zambales round 2

Manila heat is terrible. Movement or no movement, you're bound to sweat unless you're followed by an electric fan 24/7 or are situated in an airconditioned room. The bagong ligo feeling now only lasts me about five minutes (or less) from the time I step out of the shower, and by the time I'm fully dressed, I'm already sweating like a pig. It's crazy. Headaches now come more often than they usually do because the heat just really gets to me, so I'm left in bed trying to sleep the headache away... sweating. I can't turn on my aircon so often because we're trying to keep our electric bill at a decent price, so most of the time the electric fan (blowing out hot air) will have to do. The only way to really appreciate this kind of heat is at the beach, which is what my friends and I did a week ago in Zambales.

The initial plan was to surf in Zambales and stay at The Circle Hostel for the weekend. But since the water was flat and the Circle was full, we went with the alternative plan and stayed at a tito's house located in Iba, about 40 minutes away from the dock of our activity place, and decided to spend the day at Capones island. My friend Carla's friend Lui organized a trip to Capones island and prepared all the food and boards we were going to need. My friends and I were actually Lui's guinea pigs because it was the first time he took out a group and organized the food and activities for a decent price. He put together a flat surf day package that is inclusive of a fish and barbecue lunch, a boat ride to an island or cove, and paddle boarding. Here's the official poster.

Here are some photos taken by Alec Yatco of the beautiful Capones island.

Unfortunately, some parts of the island and water need a little cleaning. The place was filled with trash and called for a restoration team. It's so sad to see such beautiful island go to waste because of the irresponsible visitors that trash the place. So if you're interested in helping save Capones island, visit Save Capones Island on Facebook and help the wonderful people behind the awareness restore the island's beauty and cleanliness.

Despite the trash, the island was still naturally beautiful. We spent the day hiking up the little mountain, lounging around, drinking, eating, paddle boarding, swimming, taking photos and talking. Definitely a great way to embrace the heat!

More photos from Alec.

the best way to eat on an island!

After spending a day in Capones, we had our dinner at Casa San Miguel (really cute place and had affordable, good food), then headed to our place for the night in Iba. The next day, we decided to just lounge around Punta de Uian resort until it was time to go home.

Fun trip! I really was looking forward to the surf though, especially after the amazing second surf experience I had in Baler. Luckily, the alternative plan to Capones made up for the flat water. So if you happen to be in Zambales during a flat weekend, try out Lui's flat surf package and experience the fun, chill, away from the city and under the sun weekend that we had.