Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Capones Island and the Old Farola

Aside from the secluded coves such as Anawangin and Nagsasa, Capones Island has also been one of Zambales' famous destination. But unlike the coves, this island is visited not for its beach (Capones beach is rocky and the waves aren't that friendly) but for the ruined light station it harbors on its western tip.

Finally after an hour of sailing from Nagsasa, our boat approached the vicinity of the bone-shaped Capones Island. Everyone was excited to set feet on the shore. Our boatman then asked us if we'll still be visiting the lighthouse, we answered yes, of course. At first they were hesitant because we left Nagsasa late, but the adamant us managed to convince them in the end.

Welcome to Capones Island
approaching the island

So they asked us whether we'll trek or we'll swim.
Getting into this old lighthouse may be done in two rough ways, either you trek or you swim:
Trekking will be done if your boat docks on the eastern shore of the island. It will be a 30 minutes trek on the island's grassy hills and rocky cliffs. sounds good but time consuming.
Swimming, on the other hand, will be done if the boat stops near the southwestern shore of the island. The rocky characteristic of the western shore makes it unfavorable for the boats to dock, hence swimming must be done to reach the island. It's a short 50 meters swim but huge strong waves won't make it easy for you. 
We opted the latter because we're running short of time.

We wore life vests and pulled ourselves to the coast via the rope tied by our boatman. Most of us, including me of course, dared to bring our cameras to the island. I placed the small point and shoots inside my ziploc bag while Chino risked his large DSLR (which cannot fit in my ziploc) all the way to the shore.

At last we all made it to the island, safe and sound. The cameras were safe too, as well as the DSLR, which was half-wet along the way, (it was still working very fine).


battling the waves

From the rocky shore, we walked for about 5 minutes along the old stone stairs along the island's rocky coast, then on a grassy/bushy trail that led us to the gate of the old Farola (I will make a separate post about the lighthouse's history for my Farola Series).

excited to visit the lighthouse
saya?
tumayo balahibo ko at first sight
Rusty and broken things are scattered everywhere, its walls and floor are slowly eaten by creeping plants and grass, in short, the old Faro de Punta Capones is in a sorry state. But despite the sad condition of the old lighthouse, still, it did not fail to amaze us. Here are some photos of the lighthouse: 

only the lantern of the farola is being maintained by the Philippine Coast Guard
the rest are left to rot
though old and in ruins, Faro de Punta Capones still has an enchanting beauty
At the back of the lighthouse, there's a spot that enabled us to view the southern coast line of the Capones Island.

Back side of the Capones Lighthouse
this is the coast where the boats are stopping and where the swimming will begin
on the beach seen on the middle of the photo is where the boats will dock and the 30 minutes trek will begin
the farola is situated on an elevated part of the island.
the lantern is powered by these solar panels
And of course, our island experience won't be complete without reaching the top of the lighthouse. The spiral staircase, however, was shaking due to its oldness, so we still waited for other tourists to get down from the top.

one person at a time, medyo shaky yung karag-karag na spiral staircase
the original lantern was dismantled and was replaced by this one.
top view of the Farola Compound
Batang Lawatsero conquered his 3rd Spanish Lighthouse. Photo by Joan
The view on top was great, 360 degrees view of the Island and the West Philippine Sea.

As soon as we're satisfied with Capones Island, we went back to our boat and battled again the strong waves.

It was past 3 pm when we got back to Pundaquit Beach.

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3 in 1 Lakwatsa sa Ikalawang Dekada turned out to be successful and memorable trip. It is so far my best birthday celebration, thanks again to my ka-lakwatsas.
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We settled everything with Mang Mike as we reached the Pundaquit Beach. I highly recommend his service, reach him through these numbers: 09283405136 and/or 09277801312.     

After a little trouble on the road, we came back to Manila safe and sound.

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Viaje Zambales: Mt. Pundaquit-Nagsasa-Capones

Mt. Pundaquit Traverse to Anawangin
Nagsasa Cove Camping
Capones Island Advenure

Itinerary | Mt. Pundaquit-Nagsasa-Capones
.

19 comments:

  1. ang ganda! ganda ng adventure, ung place at nung light house.. sayang di na preserved..but nevertheless ganda pa rin.

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  2. Ganda ng shots and the lighthouse... pati yung top view ng coast, that's my favorite. Sana makapasyal din ako dyan one of this days. Mukhang need ng 100% SPF dito sa trip na toh ah.

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  3. I hope the local government restores the farola and the whole thing. Sayang naman kung mabubulok. It can be another tourist spot.

    Swim or Hike? Both exhausting. Hehehe. But I`ll prefer to hike than to swim. Natakot ako bigla pag-describe mo nung waves. Hahaha.

    Can`t wait for the farola series. :)

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    Replies
    1. i'll post soon my next entry for the farola series

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  4. hahahaha..... ang saya saya ko dun sa picture! hahahaha

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  5. this is the most photogenic among the 3 island - at least for me. andaming trip ng bagets! ang babata palang, afford na magtravel! =)

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  6. gawin mo na yung sit-on-the-edge trademark shot. capones remains to be one of my favorite island in the country. buti kontrolado na yung aakyat sa lighthouse.

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    Replies
    1. oo nga no. hehe. medyo madami na pala akong photo na sit-on-the-edge :) natakot lang siguro yung naunang group sa amin kaya pumila sila.

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  7. clap clap clap you made it! nanghinayang ako before nung nag nagsasa-capones-anawangin din ako. Tinamad kasi ako mag trek. I never thought pwede syang languyin (kala mo naman kagaling maglangoy e no?) hahaha! Ayoko pa naman bumalik na at nakakatakot ang waves.

    Great shots! Talagang binuwis ang buhay ng SLR e no. hahah! sa ngalan ng magandang view. =) Bravo!

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    Replies
    1. hehe. madali lang nmn yung languyan portion at may rope naman na hawa at may life vest din. kaya lang malakas nga yung wave :P

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  8. The place was so beautiful..But much better if they restore all the things there

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  9. very memorable sa akin ang trip na to!

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  10. You never fail to amaze me, Ivan, by your modes of writing. Narration is always as vivid as the clear skies so is the description. When I was your age, I don't know the word blog yet I am pretty sure had I known it won't make a difference in the point I am trying to put across. That is, you're such a gifted blogger. Kudos to you on that and may we be crossing paths again in the near future. I hope you will be as vocal as you are in your blog posts by that time. :-)

    Thanks for joining our group's adventurous travel last February 12, 2012!

    More travel opportunities to come for us!

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    Replies
    1. wow. thanks sir. haha. pramis magsasalita na ako sa future climbs natin, hehe.

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  11. Allowed ba mag bisyo kung hindi afford?! hehe, wala lang.
    But aniwei, it makes more interesting if ang isang bagay ay old and classic na diba but maintained! Nakakaaliw ng sobra! I wanna be here sana with friends! Saya din siguro.

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  12. Try wandering at grande island po

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