WALDZ RENALES: PUNDAQUIT, San Antonio, Zambales

Last April 9 to 10, we went on a "Zambales Tour" with some friends and co-workers of Barangay 176. Actually, it is an outing for the Treasurer's Office. It just so happen that Kagawad Joel Bacolod is the committee chairman of budget, finance and appropriations of our barangay, and in effect, the treasurer's office is somehow under his jurisdiction. Excited ako sa pag-alis dahil matagal na rin akong hindi nakakapunta sa Zambales. The last time I went there was in April of 1994 at Baloy Beach Resort during the summer outing of Grandorient Mills Corp., the company to which my mom had worked since 1970's.

We departed Bagong Silang at around 1:00 a.m. of April 9 on board the usual crosswind of Kagawad's. Willy Faraon and Jojo Ramirez drove the vehicle. Kagawad Aida Corrales was also with us but she used her own vehicle for the trip. The staff of the treasurer's office left Bagong Silang at around 3:00 a.m. that day also sing a chartered bus Gloren Trans. On the way to Zambales was very fun... for we don't know the location of Pundaquit. All we have is the name of the resort, Villa Janella, and we have to locate it since none of us knew the place. First timers kaming lahat sa Pundaquit. Nakakawala pa ng antok ang mga patawa ni Ogie Corrales at ni Patrick Chua. Our first stop was in a gas station before Olongapo City proper to refuel. There we took some pictures that made the gasoline boy laughed. Siguro akala nya mga baliw kami! Ang kukulit kasi. Bidang-bida si Camoteng Willy!

Willy Boy Faraon... camote!!!

Kgd. Joel Bacolod, Waldz, Jojo Ramirez, Ogie Corrales & Bryan Balanon... taken at a gas station before Olongapo City proper.

Camote!!!

We also asked the gasoline boy where is Pundaquit located and he gladly gave us the direction. We drove again until we reach the town of Castillejos, Zambales. We stopped infront of the public market and we had a hot "goto". Pero lugaw lang naman yun na may konting laman! Haha.. goto na sa kanila yun.. Ok na rin, nabusog naman kami. And before we left the store, we bought varieties of junks para may "kutkutin" habang nasa byahe.

Jojo Ramirez, Waldz, Bryan Balanon & Willy Faraon @ Castillejos, Zambales

Patrick Chua

Husband & wife Christy & Ogie Corrales

Jojo Ramirez, Kgd. Joel Bacolod, Waldz & Bryan Balanon

We finally arrived in San Antonio, Zambales at around 4:30 a.m. and we hired a tricycle driver to guide us to Villa Janella's Resort in Pundaquit. Pagdating namin doon sa resort, ayun... napakadilim at walang tao maliban sa aso! Afterwards, nagising din yung caretaker at inorient kami tungkol sa resort.. kung ano ang meron sila. Then we took a walk-tour of the place and it was still very dark. Napagtripan namin lumakad sa buhanginan sa beach front at magpicture taking sa mga bangkang naka-dock doon.

Me & Bryan... walking in the shoreline of Villa Janella Resort

Kubo-type room @ Villa Janella... can accommodate up to 4 persons

Double deck ito..

hmm.. kawayan ang bed.. nice!

Jojo, Waldz, Ogie & Patrick Chua @ Villa Janella Resort

Me, Ogie, Patrick & Kgd. Joel

Jojo, me, Ogie, Patrick & Kgd. Joel

Villa Janella Resort's boat

The staff of the Barangay Treasurer's Office will be accommodated in this resort upon their arrival. We then decided to leave the resort to look for other possible alternative place to stay, for we thought that the place is not that awesome and accommodating on our part. It does not meet our expectations though. We did a resort-hopping, and to our dismay, we learned that almost all resort is fully-booked that time! Mahirap pala ang walk-in sa Pundaquit pag weekend, specially ngayong summer season. We waited at Nora's Beach Resort information desk to open, hoping that there is still a vacant room or some people will be checking out that morning... and again, to our dismay, the information desk officer told us that they are fully-booked that day, and they have guests expected to arrive that morning! He then suggested Sir William's Resort and Villa Garcia, a resort not far from Nora's. Sir William's was fully-booked but thanks God because the neighboring resort, Villa Garcia, has two studio-type airconditioned room still available! The owner, Mrs. Lucy Santiago, wife of the former Punong Barangay of Pundaquit, priced the room at PhP 3,500 for an overnight stay!!! Oh my... we had no choice but to get the room to have a place to stay. And besides, we're all very tired and we want to have some sleep that morning before starting our activities. After waking up at 9:00 a.m. , we went to San Antonio public market to have a breakfast. Sorry to say, there are no available meal being sold at Villa Garcia's resort or elsewhere. You really have to bring your own foods and cook it there. Kagawad Aida, however, decided to stay in the resort to rest and sleep more. We had our breakfast at a burger house at the back of San Antonio municipal hall. . We were lucky because they are serving traditional Filipino breakfast meals... the ___-SI-LOG's!!! Grabe ang sarap ng luto nila kahit medyo mahal, sulit naman. After kumain, ayun balik na uli kami sa Pundaquit at syempre, I took some pictures while on the way.

Jojo driving us from San Antonio to Villa Garcia, Pundaquit

San Antonio, Zambales Public Market

Me & Bryan waiting for our breakfast at San Antonio

Patrick Chua bought a swimming shorts while waiting for our order

Jojo Ramirez, while waiting for the food...

Pundaquit Bridge

Pagbalik sa Villa Garcia's resort around 11:00 a.m., Kagawad Aida Corrales decided to go back to Manila for she is not feeling well. Likewise, she then refused to be taken any pictures while we were in Zambales for some personal reasons. Anyway, when she left, husband and wife Ogie and Christy Corrales opted to stay with us though. We then decided to visit our friends at Villa Janella's resort to see what is happening there and to exchange pleasantries and stories of our trip. We took our lunch there and I took some pictures of the people and the scenery... very relaxing!

At Villa Janella Resort with Barangay 176 Staff

Tsekwa, Ogie, Me & Kuya Jhun Lagasca

Kgd. Joel & Willy

Gloren Trans: the bus used by Barangay 176

Gloren Trans: the bus used by Barangay 176..with view of Mt. Pundaquit

Bryan & Willy

Villa Janella Resort- CR

Mt. Pundaquit

Jhun Lagasca, Jojo, Bryan, Ogie & Willy

litson!!!

si Jojo Ramirez... na naging Jojo Chua na pag-uwi!!!

Ogie & Me

Mt. Pundaquit

Kgd. Joel with Barangay 176 Staff

Kgd. Joel with Ate Lilia

Ogie, Kgd. Joel & Bryan

Bryan & Willy

Bryan...

Mt. Pundaquit

After visiting Villa Janella, pagbalik sa Villa Garcia, ayun tagay-tagay muna agad.. lasing ang mga bata!!! Then after consuming two bottles of Emperador Light, we decided to have a dip in the waters of Pundaquit!!! Grabe ang ganda ng view ng Mt. Pundaquit, ng dagat at ng Capones at Camara Island!!! Perfect!!!

Christy & Patrick Chua

Willy

Jojo

Willy, Christy, Ogie & Patrick Chua @ Villa Garcia

ang sweet naman ni Ogie at Patrick Chua

ang sweet din ng mag-asawa!!!

Jojo & Bryan... lasing na!

hmm.. sila uli... sweet!

Bryan

Bryan & Patrick Chua... sweet din! haha..

Willy, Me & Jojo

Bryan, Ogie, Christy, Patrick & Willy

Mt. Pundaquit

Bryan

Me, Willy, Ogie, Jojo, Patrick & Bryan

Bryan

Patrick & Bryan... sweet!!!

After hours of swimming, na-curious kami sa dami ng mga tourists na gustong tumawid sa Capones at Camara Island, kaya hindi na namin pinalampas ang pagkakataon na puntahan din ang isa sa mga island na nakikita sa gitna ng dagat. At dahil 3:00 p.m. na yun, we decided to go to the nearest island from Pundaquit shoreline, ang Camara Island na nasa gitna ng tatlong island na makikita sa gitna ng dagat. Si Bryan ang naging negotiator namin dun sa bangkero.. hehe.. we got the boat at PhP 800.00 back & forth the island.

On board our boat to Camara Island

The boat ride was awesome! It was indeed a an unforgettable experience for all of us. Upon arrivng in Camara Island, we were amazed by huge rock formation in the island. The boat men say Camara Island is a big chunk of rock and no soil or land can be found in the island... only sand and rock and some plants to which we were not that familiar. We were fascinated by the beauty of the island, the waters, the scenery, the skies.. everything was perfect! No words to describe our happiness that time. The white sand, though not that fine as Boracay, is really beautiful with pebbles and corals. The water is crystal clear and the waves are quite strong. We enjoyed every minute of our stay in the island... it's indeed a paradise!

Kgd. Joel arriving in Camara Island

Camara Island

Galing ng boat man!!!

Kgd. Joel

Kgd. Joel & Waldz

Me...

Huge rock formation at Camara Island

Camara Island

Huge rock formation at Camara Island

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Camara Island

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Huge rock formation at Camara Island

Me again...

Kgd. Joel and his tattoo...

Camara Island

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Me again!

Frog-shaped rock at Camara Island

Camara Island

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

the waters of Camara Island

Camara Island

Bryan and friends arriving in Camara Island

Bryan at Camara Island

Ogie, Patrick & Bryan

Jojo

Jojo & Ogie

Tropang Camote sa ibabaw ng Camara Island!!!

Camara Island

Patrick Chua

Willy

Bryan

son of our boat man...

boat man resting

Willy

Jojo

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Willy

Willy & Bryan

Huge rock formation at Camara Island

Camara Island

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Bryan

Willy & Patrick Chua... sweet!

Camara Island

Bryan

Jojo & Bryan

Patrick Chua

Bryan

Bryan & Willy

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Willy

Patrick, Christy & Ogie

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Camara Island

Bryan & Patrick

Bryan

Willy & Bryan

Bryan

Hmm... ano yan? Etits???

Camara Island

Etits uli!

Bryan!

Bryan

Around 6:00 p.m. when our boat man said that we have to go back to the resort because the sea waves might get rough as night approaches and the wind blows stronger. Plus the fact that there is no electricity in the island, nor we have a portable source of light in case we planned to stay longer beyond 6:00p.m. We prepared ourselves to go back to Pundaquit mainland and we left the island with a smile...and a relaxed and peaceful mind though our stay was too short to fully discover and roam around the island. Our boat ride going back was indeed an adventure! The boat man was correct when he said that waves might get bigger as night approaches. There it was... we saw and felt it while crossing the sea!!! Though there is fear in all of us, we know that we are in good hands and we just enjoyed the boat ride though.

Jojo

Bye... Camara Island!!!

Upon reaching the shores of Pundaquit, we waited for the boat of Kagawad Joel Bacolod, Patrick Chua and Willy Faraon for they were left behind in Camara Island. Bryan, Jojo, Ogie, Christy and I were the first to be fetched to the resort. The boat cannot accommodate more than 4 people. And while waiting for them, I took some pictures of Mt. Pundaquit, Capones & Camara Island... And when they finally arrived, we went straight to our room, washed ourselves and relaxed a bit. At syempre, si Patrick Chua, hindi pinalampas ang pagkakataon na makapagpa-picture sa aming bangkero! Haha... type ng hitad ang boat man!

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from Pundaquit shoreline...

Capones & Camara Island as viewed from Pundaquit shoreline

Hmm... si Patrick Chua at ang bangkero!!!

Hmm... si Patrick Chua at ang bangkero!!!

After resting, we decided to visit our friends again at Janella's Resort. And again, we took our dinner there and we had a bad experience with the caterer brought by the Barangay 176 contractor. Ogie Corrales will never forget that arrogant and stupid staff of the caterer. After dinner, we did some picture taking and as usual, exchange of pleasantries.

Marites Teves

Gloren Trans... ang sinakyan ng ibang staff

Kgd. Joel & Nanette

Nanette & Kgd. Joel

Willy & Bryan @ Villa Janella

Me & Willy

Bryan, Ogie, Willy & Jojo

Me, Ogie, Willy & Jojo

We went back to Villa Garcia after that horrible experience with the caterer and we drank till dawn. April 10... upon waking up in the morning, we prepared ourselves and pack our things to leave the resort. We will be heading next to Olongapo City to take our breakfast there in a house of my friend. We bought our food at Olongapo City public market then we were met by the owner of the house to whom we'll be staying to take our breakfast. We proceeded to his house at "Little Baguio", a community on a hill, and we have to literally climb the steep stairs going there. We were laughing all the time to Willy... for he had a hard time climbing those steps! The place somehow has a resemblance to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Baguio City. After eating and resting for a while, we went down to go on our way back home...

Castillejos, Zambales Welcome Marker

Patrick Chua @ Villa Garcia

Christy, Ogie & Patrick

Mt. Pundaquit as viewed from San Antonio-San Marcelino Road

San Antonio-San Marcelino Road

Castillejos, Zambales Public Market

Olongapo City

Victory Liner

WPH Shuttle Bus

Jeepney plying Olongapo-Castillejos

Subic, Zambales Town Proper

Olongapo City Hall

Victory Liner Building in Olongapo

Ulo ng Gapo

Patrick Chua in Olongapo

Our meal bought at Olongapo City Public Market

Olongapo City Public Market

Bryan in Olongapo

Victory Liner in Olongapo

Little Baguio, Olongapo City

Little Baguio, Olongapo City.. hiningal sa pag-akyat si Willy!!!

Little Baguio, Olongapo City

Little Baguio, Olongapo City.. hiningal sa pag-akyat si Willy!!!

Little Baguio, Olongapo City.. pati si Jojo at Bryan gumaya na rin!!!

Hmm... pati si Patrick Chua naki-join!!!

Olongapo Zigzag Road

Little Baguio, Olongapo City

Victory Liner 684... Olongapo to Baguio City

Generally, our trip was indeed a memorable one! Being in the company of Kagawad Joel Bacolod, Ogie & Christy Sangines-Corrales, Patrick Chua, Willy Faraon, Jojo Ramirez and Bryan Balanon was an ease. It's really a good decision that we had an itinerary of our own rather than joining the big group of barangay staff in that trip. I should say, if not because of our consolidated will to be on our own, our trip will surely be a "botched"! Haha...

Anyway, for those planning to go to Pundaquit and looking for an accommodation for an overnight or longer stay, I recommend Villa Garcia, not that luxurious, but a good place to stay somehow. Just contact the owner, Mrs. Lucy Santiago at 09183191504 or 09065726876. Until then!

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

PUNDAQUIT, San Antonio, Zambales

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