I knew Bri was literally forced on my idea of a weekend getaway. I first proposed Pansol, he refused. We ended up on an idea to go over to one of the resorts near Pagsanjan Falls instead. Initially, I planned it bringing Eric and Benjie along but then I noticed that they were not so okay with the idea. So I ended up telling Brian thru text that, “Beb, parang ayaw nila. Okay lang ba sayo kung tayo lang dalawa?” Of course, I knew Bri won’t turn me down. Sanay nay un ng out of towns na kaming dalawa lang. Yes, we had a week off to Baguio last Panagbenga 2007. At ang saya saya naming nun, though I was kinda teasing him to meet his ex girlfriend, who is a Baguio resident. Lol. And yes, on our second year anniversary, he drove all the way to Rizal just to talk a glimpse of Daranak Falls. And darn, it was such a great felling to watch the water from the top of the mountains join the sky colored basin of rapids below. (I am planning to compile all the viaje Brian and I shared. And I will be posting here in my blog. Hopefully, I can retrieve the files/ pictures. I’ll keep you posted, guys!)
THE PLANNING AND THE RIDE. I started surfing the net for some good priced resort near Pagsanjan kaso, negative. I came across a nice, nice blog of a happy-go-lucky-girl (I’ll soon post the link of her blog, promise!), and tadahhh! We have a new destination – Pundakit, San Antonio, Zambales. I gathered all info (safe and cute place to stay, commute and by car directions, and things not to miss on your visit) and filed a notice of absence for last Saturday (August 23). Initially Bri and I agreed to have a stopover in my hometown, Lubao to leave the car and commute all the way to Zambales, but I don’t know, we ended up bringing Minggit (Bri got this cute name for his car) all the way to the mountains of Zambales. Akala naming kasi, malapit lang. Haha! From Olongapo Gapan Road, turn right to enter the SCTEX. I suggest you guys to pass on this road, kaysa lumiko kayo agad sa may Rotonda. SCTEX is well maintained and roads are very friendly to your tires. Not to mention that you’ll pay for cheap tolls (less than P30.00) and the nicey nicey road seemed like embedded between two mountains. Daan palang papunta dun, busog na mata ni Brian. We exited on the Kalaklan Gate, welcomed by the cemetery on the mountain (creepy but the tombs just looked nice as well). We passed by Subic (and we were quite tempted to go shopping, LOL), Castillejos, and San Marcelino. We turned right to San Antonio and drove off to the town proper, where we asked directions to Megan’s resort. I remembered turning left from the Plaza’s Basketball Court and driving to Purok 4. We turned left and alas! We’re on woods. LOL. Next thing I knew, we were passing on a river by a rusty old (yet not so old) bridge. At first, Bri was reluctant to pas thru kasi adik yung nakasunod na Innova sa min, tinakot kami. Inantay muna kaming makatawid bago tumawid. Feels like, ginamit kaming pain. Hahaha!
THE FRIENDLY MEGAN’S RESORT. After few more minutes, passing through Punta Uiana and Nora’s Beach, we finally reached the humble resort of Ate Virgie – MEGAN’S PARADISIO BEACH RESORT. I gave in the idea of renting a cabin after those simangot of Brian, since he was insisting to rent an air conditioned room. Room is literally huge for two. Megan is actually not so strict about the number of people who will rent the room. Trust me, peeps there are super great! J The good thing about this was that Megan offered us 15% discount. May discount yata talaga pag di daw peak months. We dosed for a couple of minutes and took meat loaf and sardinas for lunch. Wala kasing menu when we arrived. Afterwhich, we started walking on the long shore of Pundakit.
PUNDAKIT SHORES AND ITS ‘KIDDIE BEACH’. One thing I really hate doing is walking. But walking on the sand, barefoot, while holding Bri’s hand under the heat of the sun, while watching the waves and dances of the beach water is a totally different thing. Kahit bumabaon sa buhangin ang mga paa ko, ansipag kong naglakad. J One thing I just requested to Brian was for him to be very responsible on that trip. I told him that I learned that number of people lost their lives on the said beach. Of course any tourist spot has their own sad stories, but I don’t wanna dwell too much on these stories, that’s why I repeatedly told him not to swim too far from the shore. The waves of the water seemed too strong, the prime reason I suppose why the shores of Pundakit is a also a favorite of surfers. The good thing about it was that as we walk on, we noticed a small river quite connected with the beach. May parang mababaw na ilog na biglang humati sa barangay ng Pundakit. You will be amazed on how it was formed. The river is good for kids and for those who can’t really swim (ahem, ahem). Bri and I spent the whole afternoon soaking on the said river. It’s a shallow river but mind you, malakas ang agos nya. There on the sand, we watched the sun bid goodbye and I remembered taking a good photo of Bri, walking ahead of me, capturing his foot prints along the shore.
FOODTRIP. Another thing you would love about Megan’s is the delicious yet pocket friendly food. For dinner, we ordered chicken adobo. Food is sooooooooooo yummy! Andami pa naming tira, kaya ang sabi ni Ate Virgie, “Pede nyo pa pong gawing breakfast yan bukas. Iinitin nalang naming.” Well, let’s admit it, some other resort owners wont do that. Sobrang ni-baby kami ng Megan’s. Wala akong masabi. Di sila after sa malaking kita, I love their being so accommodating and hospitable. Ansarap talaga sa probinsya at ang sarap talagang makasalamuha ang mga taong probinsya. J
CONQUERING MY FEAR – BOAT RIDE. The following day, I got myself awaked as early as 6am. Excited eh, kahit na magdamag akong pinuyat ng mga mala-kidlat na hilik ni Brian. Hehehe. Brian and I waited for the heated adobo and ordered rice. Again, nagkamay ako. Ansarap. J We will about to visit one of the islands nearby. I chose visiting the famous Capones Island and got myself so excited to climb the lighthouse on the said island. After buying a couple of bracelets, we asked Kuya Bangkero to send us to Capones. I recall asking him a couple of times kung may pating ba, kung naka-vest ba, at kung ise-save nya ba kami ni Brian pag tumaob ang bangka. That was my first boat ride and I got so scared kasi parang paglusong naming, para kaming lalamunin ng alon. Bri was so aware of what I felt maybe because he positioned himself closer to me, almost hugging me on my tummy. That was such a sweet gesture that I learned to enjoy the ride instead.
CAPONES ISLAND. As we got off the shores of Capones, I started asking Kuya Bangkero kung asan yung lighthouse. Asa kabila pa daw and malayo pa kung lalakarin. I frowned and he might have noticed that he explained, “Ma’am wala po kasing nagbababa dun, mabato po kasi.” I understood him so well as Bri and I walked on the white shores of Capones. Mas kalmado ang alon, kasi napipigil ng mga bato. We noticed a group of friends setting up their tents nearby, an overnight, I suppose. Capones shores is just few walks away from the virgin forest. While walking on the shores, Bri and I can see wild birds flying nearby, we can also hear the ohhs and ahhs of the monkeys rested on the forest. That was past 9am and the sun was hurting our skin. We were barely 15 on the island. Place was so secluded and private. Ansarap din sana kung isang buong barkada kayo. Bri asked me if we will visit the famous lighthouse but I turned down the idea, even if I love to, it felt like my body won’t agree. The day before we left for Zambales, I was like telling Benjie that I feel like having colds. Bri told me that its fine and we spent hours laughing and exchanging stories on the shore. I loved how he got himself so amazed about the shells and the ‘living’ shells. And I equally love that old feeling of being so close and secured with him. I can’t really enumerate of the things I love about Capones, or about Brian, what I know is that I simply love him.
