Surviving Zambales: Capones Island

On our second day at Zambales, we went to Capones Island to see the lighthouse. We woke up at 5:30AM so we wouldn’t have to face such harsh sunlight when we go trekking. Even from afar, I already notice how pretty the island is. Though the boat ride only took us about 15 minutes from Pundakit, Capones is even more virgin than Anawangin (Surviving Zambales: Anawangin). There were no huts or any kind, except the lighthouse. Just an island with traces of bonfire from previous nights.

We were still witnessing a beautiful sunset when we reached the island. We discussed whether to go the long way to the lighthouse, or the short way. The short way entailed us to go swimming and no one wanted to go swimming so we opted to go the long way even if it was a lot more difficult.

That’s me trying to climb up on the rock to get my picture taken. But I was too small to heave myself on top of it. I’m afraid I really have no decent picture of myself but it doesn’t matter! The memories of the trip suffice.

The trekking was really rigorous. We walked by the shore, battling the waves and slippery stones. 15 minutes along the way and I was already sweating so much. Even my legs were sweating (TMI)! The only consolation was the view because everything just looked so majestic and brilliant. Also, it was a pretty nice exercise. I am no athlete and the only physical exercise I get everyday is my five-minute walk to my office. It was a good deviation from my daily activities of writing, reading, and web surfing.

The only setback we truly encountered was the fact that our slippers were failing us every step of the way. My pair gave in on the second half of our trail. We resolved in scavenging for old pairs at the rubbishes along the shore. Surprisingly, there were a lot of slippers. I was lucky to find two slippers of the same size and color. I kept the pair for souvenir.

This, for me, was the most difficult part of the trek. It was so steep that I really had to pull myself up, desperately hoping that I wouldn’t let go of the rope. Thankfully after this climb, the trail was far smoother, and we reached the lighthouse in no time. The stairs of the lighthouse was dilapidated and really rickety but it was still worth a climb. The 360-degree view from the top was breath-taking.

Remember our options of whether we should go trekking or swimming? Well, it turned out we’ll swim either way. We were too tired to go back to where we started that we decided to just go swimming. Our main concern were our stuff but the kuya from our rented boat managed to transfer all our stuff safely. We were so amazed that we applauded when he finally transferred all our stuff to the boat. The swim to the boat was kind of fun, too! The waves were really strong but we were wearing our lifejackets and a rope was guiding our way.

This day is truly memorable even if I felt like quitting about ten times along the way. Every step was worth it because it’s not everyday that I’ll be able to do this. I would really want to go back to Zambales and see the other islands. But of course, I think I’ll go back to Capones Island.