It was summer in 2015 when my SGV Baguio family chose Zambales, the home of the sweetest mangoes in the World, as our summer outing place. The group includes my boyfriend - John Rey (not yet dating at that time), my manager - Ms. Gretchen plus her very supportive hubby, the branch executive secretary and office mommy, Ms. Janelyn, the cool experienced associates, Kuya Michael, Kuya Tom & Ate Venus, and my overly pretty batchmates: Ariane, Ella & Roxany.
From Baguio, Zambales is about 6-8 hours travel depending on your mode of transportation, would that be a private car or through a public vehicle. Victory Liner offers trips to Iba, Zambales and once you arrive in Iba, you can ride a tricycle to take you to your planned destination.
Our first stop is the famous Capones Island or in Spanish, “Isla de Gran Capon”. Capones Island is located off the coast of the town of San Antonio, Zambales. To get there, you must go to Barangay Pundaquit where a boat to Capones Island can be rented for round trip. This is actually the jump-off point to a number of other coves in Zambales.
Photo 2: Capones Lighthouse
The island is famous for the century old Capones Lighthouse which was built by the Spaniards in late 1800’s to guide ships entering Manila and Subic Bay. I only included a photo of the upper part of the lighthouse since I was not able to find good pictures of the base of this lighthouse which only displays years of abandonment of this Philippine heritage - from the plants that grown all over the place, glasses that were left to deteriorate, houses left to decay, to the shaky spiral iron stairs left to rust. I remember Ms. Janelyn trembling while climbing this tower so I think that it is really unsafe for visitors to climb the tower in the future.
Photo 3: Capones Lighthouse view on top
I am very thankful that we reach the top of the lighthouse safe. The lighthouse gave us a 360-degree view of the vast sea surrounding the island. We really enjoyed the fresh sea breeze.
Photo 4: Exiting Capones Island
This concludes our short visit to Capones Island. :)
Since there are no commercial establishments in this island, nor visible houses for short stay, we camped in Nagsasa Cove. You can bring a tent and other camping equipment for an overnight use but you can also rent and buy these equipment in Pundaquit.
What I love about our tourist guide is that you can also hire them to cook for you, especially that the stores in the area are quite expensive and with only limited goods, hence, you can enjoy the beach while someone is preparing your food. The beach in this cove is good for swimming and the night was definitely well-spent.
Photo 6: Masinloc Eco-tour
It was still dawn when we left Capones Island to start the Masinloc Eco-tour which is near the Masinloc Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant. I do not expect anything at first since it was known that Palawan still has the best marine view to offer for travellers in the Philippines. However, during our travel, it took me completely by surprise when I experienced for the first time snorkelling through the sea seeing giant clams, corals and other sea treasures. Masinloc really offers a wide range of natural wonders that is waiting to be discovered and appreciated. With the Masinloc Eco-Tour program, you can experience these hidden gems in one day. (Apologies for the lack of pictures since we don’t have any underwater or waterproof camera at that time.)
Photo 7: Giant Mangrove farm
We went straight to the giant mangrove farm in San Lorenzo which is known as “Yaha Island” in Masinloc. When visiting the mangrove island, you can enjoy seeing many species of birds in the bakawans while rowing on a boat, sea grass plantation, sea cucumburs, seahorses and sea urchins.
Photo 8: Bacala Guest House
Our guide lead us to the Bacala Guest House where we took our lunch. This house is placed in the middle of the sea and was made for travellers to rest and feel the calm in the isolation of the ocean. You will also have the chance to swim to the clear waters around the wooden house.
Our last destination where we spent our last night is at D’farm and Park where nature lovers can unwind, relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. D’Farm has 3 pools open to the public for adults and kids. We rented a rest house for overnight which I think is only good for a maximum of 6 persons, but was presented to us as good for 10 persons. So unfortunately, we have to squeeze ourselves just to fit with the 3 beds. But we enjoyed the entire night since we extended the use of videoke until 11pm and we had a good time outside the rest house.
Photo 10: D’farm entrance
Our three-day trip ends with the famous entrance of D’farm.
