If you want to escape your busy life for a while,  go to Anawangin- an undeveloped paradise where you can relax and pretend that you are part of the LOST drama series (without the dharma initiative). haha!

Not so far away from San Antonio Zambales, is the Anawangin Cove.  The island grows a lot of pine trees and is covered with white sand which is part debris from Mt. Pinatubo. The beach is not really that safe because of the high current on the island.

I have seen the island for the first time last year May3-4 2008 together with several friends of mine. I was actually amazed by what I saw.  The pine trees grew perfectly well and that it was surrounded by mountains, which made it look as if you are being embraced by Mother Nature. Anawangin is one of God’s most beautiful creations and needs to be taken care of.  Apparently, the island wasn’t safe from the garbage not just from the campers staying on the island but also from the garbage that drifted from other seaside’s as well. Some areas there were covered with wastes. It made me sad and when the boatmen saw me taking pictures of it they said to me that it will be soon cleaned (hopefully) and that it came from other beaches as well, since the current is very high in that area the wastes ended up there.

I am promoting the beauty of the island so much because it is God’s gift for everybody to see. But it is also our responsibility to take care of that gift.

How to get to Anawangin:

From a Victory Liner Station (Sampaloc or Caloocan Terminal) ride a bus going to Sta Cruz or Iba. Fair is around Php250.00

Go down to San Antonio Town Proper. From there you can ride a tricycle that can get you to Anawangin. Php30.00

There are 2 ways to get to Anawangin: By boat or by hiking. You can ask the tricycle to bring you on the place where you can ride the boat or start the hike.

As for our case, we rode a boat going to Anawangin and the back and forth together with trip to Capones and Camara Island cost 800.00Php – Php900.00 each. Maximum of four on one boat.

Upon arriving at the island, you have to pay Php50.00 to the island caretaker. Which gives you privilege to use the water pump and the comfort rooms.

To go back, just ride a bus going to Olongapo from where you rode the tricycle. Then ride a bus going to Manila at Victory Liner terminal in front of Chowking.

What to Bring:

Tent or Hammock. – be sure that you bring something where you can sleep. it is an undeveloped island. No electricity. Very very low to no signal, no internet (haha).

Flashlight

Fire starter – unless of course you are well skilled to produce fire from sticks and rocks!

Food and Water – Yes. You have to bring your food. There are no markets there on the island. But the care taker provides some necessities that you might want to buy:

• 1.5L Softdrinks – 70.00
• 8×12x4in ice – 80.00
• Purified Water (1 jug)- 200.00
• Charcoal – 40.00
• Firewood – 200.00

Cooking Set and Pocket knife

Lakwatsera Essentials – click

Your own glass plate and cutlery set – so that we can minimize out waste contribution. The glass as much as possible is well-suited with hot or cold liquids.

Trash bag – so that you can bring your waste and properly dispose it on the main island.

Lock for your tents. Always keep your things secured.

Mosquito repellent.

TIPS and Must-dos:

Travel Light. Bring the necessities. As much as possible put everything in one back pack.

If you are to bring meat (poultry or pork or beef), Boil it first in water and salt or spice it up (whatever you want) and then put it on the freezer. This naturally preserves the meat.

Reserve tickets as early as possible and arrive at the station at least an hour before the departure. Sometimes those people who have brought their tickets end up standing because there are some undisciplined chance passengers that may took your seat. Even if you have a ticket (how crap could they be).

Bring a bandana. Bandana is one a useful tool in case of bone and muscle accidents. Plus if in case it gets cold. 80% heat loss of the body comes out from the head. It will help you from getting cold.

Keep your areas clean to avoid insect swarm your areas.

Swim near the shore. sometimes the current is very high and the water is very deep.

Tour around the island. there are lots of places you can find very interesting.

After camping make sure that you fire is gone and put a marker so that people won’t accidentally step on it.

Make sure you leave no waste on your camp area.

Lakwatsera Estimate Budget:  Php2,000.00

Tags: Adventure, Anawangin, beach, Camara, Capones, hiking, how to go, islands, itinerary, San Antonio, Zambales

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 31st, 2009 at 11:53 am and is filed under Adventure, Zambales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.