Nagsasa Cove, Zambales: Camping Newlyweds

Fresh (and frozen) from our Hong Kong-China honeymoon-slash-backpacking trip, we headed straight to Zambales. And when I say straight, I mean landing at NAIA Terminal 3 around 12:30 AM then go home to unload my backpack of winter clothes and replace them with skimpy beach attire then hop on an Olongapo-bound bus at 5:00 AM. Whew!


Let me slow down a bit and tell you the rest of the story. After going through immigration and fishing our bags from the luggage belt, we exited Terminal 3 at 1:00 AM. My hubby Shervin and I weren't willing to pay P500 for an airport taxi to Malate so we walked out of the airport grounds and hailed an ordinary one.

For the first time in almost two weeks, I started sweating again. When we left Guangzhou, the temperature was about 10-12°C. Manila's could be around 28-30°C that time. We enjoyed every second of being defrosted!


In just 20 minutes we were home sweet home. We plopped on our bed and took a nap for an hour. When we awoke, we hurriedly took out our dirty clothes from our backpacks and dumped in camping equipment and beach essentials. We were ready by 2:30 AM.

Hungry and craving for Filipino food, we bought a takeaway tocilog meal from 7-11 before riding a jeep to Pasay Rotonda. From there, we walked to the Victory Liner Terminal to meet the rest of the group (Warning: Don't do this when you're alone!).


No one was there yet - well actually Jules was already at the waiting area but was sleeping so we didn't notice her. The rest of my old college outdoor orgmates came one by one as we chowed our food. When asked about how China was, my answer was a resounding "It's so cold!".

Oliver arrived late as always. We left almost 5:00 AM already. An hour behind schedule. We missed the bus going to Iba, so we took the Olongapo-bound one (Victory Liner Caloocan has more frequent trips to Iba). If you're able to catch the Iba bus (P220-250), ask the conductor to drop you off San Antonio's public market. You may also just say you're going to Pundaquit. Travel time, 3-4 hours depending on traffic.


As for us, when we arrived at Victory Liner Olongapo, we needed to transfer to a bus bound for either Iba or Sta. Cruz. But before we did, we bought a few groceries and had breakfast at Andok's near the bus station.

Now from San Antonio, a trike takes you to Pundaquit. Should be P25-30 each person. We were charged the latter perhaps because my hubby's a foreign tourist, or it was just peak season.

It's best if you contact a boatman in advance, especially if you're going on a weekend. Though not a lot of people go to Nagsasa Cove yet, most of the boats are hired for Anawangin. My friend Chrissy reserved a boat with Kuya Florante (try to contact him at 0910-8053388). Only 6 of us shared a big outrigger boat, so we paid P400 each. Nagsasa is twice the distance of its BFF Anawangin, so expect the price to be double too.


We happily set foot on the cove after a 40-minute ride. The waves were choppy (waterproof your gadgets). No other group was around. We told our boatmen to pick us up at noon the next day. There's no signal in the area so you better make necessary arrangements.

Shervin and I were excited to pitch our new tent (we named it Hurley), and we did so as soon as the group settled. The others started pitching theirs too.


Most of the afternoon was spent on catching up, and eating - believe me, we ate almost the whole time! At night, dinner was canned goods (Oliver's pumpkin soup was the star) and rice cooked by Tristan. GranMa drinking session came after while star gazing. Shervin saw a shooting star for the first time ever! Ever!

Lights out was early, just after midnight. Oh yeah, we're getting old. Well, we've been doing this kind of thing for a decade now so there goes an excuse. The live-your-day-like-it's-your-last outlook we had about camping trips/backpacking when we were younger was replaced with a been-there-done-that-let's-chill attitude.

Everyone got up early in the morning. While Chrissy and Jules enjoyed their malunggay pandesal, the rest of us (oh, except hubby) devoured Tristan's bonfire-fried tuyo (we ran out of butane). After breakfast, we did a bit of swimming even though the water was cold. Some walked along the shore from end to end.


The roofless bathroom (with sliding nipa door!) was near our campsite and we had it to ourselves. So even if 6 of us took turns using it, we were all done with our baths in less than an hour. There's no poso (water pump) in the bathroom, just water fetched by the Aetas in big drums.

And speaking off Aetas, they're the caretakers of the cove. Campers are expected to pay them, P100 each. If you could, give a little extra pesos.


Our boatmen picked us up a little past the agreed schedule but we didn't mind. We were in no rush. As we drifted farther from the shore, I looked back at the cove and couldn't help but admire its welcoming remoteness. Such romantic place to end a honeymoon.

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