Exploring Philippines 21 - Zambales (Post 1 - Camara Island)

The group met somewhere in Quezon City and by 4 in the morning, we were already on our way to Zambales. Since we barely slept, from time to time, some of us dozed off. We had a fast ride and by 7am we reached the house of Gerald in Subic.  Their house served as our holding area where we left some of our belongings and prepared to go to Pundaquit beach in San Antonio, Zambales.

After an hour of travel, we finally reached the town of San Antonio. We went first to the public market to buy rice, meat products, and other ingredients for our lunch that day. And from the main road, we followed a dusty road that leads toward the barangay of Pundaquit.

The moment our feet landed on the sands of Pundaquit, we made no haste. We proceed directly to the beach front because we want to maximize the day exploring the place. I was surprised to find out that it was not a sleepy barangay. The whole stretch of the shoreline is literally occupied by boats which the fisher folks used to earn their living. Actually, the moment I set  my eyes on the scene, I felt a festive atmosphere of the place.

After a while, we boarded three separate boats to carry us to the nearest island, the Camara island. Both the Camara and Capones islands can be seen on the Pundaquit shores. But nothing beats the real experience of actually landing on these islands squarely.

As part of the safeguard measures, we were required to wear life jackets. It is good that it has been the practice of the community here at Pundaquit to look after for the welfare and safety of tourists, especially for people like me who can't swim.

The day looked promising because the sun was shining brightly and the sea was gentle. Actually, the very moment I saw the beach, I wanted to plunge into the water and enjoy a morning swim. But we had to visit the islands first before anything else.

After 10 minutes of boat racing towards the Camara island, the waves gradually grew bigger. Though the wind was blowing slowly, our boatmen discouraged us to land at the island. The Zambales coastline is facing the Pacific Ocean and at this time of the day, the waves were stronger here compared to that of the shoreline of Pundaquit. During low tide, the white sand that bridges the two land formations could be seen which makes it easy to dock but that moment, only a portion of it could be seen which signaled our boatmen not to proceed further.

It was a bit disappointing on our part because we were almost there but our safety should come first before anything else. Though we were so excited and dying to touch down on the white sands of Camara island, we did not force our personal desire. I guess if it was not meant to be, then most probably, some good things await us somewhere else.

A good glimpse of the island was all we ever could do. A helpless act but it was the only good thing for us to remember the island this close. And we raced again towards the next island, the Capones island.

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