No Ordinary Morning

It was no ordinary for me last April 13. I was greeted with the most astonishing sunrise that I have ever seen in my entire 28 years of existence. I know that there are other people who were blessed to see beautiful sunrises from their window or outdoor experience, but for me this is as a good as it can get and I can't ask for anything more.

I was very lucky to have time to go on a vacation last week. It was holy week and all companies are forced to close their office starting Thursday. I was lucky to be able to leave on a Wednesday. I, together a few friends Jomar and Earl went to Pundakit, Zambales. Luckily it wasn't that difficult to get a bus ticket going out of Manila and there was hardly any traffic. We left at noon and got to San Antonio town around 3.30pm. It's 30 mins. away or tricycle ride away from a the small town of Pundakit. Keps and my boyfriend Kerwin welcomed us to the town of San Antonio since they left Manila the night before.

We were billeted at a cozy resort a few meters away from the beach front and stayed at a cottage room that they say can hold 10 people max, but my estimate is about 8 people only. There were 2 rooms and each room can hold at least 4 people. The cottage room that we rented comes with a free use of a nipa hut. It's a pretty cozy place to hangout and I was surprised to see that my boyfriend turned it into a small kitchen cum dining area -- which was great. At least our cottage was left clean for us to sleep except for the sand that comes along with our feet as we enter.

We got to the resort past 4pm and settled for a while and finally decided to take a dip and watch the sunset. It was my first time to be at Pundakit beach. The sad is a mixture of gray and white but mostly gray, which I have noticed to be most common from beaches within in a nearby mountain. But what surprised me the most was that the water was clear, very clear. Which is a good sign because it means that the beach is clean. From my view, you can also the three famous islands of Capones, named small, medium and large. Pundakit beach looks like your usual beach located at the outskirt of Manila. Gray sand, with small fishing boats parked and small nipa cottages. Don't forget the latest craze the "videoke" machine that all over the place. Almost all the cottages at the beachfront had one. And every night the cottages will be filled with people singing, their voices soaring high and loud, all with different intonations and pronunciation of the English language.

This is not your usual tourist destination. I can say this beach is left pristine and as natural as it can be with a few small stores scattered around the place. No restaurants available for you to eat and no discos playing loud club music. The place remains as natural as it can be with the blessing of the locals. The place is just the way they like it. Very provincial. Very local. Where no bikinis or board shorts exist. Only long pants or jeans for the boys and for the girls, their precious white skin hidden from the blazing sun protected by their T-shirts, walking shorts and jackets or towels. Yes, it isn’t your ordinary beachwear.

On my second day we planned to go to Capones Islands. Our official delegates to the market and cooks Kerwin and Keps got drunk the night before. They woke up late and their minds worked too slow that morning (symptoms of too much alcoholism). While the rest of us felt the laziness breeze in us, we all moved slow and decided to leave the resort mid-afternoon to take us to the largest island of Capones.

The small fishing boat to took us to island of Big Capones. The sun was shining, it was really hot and we were all anxious to get to the island. As we reached our destination, we hurriedly jumped off the boat and rejoiced! We hurriedly unloaded our stuff and ran to the sea to take a dip. It was amazing. The sand was almost pure white. The sea was blue green. There were a lot of fishes playing around their turf. Amazing. Spectacular.

As we cooked our food, the moonlight was shining against the water. The view was spectacular. It was full moon. It shed us some light for the night. We ended our night with shots of brandy going around and sashimi. The cool breeze lulled us to sleep. We all fell under its spell and slept.

And the next morning was no ordinary morning as I was greeted with the most spectacular sunrise that I have ever seen. And this time not in magazines or photos but the real thing.


We eventually went back to the island on our second to the last day of our officially holiday. It was crazy. The place is truly beautiful and serene.

***

To get to San Antonio (via bus)
Ride a bus that travels to Iba, Zamabales. You may take Victory Liner at Caloocan Station. There’s a scheduled trip every hour starting at 5am until 6pm. The last bus leaves at 11.30pm. You may also try other Victory Liner stations but most likely they have lesser trips that leaves for Iba.

Option: Or go to Olongapo and ride a mini-bus going to San Antonio

Cost: Bus from Caloocan would cost around P222.00

From San Antonio to Pundakit
The bus will drop you off at a waiting shed in front of which is a two story bldg for small business. Beside is like the “town’s plaza” and behind the building is the wet market. Cross the street from the waiting shed and you will see a tricycles lined up. They will take you to Pundakit.

Cost: Minimum of P40 (for 1 to 2 pax). Additional head will cost extra P20

To get to Capones:
Bangka’s (fishing boat) would cost around P700 round trip. Maximum of 3 or 4 pax depending on your weight. There are a few Bangka’s that are big enough to hold a lot of people but they’re just a few.

Additional info:
Zambales is also one of the surfing spots here in the Phils. Surf’s up during the monsoon season which is during June to August.