Little Miss Miera

My First Trip to Anawangin Cove

Back when I was in grade school, we annually had a camping trip in our school's farm. I remember learning how to start a fire, knotting, how to manually cook rice, etc. I even remember bringing canned pork and beans (the ultimate canned camping food! Haha!) and forcing myself to like it because it looked good... Yep, that's just me being weird. Honestly, I already forgot most of the things that I learned in camping (oops). If you're the type of person who doesn't mind sleeping in a tent and having no mobile signal, then Anawangin is a place you must visit. If not, you can stay at Pundaquit and take a day trip to Anawangin/Capones/Nagasasa Cove instead.

How to go to Anawangin?

You can ride a Victory Liner bus going to Iba, Zambales.

From Pasay Terminal - Php357 (via Sfdo) or Php384 (via SCTEX)
From Cubao Terminal - Php347 (via Sfdo) or Php375 (via SCTEX)

Let the driver/conductor know that you'll get off at San Antonio Public Market. From San Antonio Public Market, ride a tricycle to Pundaquit. This would cost around Php30/person. Once you reach Pundaquit, you can ride a boat going to Anawangin or Nagsasa Cove. You can also go trekking to Anawangin Cove which would take around 4-5 hours according to our tour guide.

Met up at Eton Centris

If you are a big group, you may opt to hire a van instead. You'll most likely shell out around Php1,000 per person which is not that bad since total costs for transportation (via bus and tricycle) will cost you roughly around Php800 (round-trip). By adding a hundred or two, you have the luxury of stopping over anytime, anywhere. Plus, no hassle of transferring from bus to tricycle.

Est. travel time: 4 hours

Day 1 (Saturday)

Pundaquit Island

We left Manila at around 1:30AM and arrived in Pundaquit at around 5:30AM. We arrived a bit too early so we had to wait for awhile for the boat that would take us to Anawangin.

Upon arrival to Anawangin, there was a miscommunication between our tour guide and the person in-charge in the camping site. Apparently, our tour guide already reserved and paid a slot for us but the person-in-charge gave it to someone else. So, we ended up moving our tent three times.

Time's slow when you're in the beach. We spent the whole morning and afternoon playing cards and swimming (though the water was quite rough).

We were told that we would either go island hopping by 3PM (and go hiking the next day) or go hiking at around 5PM (and go island hopping the next day). It all depends if the boat will arrive. We ended up hiking at around 5:30PM which I think was a better choice because we ended up witnessing the sunset on top!

We didn't have any hiking shoes with us so we all went up wearing slippers. It was tiring (and hard) but seeing this view was worth the struggle!

Campfire! The night was spent drinking and talking. It was full moon that night but too bad the stars decided to hide. Haha!

Day 2 (Sunday a.k.a our last day)

I didn't bring a sleeping bag with me so I wasn't able to sleep quite peacefully (way to go, self!). We woke up pretty early because we had to leave Anawangin by 8AM to go island hopping.

Capones Island

Spent the whole morning swimming and snorkeling! Hence, my skin color. Hahaha! Our tour to the light house was cancelled since our tour guide and boat man had a quarrel. We tried to get a discount since we weren't able to visit the light house but, oh well.

So, after Capones Island, we headed straight to Pundaquit where we ate our lunch, took a bath, and rode the van going back to Manila. It was a great way to spend the weekend!

Our travel tour to Anawangin was c/o Bakasyonista. Although there were quite a few mishaps during our trip, I'd like to believe that it was something that was beyond their control. Due to what happened, they treated us with two bottle of beers (which we drank during night time) and free use of goggles during our trip to Capones. Plus points for their food, too!

Photos c/o me, Froi, and Bec

9:24 PM
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Sunday Motivation Vol. 2

brush calligraphy

Here's your weekly dose of motivational quotes to kick-start your week next week! There are days wherein we wake up on the wrong side of the bed and we don't really feel like doing anything productive. I know because I experience that too - quite a lot, actually. But, we shouldn't let that feeling get the best of us. Instead, force yourself to get out of bed. Pray. And, think about the reasons why YOU need to get your lazy butt out of bed and be productive. Stop procrastinating. Always keep in mind that nothing will change in your life if you keep on doing the same things over and over again.

8:23 PM
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Sunday Motivation Vol. 1

brush calligraphy

There are days wherein we feel demotivated to do anything. That's totally normal! But, that's no excuse to slack off. Whenever you feel like giving up, always go back to the reason WHY you're doing what you're doing and why you started doing it in the first place. Then, pick yourself up from there. It's good to be surrounded with people who motivate you to move forward, and not the other way around. When you're surrounded with people who constantly feed on the negativity that you're feeling, it's good to take a step back and re-evaluate yourself and your life. Never let negativity consume you. Instead, you should surround yourself with positive people, think positive, and place motivational quotes in your planner or desk. It helps to be constantly inspired!

Since it's the first week of April, I decided to come up with a new "series" (I'm not really sure what to call it). Basically, I'll practice my level 1 calligraphy skills (lol) by doing motivational quotes every Sunday. I think that it's a good way for you guys to be inspired and motivated to do well in school or work for the upcoming week (Shoo away the Monday blues!) and at the same time help improve my calligraphy skills (haha because I know that I still have a looong way to go!).

Pens used: ZIG Wink of Stella Brush and ZIG Memory System Scroll & Brush

Let me know your favorite motivational quote/s and maybe I'll use that next Sunday!

7:30 PM
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Photo Diary: Burot Beach, Batangas

Batangas

Can't believe March is about to end already! To celebrate the first week of March, me and my former workmates decided to spend the weekend in Batangas. We left Manila on a Saturday at around 5pm and arrived in Nasugbu, Batangas at around 8pm. Honestly, it was a much needed escape from everything that has been going on.