to volcano crater... and beyond!!!
I decided to create a separate entry for my Capones Island adventure since the lighthouse was special to me in some ways. It was the site of my first outdoor exploration when I was still with Environmental Protection of Asia Foundation, an environmental non-governmental organization. Around 5 years ago, they sort of needed an errand boy - that is - taking pictures, doing research, and a little image or graphic optimization for the website. I have never seen a lighthouse at close, so there was a lot of excitement back then.
If my previous trips (yes, I have been there a couple of times) were pure work, this year was the first time that I went there to really enjoy the scenery.
From our camp in Anawangin (see separate blog), we were fetched at around 7AM. We decided to go to the lighthouse as early as possible since most of the time, the waters of the South China Sea are rough and there are waves that could scare the hell out of you. In my previous experiences, if you don’t want to get nervous with the waves in front of you, go to Capones as early as possible. Pundakit Bay is much calmer during the morning. Apparently, it was too calm during that day that we could risk taking photographs in the middle of the sea and still not get the cameras wet.
We reached the rocky shores of Capones shortly since the boat ride was smooth but we had to deal with getting ourselves soaked from waist down. The boat cannot get near the dry land since rocks and corals have filled the beach down to the seabed, some are large enough to make you swim back to Pundakit if the boat gets cracked in its bottom. We were struggling in the water with all those slippery rocks and corals and trying to balance our way to the beach so as not to get our cameras wet. I still remember they used to call it Slippers Island since there are a lot of lost slippers trapped in the beaches, and sure enough, the beach is still packed by a lot of them. I was searching, trying to get lucky and find a Havaianas but there wasn’t any.
The hike up was easy since there is a concrete plight of stairs midway to help ease up climbing the rocky hill. After that, there is a short walk as we entered a pathway with lush vegetations of trees and plants that enclosed the path as if you are entering a cave.
We reached the gate of the lighthouse compound and I was a little disappointed to see how the surroundings have gone from bad into worst. The only thing the government can do with a measly budget on maintaining the lighthouse was to let it rot.
Capones and Bojeador lighthouse in Ilocos Norte are - should we say - twins. The design used were typical with both lighthouses, with a little bit of revisions that was mostly dependent on each of the lighthouses’ location. Although I might be wrong, I believe both places was commissioned by the Spanish government to a single surveyor, Antonio de la Camara (whom Camara Island was named) and the very same Engineers that designed and built the two lighthouses, so they almost look a lot like each other. Capones lighthouse is unique since the island is sometimes inaccessible during stormy seasons. The tower was designed to include a living quarter, an office, and a yard for the keeper, sometimes including his family, to survive those days that the island is inaccessible from the mainland of Zambales. The roofs and the drains inside the compound are directly collected to the cistern under the ground and served as potable water from the well inside the compound. Ingenious, since water supply was scarce on that rocky island, they had to improvise when it is hard to navigate by boat from Pundakit to the lighthouse and supplies aren’t coming in.
The only other remaining traces of the Spanish era were the red bricks that were believed to be made within the island itself. The original clay roof was replaced by galvanized iron sheets. The helicoidally made iron stair still stands but is rotting at some joints at the wall, which tends to shake while you climb up the tower. Even the lighthouse tower was renovated so that it can function through the changing times. The old lantern which uses vegetable oils and minerals was replaced by the solar-powered light installed and donated by the Japanese government. It has a radio transmission system which notifies the Philippine Coast Guard when the light is not working in order. The Coast Guard are the ones managing (or mismanaging, whatever you may call it) all the lighthouses within the country. All the improvements have restored the lighthouse tower into full operational capacity, while the building and the yard remain in a highly denuded state.
But still, the view from the tower is magnificent, facing probably Vietnam, or Thailand, or maybe China, depending on which direction you look at. The sea in front is an important shipping route, and Capones lighthouse serves as a main navigational point for ships bound to China. Some parts of the lighthouse have withstood the test of times, but unfortunately, only those who have been to Capones can vouch for its historical legacy, as the government and its greedy officials continue to ignore its cries of decay for decades.
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seriously this kind of journey/trip is priceless....
pero sa totoo lang... Pundakit is one place that I always look forward to go back to... napaka simple lang dun... tapos andaming pwede i-explore na magagandang lugar... hindi pa kasama dyan ang pawikan season...
buti at nakapag-dayoff ka hahahahaha
5 mega pixels... pang daylight at outdoors lang...
pag gabi para kang kumukuha ng picture ng blackboard... harharhar...
oo nga nakapag day off ako... salamat sa SCTEX(Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway)... 45 minutes na lang ang Olongapo hehehe
nawala ko isang Canon A420 tsaka isang Kodak C713... :((
pero infairness tlga maganda kumuha yng camera na yan....
kasi ung gamit ko ngayon na nikon coolpix mejo olats pa hehe...
oo nga basta may araw maganda ang kuha ng pictures...
olats lang sa indoors...
gustong gusto ko na makapunta dyan sa Island na yan... buti ka pa....
diba nagpupunta ka naman ng Iba... punta kayo dun...
alam ko 1 hour lang from Iba to San Antonio...
treat it as honeymoon part 2 hahaha...
d pa kami pumunta.. sya balik dun pero d pa ako sasama... pero cge nga try.. sya din ksi d p daw nakapunta dun.... malayo ba? i mean pano pumunta dyan?
Teka nasaan ka ba ngyon?
Sira, promise.. ganda ng picture mo dun!
alam nya siguro yun... San Antonio... dinadaanan ng byahe yun...
pwera na lang kung sa Pangasinan ang daan niya...
saan ba kayo usually dumadaan papuntang Iba?
kung Olongapo lahat ng byahe dumadaan ng San Antonio(Victory o kahit yung mini-bus na blue), bababa lang kayo sa harap ng San Antonio munisipyo tapos pahatid kayo ng traysikel sa Pundakit, tapos bangka papuntang Capones...
hindi ko alam kung magkano sa aircon pero sa mini-bus galing Iba baka mga 50 lang... tapos traysikel sa Pundakit 25 per head... tapos ang bangka depende sa pupuntahan ninyo... yung samin kasi Anawangin at Capones pero nagpaiwan kami sa Anawangin tapos nagpasundo kami, 1500 inabot... marami resorts dun na pagpipilian... marami din matutulugan... depende sa klase at budget... sa lighthouse aakyat kayo ng bundok pero hindi naman mataas... sa iba hindi puro beach lang...
~pebbles
tapos ung pinakamagandang camera na lang hihintayin natin... hehe
Salamat. Balitaan kita pag narating ko na un.
nakadaan na ako Alaminos to Burgos nung nagpunta kami Dasol ganda ng daan dun from Alaminos all the way to Zambales...