Nagsasa & Anawangin Cove Zambales via Mt. Bira-Bira

Your beach babies, monsieur.

Okay, so this trip had cost each of us, Php1, 300.00. Transportation, food, tour guide fee, boat rental with island tour were already included. Yes!

Four months ago, in April 14, at night, me and my sister went to one of the nearest summertowns in Manila. I decided to tag my sister along as it’s summer, it’s her vacation in school and is not doing anything at home anyway.

Of course, as I had been mentioning in my blogs like the one in Magsasa Beach Cove and Mt. Ulap trail (which you can check here at meaganstravelogue.blogspot.com), Jie invited me again to this day hike and island tour. We have this shared desire for mountains and cliffs and beaches. Just like any other independent and single girl would, when they are invited by their friends and they say yes without second thoughts, their answer’s a straight ‘yes’. In Filipino language, they are “kaladkarin”. LOL

So we took a cab to Eton Centris in Quezon City where the meeting place is. They’ve let me sit beside a man who I think for God’s sake hadn’t had any girlfriend in his life. So I just went with the flow and enjoyed the trip with of course, my own playlist on spotify. As far as I remember, there were 13 of us in the van. It was a four hour trip to Zambales and we arrived at the house of the tour guides. We were guided by this little dark man who walks so fast, he’s for the fast and furious haha. Before leaving, we had our light breakfast at their place, a hotdog, egg and sandwich was enough then. Luckily, I haven’t encountered a tour guide that’s not accommodating yet.

God it was a very beautiful morning. At 4:00 am, the starlight zone was still at its brightest, big, and feels so near. They were shining as if the sun won’t substitute their glimmer and glamour anymore. And my eyes were shining so bright like they are that morning. What made me feel more native is the aura of the locals. They were kind, smiles widely and cares so much like my parents do.

MT. BIRA-BIRA (BINABALIK-BALIKAN) – You’ll keep coming back for this.

We started the trail right after we ate. I always wanted to go first when I do trekking. I want to see the view first before my co-hikers do. Even if kuya Rodel was walking fast and furious, I managed to be at his pace. So is my sister’s pace, she was tired but she had long legs so she didn’t have trouble catching up. Haha!

It was a four-hour hike. We started while it was dark. So if you come here, make sure to bring flashlights and trail foods like biscuits and of course, water. As the sun rose at 6:00am, the mountains became orange. What once was dark spot with a sky full of stars became green and orange, and a combination of it with the blue skies above. Sweat and fatigue will be well paid I said. So here I'm sharing you some of my photos from Instagram (@chasingmeagan).

Of course, the view is amazing. There’s this top of the mountain spot where you’ll see the sea extending to the other city there may be across it. It’s like you own the world here. It was very open. And it translates to you feeling open. To yourself and to the other people. This brought my mind to liberation. I have been independent for two years now. And being liberated is a part of it. Being separated and alone but not feeling lonely is something that I think highly of as a gift. Not everyone can have that positive vibe and view in life. I have been saying this in almost every blog I post.

You can refer to (@meagansmotivations.blogpot.com) where I kept talking about seeing the bright in the dark and the positive in negative. Even if your boyfriend already cheated on you, you see the advantage in it. It’s never easy to manage our own life much more than we manage other people’s emotion towards us. It’s something that I adore so much when I see women like me who live independently.

So we descended, at 8:00am, the sun’s heat was striking tremendously but we kept up with it because we’re almost at our destination.

THE ZAMBALES BEACH COVE

So I unpacked my whole wheat bread and everyone joked around, that there should not be a diet plan. We were tired and should eat more. But I still stayed with the plan as the food there was pretty expensive like one gallon costs Php200 and I’ve got bikini shoot to do with my sister!

THE PHOTOSHOOT!

Fast forward to dressing up, removing the marks of tiredness, me and my sister Jessa took a bath together in

one of the rest rooms and put on our bikinis! I wore a stripe one, color blue and transparent light brown square pants. We arrived at the hut and they were watching. We flaunted, because we can! And everyone should be able to do that, no body shaming please.

So we got another company, my sister’s other half at that time who became our photographer. We achieved part of the bloggers Vern and Verniece Enciso’s H&M bikini posts, hi girls! Except that it was not photographed by a professional one and we didn’t have too sexy bodies yet. LOL.

Guys, you will be able to have a lot of time to spend here, you can stay until 4:00pm, take some dip in the sea, take a deep breath of the fresh air because you don’t encounter this everyday when you are living in the metro, drink alcohol, talk about life in the island, play some cool music, do a cartwheel by the shore because there are no pebbles to pick. The sand was a bit dark. Of course Zambales is not a place for white beaches like Palawan. But it’s a place where the sea is surrounded by beautiful mountains.

A small bridge going to the camp site.

Afterwhich, we were picked by the boat and did the island hopping. From NAGSASA COVE we headed to ANAWANGIN COVE. We were about to go to the island where they let tourists do cliff jump but my friends at the time were too drunk and our boat almost got wrecked at the sea. So we got help from the other sailing boats and stayed at Anawangin cove where there’s bridge, where you can camp, no entrance fees.

There was even a big pond there. It is very Instagram photo friendly. In this area, only few people stay as it is for those who wants to spend the night by camping in a mini forest.

After getting our boat fixed, we went on a roller coaster ride at the beach. The sea was not so calm and the fun was more on the journey to our destination. Again, another realization, the challenge most of the time contains more of the excitement when you are still on your way to your dreams than when you already reached it. It’s amazing how you will look back and smile as you imagine how tough ad rough it has been for you all along. But you still thank God for your life. That you are able to do things you want to.

And dream requires every sacrifice you will ever be able to give. Every mistake you will be committing is waiting for you right there. Time, effort, commitment, strength, bravery, determination, courage, money, everything will cost you for your dream. It’s risky, but it’s going to be worthwhile. Of course, there’s reality and expectation. Know what you are able to do and do it. Action and dream is not too far from each other. Remember that when you start moving, you start moving. Slowly as may seem, but you’re on your way.

So going back!

We went home at 7:00pm after we took a bath at one of the houses at the main port which offer their comfort rooms and extension for charging for public use at a minimal payment, around Php20.00, and arrived in Manila at 11:00pm as it was traffic at SLEX. It was a day to remember. Another memory to cherish.

If you have questions, ask me and leave your comments here.

Thank you so much!

‘Til next time! ;)

Some cute sized guitar keychains are everywhere! (Php 30.00)

Sunset at Anawangin Cove.

Middle of the day at Nagsasa Cove.

A small lake at Anawangin Cove.

MT. ULAP, BENGUET, PHILIPPINES

You can actually see these photos on my instagram @chasingmeagan.

It has been three years since I went to Baguio. I stayed here for two months, through the summer of my third year in college. I rendered my on the job training here, one month for a publishing firm for the writing field, the Luzon Morning Sun and ABS-CBN for my production experience. It was fun, nevertheless, it was so much more fun when I went here using my own money for the first time. My friend Jie invited me to this adventure (as she always do). LOL. I remember, we occupied the same place when we were rendering our OJT here in Baguio. Who knew that after three years, we’ll be scheduled to do an adventure here?

But this time, it was in Benguet in what they call Mt. Ulap. Ulap is an Ilokano word, it means clouds. So we’re free to call it the mountain of sea of clouds. We went up as early as 5:00am and was able to reach the peak at around 10am. It was a mind-blowing 5-hour trek, and that’s been my longest trail so far.

Climbing down the hills took us 1 and a half hour. And there was a station where you could buy souvenirs and shirts. On the way up, since it was dark and the light of the sun was slightly showing up, it looked like sunset more than that of a sunrise. It’s cold and you can see the skies are really just right in front of your face and up your head. We did not feel the heat until it was 8:00am, there’s also a pool of people, sea of people wandering, and people soul-searching. But me, I have one thing in mind, it’s to capture the grandeur a natural scene has to offer. I wanted to take my jackets off and show off to the nature, but it was not appropriate. What’s appropriate was that I conquered the trail and I survived the way up with the group.

If you’re asking how we went there, it was an organized trip by a travel partners Christian Anievas and Kaezen Lagrimas. We rented 2 vans, met at the Greenfield district in Pasig City. The travel time was no more than 5 hours.

We paid 900 pesos for the transpo and travel guide fee then we had to pay environmental fee at the barangay hall of Itogon, Benguet before we were assigned to 2 guides. Ours was nanay Susan. She was 55 years old and still had the guts to climb up there!

But if you go on your own, you can ride a bus like Victory Liner and Genesis that can be found in Cubao. The fare is around 400 for every way and upon reaching the city of Baguio, you can ride a jeepneu bound to Itogon, stop at their barangay hall and look for a group or a vacant guide who could take you up there. I was not able to ask how much it eas for every guide though as ut was already covered on our trip.

A good thing about going on a hike with a large group is that you laugh together and get tired together. I even encountered one of ABS-CBN’s staff, a familiar face from my OJT days, Armand Yaccib, now a photographer. We talked and took a photo, until my friends were looking for me already. LOL.

Going off the cliffs was easier as it only took one and a half hour. But it was a different ache, that was more of a squeeze at the back feet and back.
The vast space, the greenery, the best view I have ever seen out of the mountains I climbed, the sea of clouds playing at the top of the mountains and the biggest rocks which can be climbed any time to see how high we have been since we started climbing. That’s the definition of luxury and relaxation for most of the travelers. It’s how your clothes have been soaked from your sweat.

It’s the rest you feel in tiredness that comes with hiking here. It’s the perfect view that comes with the falling sweat on your face. It’s the laughter with the people you’re with that comes with the darkening of your face because of being near to the sun. It’s every second that you go up, it’s every meter that you walk and run that brings you closer to the peak. It’s the courage that you have when you tell yourself you can’t anymore.

They say travelling lets you see more of yourself, lets you realize more of your goals, and make you dream more. And to me, it feels like these adventure I’ve been doing had done more to me. I feel more vibrant, motivated, more positive, more forgiving, patient, beautiful, worthwhile and dreamt bigger.

After an hour of trip from the foggy mountainous from Benguet, we stopped over Good Taste in Baguio City. It was the most famous eatery in the city as it is near the mainstream destinations like the Burnham park, Baguio church, Oh My Gulay restau at the Azotea building at session road and the place for bus and jeep terminals going to the mountain province. The plce was quite big and the food tastes good enough for a restaurant that serves a large number of crowd. Moreover, its cheap! For a hundred and twenty pesos, it shall satisfy your stomach for bout 5-6 hours!

So after that good food experience, we went back to Manila at 6pm, because we were too tired, we were not able to buy local goods anymore and slept inside the van instead. You can call that part of adulting. LOL.

It was 10pm when we arrived in Manila. And the rest was sleep story and fatigue story in the morning.

Until next time! By the way, you can visit my IG @chasingmeagan and @meagan_streetphotography guys.
Thank you so much!