It's Me, Gracee: Zambales

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AyosDito Wednesday, March 19, 2014

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Anawangin Cove: Summer Getaway

Anawangin Cove Saturday, April 20, 2013

It's a dream come true to finally visit Anawangin Cove and explore it's inner beauty.

I've read so many blog reviews about this destination and saw a lot of amazing pictures of my friends and others who got the chance to travel here and finally, it's

my turn to share my experience.

Anawangin Cove in Zambales, is a popular destination for camping and beach outings. A perfect location if you just want to get close to the nature or just need a quiet place to unwind and relax. Anawangin offers a lot of adventure activities for a camping travel itinerary. What I love most about this place is that there's a white sand beach and pine trees! Can you imagine that?:)

Anawangin is a crescent-shaped cove lined with pine trees on its shore which gives it a different impression compared to the other tropical beach resorts in the country which are mostly lined with coconut trees.

The sand is white and soft with a mixture of volcanic ashes from the last eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The cove is complimented by the surrounding mountain rocks giving it a picturesque and poster-perfect view especially when the sunset is giving-off an orange glow that reflects to the mountain curves.

How to Get There

Anawangin Cove is located in San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines. You can take public buses from Manila to Iba, Zambales which will consume approximately 6 hours. If you prefer to travel by car, the trip will only take around 4 hours via SCTex. Upon reaching San Antonio, a 10-20 minute tricycle ride is necessary to take you to Pundaquit (a.k.a Pundakit), the jump-off point to Anawangin Cove and the nearby beaches. From Pundaquit to Anawangin, you’ll need to take a 45-minute boat ride.

Best Times to Go

The best time to go to Anawangin Cove is during the month of January and February. It is the time when it is not too crowded and the climate is not too hot yet not that rainy and the waves are calm. December to June are the regular travel months here.

I surely enjoyed our trip there. I even forgot to put SPF lotion because I am so excited to dip into the fresh clear water of the beach but of course don't imitate me! don't forget to bring your SPF lotion to protect your skin from the harsh uv rays of the sun! I totally recommend foing to Anawangin Cove, it's one of the best summer destination here in the Philippines and you will totally enjoy all the activities ion this place.

Of course, I will not pass up the chance of taking pictures in every corner of this place!

Plus jump shot!

Hope you can visit it too this summer! :-)

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13th Zambales Mango Festival 2013: It's More Fun in Zambales

13th Mango Festival Thursday, March 28, 2013

Iba is a municipality and capital of the province of Zambales in the Philippines. Iba is the second largest provincial capital in terms of land area in Central Luzon Region after Tarlac City. Just a little added fact, Iba is the birthplace of our former Philippine

President Ramon Magsaysay.

Tourism is one of the major economic activity in Iba during the summer period. It has become a popular destination for summer vacationists and tourists due to the pristine and beautiful beaches that line the shorelines of Iba, and adventure trekking to the unique 3-series of Iba waterfalls.

Its pollution-free beaches due to the absence of industrial-polluting activities in the locality, make it one of the best places in the Philippines.

In response to the growing number of both local and foreign visitors, investments in beach resorts have increased in the last fifteen years. Today there are about 50 beach resorts in Iba.

With blogger friends Jo Bonsol, Justine Montas and Darwin Gutirrez

I was very lucky to be invited by the Municipality of Iba, Zambales to cover the Mango Festival, Thanks to Mr. Darwin Gutierrez. I was really excited to cover simply because I have never covered a festival in my life, this is my first time and I love Mangoes! Zambales is one of the places to go to during summer and I knew I will really enjoy it and I did :-)

We stayed at Bakasyunan Resort and I must say this is one of the best resort I've stayed in the area.

I love our family room, very spacious, clean, nice C.R. plus it has three floors perfect for the whole family! In our case, it's totally perfect for us bloggers.

The Capitol. I was so amazed with the way they decorated it. They used artificial fruits which totally looked so real it made hungry.

This is a closer look on how they decorated the Municipal hall in preparation for the Mango Festival.

We also went to visit different kiosk near the Municipal Hall showcasing different towns and the products they are known for.

While we enjoy different colorful kioks, we also marveled with their delicious products like the one at San Marcelino where they have Turnip Pie or in tagalog, Singkamas Pie, they also have Singkamas boat tarts and yema balls with singkamas as well, it was really delicious!

While in San Antonio, they have Malunggay cookies! I tried it and I didn't even taste any trace of Malunggay in it! really good and healthy for you too.

San Felipe offers one of my favorites, garlic longganisa! No preservatives added mind you :-)

Now, in Cabangan, Zambales, they offer what my Inang loves! Panutsa :-) They also have Diabetic Rice.

What I'm love as well is the Curacha, the red crab which they fondly call "Curacha". We also get to try their Basi wine and Nipa juice which had a little kick in it.

The Mango Festival

The festival is a celebration of a bountiful harvest of mangoes and other agricultural products which the province is known for. It is also aimed to highlight the attractions and places of interest in all of its towns. As a way of promoting and giving thanks for a good harvest, the people of Zambales annually celebrates the four-day Mango Festival in Iba.

We get to watch the street dance parade showcasing different town and provinces.

I really enjoyed the street dance competition, aside from the colorful costumes, they also have the best choreography, and unity that a group should have to perform in front of the crowd. The champion were the Mango Festival from Iba Zambales then 1st prize goes to Pangasinan then 2nd runner up goes to Villasis Pangasinan for their Talong Festival.

Governor Jun Ebdane was there from the start of the program till the announcing of winners. He also wanted to promote the tourism of Zambales.

We also get to cover the sand sculpting competition!

Check out Lolong and Hulk

The Sand Scuplting competition, Lifeguard Challenge and Mango eating contest was held at the Palmera Garden beach resort. These fun filled activities is totally set to make the tourists and even the locals to be entertained and be proud of what the town is known for.

Snapshots with Blogger friends! This is how we enjoyed our time at Zambales!

With these, I can totally say that It's really more fun in the Philippines! we have so many provinces to go to, so many festivals yet so little time, why go outside the country when we can explore our country more? Do it now and start at Zambales! enjoy the sweetness of mangoes and engulf yourself with the pristine beaches that Zambales is known for like Potipot Island, Capones Island, Anawangin and more!

For more details:

Like the Official Facebook page of Zambales:

https://www.facebook.com/ILOVEZAMBALES

Website:

http://www.zambalesnow.com/

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