It was a good thing we took the package from Voyager Adventures Club. They had prepared practically everything. Food, van to and from Pundaquit, boat from Pundaquit to Anawangin to Capones Island and back to Pundaquit, and the tents. There were a few things that were missed during the orientation like we were not told that we needed to bring our own plates, cups and utensils. Thus, we ended up borrowing the wares from the organizers (it's a good thing they had some), and had to eat with our hands too. Another thing they missed telling us was that we should have brought something to make our sleeping area softer. It wasn't our first time to camp but it was a first time for us to join an outdoor adventure group. But those are minor things which didn't affect how much we had enjoyed the trip.
So, as I was telling you guys earlier (last night actually), we went for a swim at the river. Some say it is a lake but when you get to the end of it, you'll find out that it actually drains to the sea, unlike lakes that do not connect to any other body of water. Both sides of the river had pine tree or fir trees if you prefer to call it that. This particular river has varying depths because the water level is affected by the tide - high tide equals deep water, low tide means no water.
We ate lunch at 2 pm. Everyone was just so excited to get as much of the place as possible. I noticed that the later in the day it got, the more people came in. In the afternoon, what seemed to be an almost deserted forest was filled with tents of different sizes and colors. There must have been a hundred or so of those dome type ones. It was a good thing we got there ahead of the crowd and got to pick a nice spot for ourselves. There was even a large spot in the middle of our group's camp to hold a bonfire. But of course, our organizers, being mountaineers and nature conservationists, did not really want one. Noone wanted any anyway. I guess most of us were tired.
The following day we got up at 5:30 am. The call time was at 5 but I didn't hear anyone call me. hehehe... anyway, we packed all our things and rode our boat to Capones island without breakfast. The schedule was that we'd go there for a short 1- hour trip and would proceed to Pundaquit where we would have breakfast and lunch. But our boatman, old man Amando, didn't want to bring us to a part of the island close to the lighthouse. Naturally, we walked without any idea that it would take more than an hour to get there. I didn't get to the lighthouse because my daughter tripped on some rock and I stayed with her instead.
It was already 10 am by the time my husband got back to the drop off place. He and the others were picked up by a boat from the lighthouse. I was all fumed up when I learned that it was really possible to be brought to the foot of the hill where the lighthouse was. It was even worse when we couldn't find our boatman when we wanted to leave so we contracted some other guy.
Right in the middle of the sea between Pundaquit and Capones, our boat stopped and wouldn't start. It was the curse of the abandoned boatman! hahaha Almost at the same time, we were met by Mang Amando who was trying to explain why he was late and why he had left. He was urging us to transfer but we didn't want to. In the first place, we didn't want to risk having anyone or anything fall into the water. Sensing our hesitation and stubbornness, he offered to tow us to shore instead to which our new boatman agreed since it was the only way we could get back to the mainland.
When we got to the Pundaquit beach, we paid the boatman 200 pesos just for the effort of trying to do us some favor. He was happy and we were... uhhh... happier of course that we got to land dry and in one piece. Lunch was served as soon as we got there. obviously, they were just waiting for us to arrive to start the feast. It consisted of smoked fish, ensalada of radish and apples, pork menudo, some steamed veggies but to my family, it was the best meal ever... we were soooo hungry!
