Weekend Getaway: Nagsasa Cove

---

It took the bus four hours to get to San Antonio where we met our guide/boatman Kuya Mike. The last time we went to Pundaquit for camping, it only took us three hours by bus leaving at midnight – this time we missed the 04:00AM bus and had to wait until 05:00AM for the next one. Coming straight from work, I was groggy from having not slept and with the bus doing long stops, it wasn’t a very pleasant ride.

It was a busy season seven months ago when we went camping at Anawangin so this time we were hoping that we’d have our ‘peace and quiet’ in another remote cove, Nagsasa. Unlike Anawangin which is just about 30 minutes boat ride from the Pundaquit beach, Nagsasa Cove is one and a half hours away. Though rain hasn’t been around much these days, it’s supposed to be the wet season already. The hills and the surrounding mountains looked greener than brownish now;

“The hills are alive with the sound of music …” kept playing inside my head.

Pundaquit and its exquisite panorama; It was a soothing and a beautiful sight just like I remember it, only with different colors.

We arrived at the cove just before noon and settled at one of the straw cottages just a few steps from the shore. Nagsasa is bigger than Anawangin, has better swimming area, and the sand is whiter and finer but it was rather windy during our entire stay.

Hence sleepless, my eyes were shutting after lunch but Kuya Mike brought the wrong poles for our tent by mistake so I had to do my much needed nap on the sand. While Kuya Mike had to return to Pundaquit and back so we'd have something to sleep in during the night.

We explored the cove later in the afternoon to better admire its resplendence and attempted to look for a hill to climb for the sunset viewing but decided that we’d just wait for it on the ground as we’ve forgotten to bring the flashlights. We had our lovely sunset still, while sitting at the breezy shore.

Martin had to build the fire for our hotdog dinner and then enjoyed the left over adobo meal that Janet’s aunt cooked for us. We walked around afterwards and found a lovely spot where we lied down and listened to the sound of the water crashing to the shore, watched the stars fall down, and talked about ‘love’. The moon wasn’t around that night but the sky was clear enough. The time went so slow - bliss.

Our lullaby was the sound of the crickets and the whistling pines. I was awaken several times during the night though because at times it would sound like there was a storm going on outside and our tent would get pretty much shaken by the wind.

With its clear water, the cove has a nice swimming area but you have to go further away just to get to the deeper part.

No electricity.
No cell phones ringing.
No honking cars.
We had the time on our hands.

We got our ‘peace and quiet’ somehow.

---

Trip Information

• Contact person: Mike Bactad +639283405136 (for Anawangin/Nagsasa Cove and nearby islands)
• PHP500 tent for rent (accommodates 4)
• Victory Liner (Caloocan or Pasay or Cubao Stations) at PHP251/one way for a 3 to 4 hours travel to San Antonio via the Iba Zambales bus
• PHP100 tricycle ride, 15-30 minutes from San Antonio to Brgy. Pundaquit
• PHP1,800 boat (max of 4), 1 ½ hours from Pundaquit beach to Nagsasa Cove

---