I ♥ Pundaquit Zambales 03/27/2011

Pundaquit Beach Zambales

Pundaquit, or Pandakit is in San Antonio Zambales, a small fishing village on an attractive bay with a long white sand beach. It is a small barrio next to a glorious South China Sea and surrounded by paramount mountains. It is home to many fishermen as several boats lined their beach. The sun was glaring as I tried to take in the striking surroundings. The beach was very clean, unlike some of Subic's beaches I visited before.
 

I was really confused if Cove and Island is the same but according to my research A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. So definitely, we are not going to ride a boat just to get there.

 It took us four hour of bumpy ride to finally reach Subic Olongapo and another hour to get to San Antonio Zambales with just 2 hours of slow traffic and the difference is our total travel time. We don't have any food supplies with us so we just bought some in San Antonio Public Market to cook in Talisayen Cove.The marketplace is located at the right side of municipal hall and because we already rented a tricycle we don't need to ask directions to get there. After we bought enough food, liquor and cigaretters we were finally off to Pundaquit which is the jumpstart point to our destination Talisayen Cove.
 

 It was approximately 30 mins ride from the main road and we were venturing into unfamiliar ground. It was a long dirt road that curved through a beautiful scenic area that seemed to be hidden from mainstream Zambales. Horses, Cows and Goats grazed on green pastures. A pristine shallow river crossed the countryside. Women could be seen washing clothes in the clear water. A few huts lined the river and utilized the shallow running water to grow some crops. A thin bridge, wide enough for a single small vehicle to pass over, crossed over to take us to the other side. Brown rocky cliffs now began to emerge on this side of the river. There was a peculiar house atop one of the cliffs that struck my curiosity. The area then soon gave way to the green towering mountains we had seen earlier that was much closer now. Not long after that, to our surprise, we finally reached a post that welcomed us to Barangay Pundaquit.

 I know I have so much left of the world to see but for me seeing the picturesque view in Pundaquit is one of the strikingly beautiful feeling I had in all of my travel experiences. There is something about the place that takes my breath away. I personally have no idea why i was in awe but perhaps I was most blown away at the beaches and overlooking of Capones and Camara Islands.

I was looking at the beach at the right moment at the right place at the right time. I could say that I fell in-love with the place. If i need to recharge and escape the metropolis this is the place were i should go to. I will definitely visit Pundaquit again.


 How to Get to Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales:


A. Via Public Transportation

 1. Ride a Victory Liner Bus bound for Sta. Cruz or Iba.
Victory Liner has stations at Pasay, Cubao, Kamias and Caloocan. I suggest you go to the Caloocan Terminal since a bus leaves for Iba every 30 minutes. First trip is at 4:00 am and last trip is at 11:30 pm.
Fare is about P 270.
 2. Go off the San Antonio Municipal Hall.

 Ask the conductor to drop you off at San Antonio Municipal Hall. From Olongapo, you will pass by Castillejos Town and San Marcelino.


3. Take a tricycle ride from the Municipal Hall to Pundaquit Beach.

 In front of the Municipal Hall is the tricycle terminal. The terminal is open 24 hours so even if you travel in the wee hours, there are tricycles available to bring you to Pundaquit Beach. The drivers are familiar with the resorts in the area so you just tell them to what resort you're planning to stay or just tell them that you're heading to Pundaquit Beach. Fare is about P 30 per person. Also, the road from the Municipal Hall to Pundaquit Beach seem to be deserted but do not be scared. Just a few kilometers ahead is the beach!

B. Via Private Transportation

 1. Drive through NLEX

 Hitting the NLEX depends on where you will be coming from. You can take Balintawak Exit, Meycauyan, etc depending on your starting point. Point is, you have to drive along NLEX!

 Travel Time: About 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on what exit you take.
 2. Exit at San Fernando
From NLEX, exit at San Fernando, Pampanga. You will see Robinsons Pampanga upon your exit. Drive opposite of Robinsons Pampanga. Follow the road signs to Olongapo. You will pass by Lubao and Guagua.
 Travel Time: 40 - 60 minutes

 3. Enter Bataan through Layak Junction then Drive through Olongapo

You will enter the area of Bataan when you pass by Layak Junction. The Layak Junction has a monument. From the Pampanga road, take the road on the right. There is a tricycle terminal on the corner of this road.

Then just drive straight and follow the signs leading to Olongapo. Once in Olongapo, you can still see signs going to Pundaquit or San Antonio. Just drive through the towns in Olongapo including Subic Town Proper.
Travel Time: 40-60 minutes.

 4. Pass by the towns of Castillejos and San Marcelino

After Olongapo, you will pass by the towns of Castillejos and San Marcelino. Each town is about 7 kilometers and will take you about 30 minutes to drive along these towns. Be mindful of the signs especially when you reach San Marcelino. Upon seeing Dr. Yangco Educational Foundation at San Marcelino, turn left to head to San Antonio. There is also a road sign to signal you where to turn left. If you drive straight ahead, you will be heading to San Narciso.

Travel Time: 30 minutes

5. Turn left at the Cemetery then Head to Pundaquit Beach

Once you turn left, a public cemetery can be seen at the right side. Then there will views of fields and mountains until you reach the town proper. Drive straight until you reach the Municipal Hall on the right side of the street.

From the Municipal Hall, turn left on the road with signs pointing you to the resorts. The road seem to be deserted but its concrete. You will also pass by a one-way steel bridge. You can also ask a tricyle to lead you to Pundaquit Beach then pay him for about P60.
Travel Time: 30 minutes.


 


 
-->
Location: Pundaquit, San Antonio, Pilipinas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I ♥ Puting Buhangin Pagbilao - Quezon (2012) - 09/29/2012

Image
I always pray for good weather when planning an out-of-town trip, as a typhoon can easily disrupt carefully planned travels. Fortunately, when we visited Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao, Quezon, the weather remained clear. I had been longing to visit this place since last year, but unforeseen circumstances always led to cancellations. Growing up in Quezon province, I felt a deep connection to this destination and wanted to appreciate the beauty of my hometown.   Initially, I had planned a solo backpacking trip and shared my travel plans online out of excitement. That's when I received a message from Mac, who expressed curiosity about my travels. I proposed the idea of going together to Puting Buhangin to cut down on expenses. Without hesitation, Mac agreed to join me on this adventure.   On the day of the tour, heavy rain poured down, making me fear that the trip would once again be cancelled. I reached out to Mac via SMS to confirm if he still wanted to go. If he had changed his mind
Read more

I ♥ PMA BAguio City 12/12/2010

Image
Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Baguio Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Baguio was the first tourist spot I visited in this humble city. I went there last 2008 with my college friends and I really enjoyed our short stay there. There is no restriction in visiting the area. However, due to its gaining popularity they implemented policies that may annoy some first time travelers.  All visitors entering PMA must have individual valid IDs. A person without a valid ID can't enter PMA. If you're in a group and you don't have ID, you will be instructed to get off the jeepney at the gate and wait for your companions with IDs while they're enjoying the tour. Also, wearing slippers is a big no-no when you wanted to enter its premises. Even though you are wearing your expensive flip-flops the security personnel won't show any mercy and you may be force to await your companion at the gate. They promote wearing shoes because people who wanted to visit the area shou
Read more

I ♥ Batis Aramin Lucban Quezon 03/13/2011

Image
  Batis Aramin Lucban Quezon Batis Aramin Resort, Hotel and Adventure Camp is just one of the few resorts near my hometown Tayabas, Quezon. We went there when we visited the well-known Catholic Pilgrimage site called “Kamay ni Hesus” which lies on the foot of Mt. Banahaw last 2011. You won't be lost to find the place because it is just on the other side of the popular retreat camp Kamay ni Hesus which is located in Malupak, Lucban Quezon. We don't have enough money to pay the 100 pesos entrance fee but because we wanted to explore the place we just made an alibi to the security personnel that we just wanted to do an ocular visit and see if we wanted to stay. The security personnel was very kind and he let the 5 of us enter the vicinity we just left our ID's for record updating.  There were a lot of guess that time. I saw a lot of private cars with LaSalle University stickers probably they rented the place for retreat. I never expected the resort to be so beautif
Read more