I've been to Capones island four times already and my first published travel article was a narrative about my earlier trip here. On this trip, we hiked to the lighthouse taking the longer route since our temperamental boatman does not like the idea of docking near the lighthouse. It didn't matter though, as it was still a fairly easy hike of around 45 minutes coming from the back of Capones facing the Pundaquit shoreline.
Our group came from an overnight camping trip at Nagsasa Cove, passing by the more crowded Anawangin Cove where we had a brief stop. We had a window of a few hours here in Capones since the boat that ferried us went back to Nagsasa to fetch other people to bring back to Pundaquit. We didn't mind waiting because we embraced the idea of beach bumming around and stealing some sleep while within earshot of the splashing waves and the hissing winds.
We took the leisurely hike towards the lighthouse after consuming what was left of our camping trip food. A few crackers here and there, Tuna Paella from San Marino and an abundance of a great camaraderie as food for the soul. The lighthouse was the same as I've seen it before, though gone are the yellow and golden grass surrounding it. What replaced it now are traces of bush fires which got me wondering why people still resort to burning dead grass each time they want to regrow it.
As we spend time at the lighthouse, I feasted my eyes on the sensational 360-degree view of the blue waters off Zambales. Mimicking a watchman from many years past, I pretended studying the vast sea in search of approaching pirate ships. All I saw are small boats coming from Nagsasa and Anawangin.
This lighthouse known as Faro de Punta Capones first went operational in 1890 after 7 years of constructions and stands approximately 15 meters and a little bit over 50 meters from the sea level. It has been operational for more than a hundred years guiding ships that passes by the waters of Subic bay.
The lighthouse is perched on top of a ruined station built with prominent red brick walls notable in most Spanish colonial structures. It sits squarely on top of a hill blessed with breathtaking scenery of the surrounding blue waters and the coastline of nearby Pundaquit.
A whole afternoon can be easily spent inside the ruined small structure that houses the lighthouse. A cool breeze emanates from all direction, making an afternoon nap sounds like a great idea almost as good as making love to your girlfriend at the stroke of midnight.
There's a well in front that is still being used and when you look down you'll see several 5-peso coins at the bottom–I guess visitors see it as a wishing well. I didn't throw a five peso coin because I had none in my pocket, but my wish is for lighthouses like this one in Capones to be conserved well into the next hundred years and to continue guiding passing ships into safety from the shallow depths and rocky islets that surrounds the whole Philippine archipelago.
We went down and back to the beach where we stayed until 3:30 PM, this time the pace was brisk and slow with no hurried movements. Each of us enjoyed the path leading back into the woods, stepping over rocks and staring occasionally at the sea.
After 30 minutes we were back at the shore where some of us decided to swim while I just sat and savored the last remaining minutes of our layover at Capones. Arresting my attention was a photo-shoot by the beach featuring two pretty women. They gamely posed for the cameras of two photographers they were with.
I overheard one of the photographers saying something that its for their modelling portfolio. Well, if they need another set and shot on location, they can surely hire me to play the part of a 'photographer'. I will gladly do it for FREE. Anyway it was great witnessing their brief photo-shoot at Capones as we boarded our boats that'll ship us back to Pundaquit and back to the real world. Till next time....
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| I wonder what's her name :) |
