist destination here in Luzon. Kaya dapat mapuntahan yan ng mga beach lover out there bago pa magtag-ulan!
 |
| Mt. Pundaquit |
Early Morning of April 08, at exactly 3:00 am we met at Dau Terminal, at the side of Jollibee where the van via Olongapo located. At that time I'm with, Alex, Jhay, Vanesa, and Joy. Dapat anim kami eh but unfortunately may isang nawawala. tsk! tsk! late na naman si Mang Jose! And when Mang Jose arrived, at 3:45am we leaved Dau Terminal. Since there's no bus that will take us directly to San Antonio on that time,we decided to took the first trip going to Olongapo by van and from Olongapo Terminal we transferred to a bus going to Iba, Zambales. Don't worry guys they usually do a stop over at San Antonio, kaya wala kang kaligaw. The trip going to Olongapo will takes one and half hour plus additional 30-40minutes going to San Antonio.
 |
| Municipal Hall of San Antonio, Zambales |
It was already 6 o'clock when we arrived at the Municipal hall of San Antonio. From there, Tita Alice and her husband, our contact person, picked up and brought us in their house at Brgy. San Miguel.
From left: Fred(batangkapampangan), Vanessa, Alex, Gab(Mang Jose), Joy and Jhay.
In there, we did the payments based on our previous agreement and prepared all the things that we need like, tents, kitchen utensils etc.
 |
| Alay lakad... hahaha! Nice one Alex! |
At around 6:40am we leaved their house and we went straight to the nearby coastline, where our boat and our two boatman were waiting for us.
 |
| Coastline at San Miguel, San Antonio, Zambales |
At the coastline, we were welcomed by a clear blue sky that reflects to the surface of the sea and other than that, the sun starts to shine that makes the whole place lively.
These colorful fishing boats create a picturesque view in the coastal area. It was truly a beautiful morning for the Circles. That's what we call our group.ehehe!
 |
| Anawangin here we come! |
In order for you to see the beauty of Anawangin, you need to ride on this kind of boat. But if you're looking for more adventure experience then you may try trekking at Mt. Pundaquit. Trekking may takes 4hours for you to reach the place. While travelling by boat will only takes you 40minutes or less. Pero parang mas gusto ko mag-bangka ngayon ehehe! This kind of boat can carry 8 person plus your extra baggages.
The water was so calmed at that time. But there were times that we encountered big waves, whooah! It was really an exciting experience.
Along the way you will see the island of Camara and Capones where the old Spanish light house situated.
 |
| Camara Island |
 |
| Capones Island |
You will also enjoy the view of Mt. Pundaquit as you pass by at the other side of the mountain.
Anawangin cove was hiding at the other side of Mt. Pundaquit and when it was discovered by a group of mountaineers, tourist from different regions starts to visit this place. Sa bangka palang sabik na sabik na kaming lahat tumapak sa puti at pinong buhangin ng Anawangin. yehey! gagagad na la! behave guys! ehehe
 |
Anawangin Cove
|
The place was covered by lush pine trees. What a unique scenery for a tropical island where most beaches are covered by coconut trees but in here, puro pine trees?
This is one of the reason why this place differs from the other beaches. They said that these pine trees were brought by the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. The seeds were scattered to the area due to natural activities? hmmm. nice!
First Day:
When we arrived at Anawangin I've noticed that people were staring on us. Feeling celebrity? nope! Masyado kasi kaming maingay, ahaha! Feeling mi kasi ika mi mu ing atsu ka rin. Di mo talaga maipakakaila ang mga kapampangan. aha! Sorry guys, masaya lang kasi kami, always!ehehe.. Panay kwentuhan at tawanan hanggang sa based camp.
 |
| Bayanihan... todo effort! |
 |
| Sigurado ka ba dyan sa ginagawa mo Jayson? ehehe! |
Our bangkero help us to carry our things in the based camp. They also taught us on how to assemble our tents. oha! now we know! hahaha! Thanks to Kuya Marlon and Steve. And before they leaved, we advised them to picked up us at around 8 o'clock in the morning the next day.
 |
| Alex, tulungan mo daw si Kuya... |
To start our first day,the first thing we did was we arranged all our things including our lutuang kahoy. And After that we ate our breakfast, Nakakagutom din yun ah. Ang sarap pa naman ng mga baon namin. Tocino, longganisa, itlog na maalat with kamatis, morcon samahan mo pa ng kanin na nakabalot sa dahon ng saging! booom! saraaaaaap!
After that super sarap na almusal, we decided to go out to the beach to get some fresh air and feel the summer heat. But don't forget to put a sunscreen on your skin.
 |
| Pictorial sa ilalim ng Pine trees |
 |
| Posing lang... thanks to my tripod! |
 |
| Walang basagan ng Trip!ahaha |
The long beach stretch of Anawangin was really an eye-catching because of its off-white sands. As the sunshine strikes at the shore it lights up the whole island. The water was calmed and clean.The color of the water changes as it goes deeper and deeper, best place to do snorkeling and diving. But unfortunately we don't have the equipments for that. Kaya tamang swimming at sunbathing na lang ang ginawa namin. After an hour of dipping and playing at the beach, we went back to our based camp for lunch. Thanks to Joy, kasi pagdating namin nakaluto na sya ng kanin...ehehe!
 |
| Lunch time. Thanks Joy! |
 |
| Kamayan sa Anawangin. |
Everything in this place was so simple. Eating under those pine trees using your hands reminds you the back-to-basic living. People who love camping will surely like Anawangin. Like us, we do really enjoyed every minute of our stay in this place. After we ate our lunch we freshen up and change our clothes. There was a deep well that you can use for taking a bath and for cooking so you don't need to bother about that. Shower rooms were already built near the camp with clean and fresh water source.
 |
| Playing Cards, pampalipas oras |
Here in Anawangin you'll never run out of activities to do.You can go hiking around the place and take some pictures with your barkadas. The weather condition and topography of the area is at the right setting for this kind of outdoor activities. But be always aware of some wild animals. Because there were some reports that there are wild animals roaming around the area. hmmmm... may buwaya?
 |
| Wild People roaming Around ehehe!!! |
Nakakapagod pero masaya talagang mag-hiking dito. After a couples of minutes, we went back in our tents. Everyone got tired after that hiking experience. Some of my friends went to sleep and the other chose to stay inside their tents.
While everyone were sleeping at the middle of the day, I walked around by myself and climbed a part of Mt. Pundaquit alone.
 |
| Power!!! |
The view from the top of the mountain was really admirable. Even if its too hot on that day, nobody could stop me in reaching the top. My solo trek on this part of mountain was truly worth remembering.
 |
| Feeling!!! |
Sunset in Anawangin:
The sunset in this part of Zambales offers a peaceful scenery to everyone, where you can just sit and relax on its white and fine sands as the sun goes down. The transitions of colors around this place from daytime to night time was really alluring. Sarap talaga maglakwatsa dito sa Anawangin. It was a place where you can enjoy every inch of God's creation.
Night Life in Anawangin
Since Anawangin Cove is located at the far side of San Antonio, the place has no source of electricity yet. Most of the campers along the beach used bonfire and emergency lights to enjoy the night life in Anawangin.
 |
| Mini bonfire |
It serves as our source of light at night and here we also cooked our foods. But wait there's something missing in our camping tools. Oh no! We forgot to bring grills for our barbecue.Buti na lang may naiwan na grills sa katabi naming table kaninang umaga. ehehe! thanks!
Dinner Time
 |
| Sarap! sarap! |
 |
| Mangan ta na!!! |
I would like to thanks Vanessa and Alex for that super sarap na barbeque, niluluto pa lang muntik ko ng maubos.ehehe! Sa masarap na sawsawan gawa ni Chef Jhay and Joy, sawsawan pa lang Ulam na. And also thanks to Mang Jose, for not giving up para lang umapoy yung bonfire namin, nag-walis ng mga tuyong dahon ng pine trees kahit gabi na..ahaha! Kainan na!
Second Day
Early Morning in Anawangin
 |
| Good Morning Anawangin |
Morning here in Anawangin was so different. As the wind blows on those pine trees around the cove, it creates a whistling sounds that covered the whole place. That was a very relaxing moment.We need to woke up early because our service will arrived at exactly 9 o'clock. We ate our breakfast and took a final trekking Adventure at Mount Pundaquit to experience the sunrise.
 |
| Sunrise |
 |
| Mga Bagong Gising.... |
Start your day with a great coffee and bread experience in this early morning will be the best thing to do in Anawangin. Mapapakape ka talaga sa sarap at ganda ng lugar.
 |
| Conquering Mt. Pundaquit... aha! |
From here you may see the crescent shaped like and the fine off white sand of the shore. The sun starts to shine at that early morning, that creates a strangely enchanting effect that totally mesmerized us. Climbing at this part of Pundaquit was really worth it. Sulit talaga ang pagod namin sa ganda at linis ng lugar. Sariwang hangin at tamang init ng araw ang dumadampi sa aming mga balat.
 |
| Batangkapampangan |
 |
| Descending... A scenic view from the top. |
 |
| Circle's Summer Adventure |
I really enjoyed this summer adventure in Anawangin. We had a great time exploring the whole place without anything in mind, just pure fun.
Anawangin is the right place outside the city where you can relax enjoy and had fun with your families and friends. Ito rin ang lugar para kalimutan pansamantala ang mga taong sumisira sa araw mo. ahaha! One way to release your overflowing stress because of your inconsiderate boss or your super epal na kakilala. ehehe! Actually this place is for everyone who loves nature and adventure.
Itinerary:
Day 1
0345 ETD Mabalacat Bus Terminal.( PUV terminal via Olongapo) at the side of Jollibee, P130
0510 ETA Olongapo City (from here need to transfer to a Bus via Iba,Zmabales
0520 ETD Victory Liner Terminal, P44
0600 ETA San Antonio, Zambales in-front of Municipal Hall( pick up point)
0620 ETA Brgy. San Miguel (house of our contact person)
0630 ETD Going to Anawangin by boat
0700 ETA Anawangin Cove (assemble your tents and other equipments)
0730 Breakfast
0800 Swimming and picture taking at the beach
1200 Lunch time
1330 free time(you can do trekking at the forest)
1630 Waiting for the sunset at the shoreline
1800 Night swimming ( but be carefull. Always go swimming with your group)
2000 Preparation For Dinner
2300 Goodnight
Day 2
0600 Wake up call
0620 Breakfast
0645 Treakking at Mt. Pundaquit to see Sunrise
0830 ETA at the based camp
0900 ETD Anawangin Cove (island hopping in Capones and Camara Island)
0920 ETA Capones Island
1115 ETA Capones going back to San Miguel
1205 ETD San Migel, San Antonio( liguan na, and preparation to go home)
1430 Lunch at KFC Olongapo ( we choose to go first to Olongapo before going back to Pampanga)
1530 ETD Olangapo City (by Van, P130 only)
1700 ETA at Mabalacat Bus Terminal ( Home sweet Home)
Tour package: Php 600/pax good for 6 person
Be a responsible Individual. Keep Anawangin Cove a better place for campers.
