Back to Basics at Talisayin Cove Zambales + Side Trip to Anawangin

I just came back from a 2-day camping trip with cousins & friends at Talisayin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales and it was quite epic. Our original plan was to go to Burot, Calatagan but had to change plans at the last minute. As in the day before our trip. Haha. I mostly do the planning and handle logistics (and I loveee it) pag may outing or excursion (they are 2 different things according to my cousin RJ haha), so coming up with a Plan B in less than 24 hours was mejo stressful yet exciting. Thank God I have awesome friends from blogging who gave recos! Thank you Kuya Melo & Tob of TheLostKids.ph! Out of all the places, we got drawn to Talisayin Cove. Why? Photos and stories below...

After finalizing our destination (huge factor in deciding was BUDGET), first thing we had to agree upon and find is TRANSPORTATION. We had to choose between renting a van or commuting. Since we wanted the lowest cost, we tried to compare the 2. 

VAN

Rental - P8000 (toll not included)

Toll - P1000 (back and forth via SCTEX)

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TOTAL - P9000 / 13 = P693 (rounded off)

COMMUTE

Victory Liner bus to San Antonio, Zambales via Iba - P300 x 2 = P600

Tricycle ride to Pundaquit - P30 x 2 = P60

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TOTAL = P660

As you can see, P30 lang the difference. So we chose what's more convenient. We already had a van contact which I got from Kuya Dominic, the Calatagan guide whose number I found on The Lost Kids Burot, Calatagan post. He referred me to Kuya Jerry. Even after talking to Kuya, I still tried to look for other options. In the end, we still hired him. Hehe. He gave us the best price! He did not even ask for extra when I told him we're going home 5pm Sunday. That's more than 2 days na dapat. Thanks Kuya! He's truly the best. If you want to hire him, call 0917-848-4840. You're welcome. ;)

 Kuya Jerry picked us up at 6th Avenue, Cubao:)

 Toyota Hi-Ace 2015 model. It's 15-seater but we almost did not fit because we also had many things like food, cooler, etc. 

 Our van!

After 5 hours, we're finally in Pundaquit! We left Cubao at around 5am and arrived in Pundaquit 10am. Trip should be 4 hours lang if no stopovers or yosi breaks. Hehe. In Pundaquit, we met up with Kuya Joven, our boat man. Also got his details from The Lost Kids Talisayin blog post. :)

 Our van parked here. This is where Kuya Jerry will wait for us! We paid P200 for overnight parking.

 Crossed the road and went inside this alley which leads to the beach

 Stopped here to collect our water and cook sets! The guy in white ans red are Kuya Joven's brothers.

 Free water!

How much is the boat ride? We paid P500 each. But! It also includes: 10 gallons of water, cook sets, utensils, entrance to the cove, side trip to Capones island (in our case, Anawangin coz we left in the afternoon and waves were too strong in Capones) and tents! Super sulit! Regular boat fare is P300 each for 10+ pax or P1500 per boat for 1-4 people. It's a pretty good deal! Contact Kuya Joven here: 0915-959-9595. You're welcome. ;)

Jump-off point is Pundaquit beach

Strong ni Catch o! Haha

Ready to board!

Yosi pa more. Eew.

On our way! Boat ride to Talisayin took about 30 minutes.

We passed by Anawangin

Anawangin from afar

 Waves were huge and ride was bumpy. Nico got victimized by the waves. Haha.

And then finally, Talisayin!!!

Crystal clear water and white sand (left side where the pine trees are)

Right side where there are trees, but not pine trees. Camped here.

Wore my trusty Merrell waterproof shoes for this adventure! Kept my feet from getting burned by the super hot sand. My friend Catch also used his even when swimming! Mabuti nang safe from sea urchins db. Hehe. 

The island has no electricity (they run on makeshift generators) and no signal! So that means no texts, no calls, no social media. It's quite liberating, to be honest. Haha. They also don't have "nice" toilets. So if you're mejo maselan, this is not for you. 

Kuya boatmen helped us unload our things & set-up our tents.

My chosen brands for this adventure-- Wrangler travel bag, Herschel reversible bucket hat, Merrell shoes

There was a cottage available for rent but I wasn't able to ask how much

You could buy hammocks from Pundaquit for P150 each. Sana we bought!

Toilet! All 4 have toilet bowls. It's pretty small, so it's quite a challenge to shower inside. Haha.

You can also bathe by the public poso and just change your clothes here

My cousin RJ brought his own tent. 

Kuya setting up our tents

Our area and our home for 2 days! Watch your things pala because kids in the island kept making tambay in our area. We lost 4 cup noodles. Haha. Better bring a lock for your tent and secure your things. Just to be safe. 

Time to inflate the floaters!

We bought our inflatables from Toy Kingdom and SM!

My popsicle! Na super fail kasi may butas pala. I was not able to check kasi I was in a hurry when I bought it. Huhu. Boo!

You could rent this bamboo "papag" for P100. 

Brought my huge Philippine Airlines fan!

Hehe kyot

Okay, let's talk about FOOD. We each contributed P150 for 3 meals-- lunch + dinner on the first day & lunch on the 2nd day. We did not include breakfast na because most of us brought canned goods and Catch donated 15 cup noodles. We passed by Pundaquit market to buy food & other things we need. They bought rice, liempo, tilapia, eggplant, ingredients for adobo. We also bought paper plates, charcoal for cooking and ice! Kuya Joven will provide a cooler if you don't have one.

Remote island life! Tent + our Merrell shoes

My cousin Chollo preppin' the Adobo!

Kubo of the caretakers

To be honest, I really don't like doing tasks when on vacation haha! Especially when we only have 2 days to spare. I can't also chill while others prepare our food. So, I had this brilliant idea! I asked the caretakers if there's someone we could pay to grill and cook. And meron nga! We paid her P150 (since mejo madami hehe) to cook everything. Except for the adobo and the rice. There are small stores in the island but the goods are overpriced. 1.5 Coke was P100. 

This is Ate. She was the one we hired to grill the liempo, fish, eggplants and steam the sitaw. 

So now, we could spend the rest of our day playing under the sun! Yipee!

Cash applying sunscreen on Nico. Abs daw yan. Sweet nila noh? Haha

Tita started cooking our lunch for the 2nd day, which is adobo, as soon as we got there. Hehe.

First day lunch-- Pata tim (donated by Tita), grilled eggplant, steamed sitaw and indian mango!

Fight! Surprisingly, there was always enough food for everyone.

Rested for a bit after eating. Napagtripan this pictorial. Haha.

Couple pic daw eh haha!

Camp vibes -- Herschel hat, Havaianas flipflops, Merrell shoes, Wrangler bag, SM banana floater

Inside our tent. We brought a portable fan which I borrowed from my sister! Kay Satu yan actually. Hehe.

All ready to swim!

After resting, I changed into my swimming attire and looked for a nice place to shoot some OOTDs. From our base camp, we walked towards the East (facing the sea) where the pine trees are. Was surprised to discover so many people there!!! May miting de avance bang hindi ko alam??? Haha. Turned out, may event pala and festival! That explains the volume of foreigners. Para akong nag hostel. Haha.

This is a nice place to camp! This area is more crowded though. 

Candid. Naks. Haha.

Lost???

Trying out my friend Paula's scarf!

Born under the summer sign. :)

Huts for rent near the pine trees

TIME FOR SOME OOTD! 

  photos by Paula

 EIKA bikini top, MAUI & SONS board shorts, FLY shades 

Say hello to my gf Paula! Hehe!

Got photobombed by the boys haha

Bonding with the girls!

Group photo!

Sunset hits

Cute dogs!

So beautiful the mountain

There were quite a handful of people on the island that weekend because there was an event and because of the season

They caught a jellyfish!

WARNING: One should be very careful when swimming. There were 3 people who drowned (luckily, they're okay na) that day alone. Nico and my cousins saved the 2 who were friends pala. My cousin Chollo nearly drowned too. The water bed is so uneven. There are spots na shallow even if you walk far, and then there are spots where the water is 6 feet deep agad even if you're just near the shore. There are also sudden surge of waves and undercurrent. Choose a spot where the water is calm and the bottom is even. Also, be careful not to step on sea urchins!

My tent mate. Bat prang gigimik sha hndi matutulog? Haha

Spent a few hours on the shore drinking, star gazing, playing frisbee and watching this group light floating lanterns. 

With no sleep for 24 hours, Nico and I retired early and slept as soon as we got inside the tent. Thank God for portable fans! Haha. It lasted for 5 hours, I think. I also brought a mini fan which you can plug to your phone's usb port. I can still sleep without them, but better WITH them. Haha. Had a super nice sleep! I woke up last. Haha. 

Day 2 OOTD

 SASSA rashguard, EIKA bikini bottom

Sorry sa flabs, my bikini bottom's too tight. Haha.

 Back detail of my rash guard from Sassa!

 Thanks to my photog!:)

 Talisayin Cove:)

  

The gang taking advantage of the summer sun! 

Boyfriends

More bonding, more fun!

We all swam for about 2 hours before heading back to our area for lunch. I also took this opportunity to bathe na while everyone's making lafang. Hehe. We had to get water from the poso because there was no water from the hose near the CR. It was quite an experience. I was super fine with it because I had similar experiences from the past especially when I was still active in mountaineering. 

 Hello Catch, Jules and Chuck. Haha

 After eating, Nico and I headed back to the pine trees area to buy halo-halo and to take more photos!

 Hello, ang jinet!

 P40 halo-halo! It was quite pricey but anything to beat the freaking heat! Haha.

 Boy curious

Lost lang ang peg

  Had to walk by the shore because it was hard walking on dry and super hot sand

Havaianas Lovin! 

 Nico took advantage of this empty hammock hehe

Our boatman came at around 3pm instead of agreed time which was 4pm, so we decided to leave early so we could do island hopping. Better. We were discouraged to go to Capones na because of the waves, so Kuya suggested Anawangin. We said yes! They gave us 30 minutes to take photos. :) 

We meet again, Anawangin

It's so different na from the island I visited 8 years ago!

It is sooooo commercialized. Mukhang Puerto Galera na. Haha. 

This is how it looked 8 years ago! No fences, no picnic tables, not much tents. Super blurred the photo sorry! Haha. Got it from my 2008 post pa. 

Headed straight sa may likod ng camping site to look for the lake.

 It's like being transported to a magical place

 Looking forward

  Looking back. May smoke effects pa! Haha.

water was super warm and clear

Group shot! Feeling fierce ako jan haha.

 Took a photo of these lovers! Cho + Bhang. Prenup lang ah.

 Time to go!

 Bye guys! Haha!

I fell asleep on our way back to Pundaquit. Haha. Two from the group took a bath muna at Kuya Joven's place before we met up with Kuya Jerry again. Even Kuya Jerry had fun! He told us how he got toasted from swimming too much. Hihi kyots. We stopped over at Olongapo on our way home to eat dinner at S&R in Harbour Point. Left Pundaquit at around 5pm and arrived in Manila almost 1am. Took that long because of our stopovers and it was super traffic especially near the toll gates. We came home tired but happy. This whole experience is just plain amazing. We got disconnected from the world, but in the process, got connected with each other and with ourselves. What a way to spend the weekend. Looking forward to more adventures! :)

Expenses (per person):

 Van Rental - P616

Toll - P77 (back and forth via SCTEX)
Food - P150
Boat - P500
Parking - P15
Paluto - P12
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TOTAL = P 1,370