Zambales Diaries: Camping in Anawangin

I first heard of Anawangin Cove from Kim during our magazine days. She used to camp at this Zambales escape a lot. The primary come-on was the beaches and the pine trees along it--and the exclusivity too. The latter, however, no longer exists due to budget overnight tours. For the long weekend, I pulled my siblings for something we've never done before: camping.

Luckily, the tour comes with its own ready-to-use tent, entrance fees, and boat service. The only problem was the food, which we have to cook every now and then in open fire. I was good with it, though, open-fired food taste better--and the liempo, yumyum!

The thing with Anawangin was that aside from the usual camping, there wasn't much to do. We were thrown smack into the middle of an island with no phone signal, no electricity, and no running water. There are communal shower rooms and toilets, which were already small luxuries in the place.

Our boot camp was not by the beach--a relief since the sand was scorching that weekend. Instead, we have to cross the a manmade wooden plank bridge to get to our camp. Yesterday, a kid slipped and ended up in the murky waters, which we found out were just waist-high for adults. (The kid cried buckets, poor him.)

The place was so quiet and secluded (despite sharing it with hundred other campers) even the dogs sleep all day. I tried sleeping but with this El Niño around, I kept waking up every five-fifteen minutes because of the heat. Being inside the tent was like being pugon-cooked lechon.

The numerous campers have also attracted local businesses, which mushroom along the beachfront. There are sari-sari stores with killer prices (a pack of ice costs P100, garlic was P15 apiece, cold soda was at P100) and souvenir stores:

After our overnight stay, I don't feel like camping again. I wouldn't have survived without my two sibs, who were the most amazing travel companions I've had in a long time. But would I return to Anawangin? Probably only as a day tour. - 6/14/2015