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On to Capones Islands |
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Where Baloy Beach Rd. meets the National Highway, there is a place to rent a car right across the street. They are a little expensive at P2000 per day, but you can save some money because you don't need to hire a driver. Make sure you don't get the car that has an intermittently faulty air conditioning switch. The highway from Subic all the way up to 100 Islands is almost devoid of traffic with only some minor congestion in Iba and Santa Cruz. You can also catch the Victory Liner from Olongapo to Iba, but unfortunately they are not all air conditioned. I believe there's only 2 air conditioned buses per day going to Iba. Barangay Pili
The lahars from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo formed a natural dam on the Mapanuepe River which resulted in the formation of Mapanuepe Lake. This lake, which is just outside the town of San Marcelino, unfortuantely now occupies the same area as did Barangay Pili (left side of the picture). You can take a boat ride and see more than 600 houses, schools and churches permanently submerged in a huge body of water. The lake level was stabilized in 1992 by excavating a trench through the foot hills of Mt. Bagang. Capones Islands If you came by Victory Liner, there are jeepney and trikes that will take you out to the beach. There is actually a fishing village on Capones Beach called Pundaquit. This is the first beach north of Manila that is not over-developed. Travelers come here mostly for diving and surfing. There's not much else here, but it's good for a one night stop as you're heading north. Evidently there is good surfing here between the months of August and January driven mostly by offshore storms. The road to Pundaquit is paved and starts in the town of San Antonio (not shown on map) just west of San Marcelino. As usual, the road isn't marked, however, you can just follow the signs that point to Capones Beach Resort. There are two hotels in Pundaquit, the San Miguel Beach Resort and the Capones Beach Resort. We were told that new 3 star hotel was in the planning, but I don't see how this area could support such an endeavor. The San Miguel is right at the end of the paved road and is the more primitive of the two hotels, but it's okay. Capones Beach Resort is a little further down a dirt road towards Pundaquit and it offers air conditioned and fan rooms for under P800 plus a restaurant and bar. An "enterprising" Filipino bought the beach right in front of this hotel and installed some cabanas and opened a bar called Planet So & So. It wasn't quite clear how he was able to purchase the beach front, but it was nice to have some shade to sit under. However, his cold beer was just about as hot as the sand itself. For some reason or other, he and the hotel owner aren't real good buddies, so if you don't patronize the hotel or its restaurant, they will charge you to park your car. It is best to make your banka trip out to the
islands in the morning because the water gets a little rough in the
afternoon. To get a banka, just walk into Pundaquit and bargain with
some of the fisherman. When I asked for banka prices, I was quoted
P500, but when I let Mavel do her thing and we ended up paying P300 for 3
hours. Capones Island is very rocky and surrounded by a reef so it is not a
great place for swimming, however, there was a nice beach on the ocean side
and the rocks provided enough shade. I had brought a mask and snorkel
so I spent some time snorkeling around the island while Mavel just hung out
on the beach, swimming and drinking another mango juice. In the
afternoon, Mavel and I packed it all up and headed on north. Pundaquit Falls In the afternoon, you can hike to Pundaquit Falls and take a refreshing swim in one of the pools. Evidently, the falls are very easy to reach starting right at the end of the road. It was too hot and Mavel and I were to lazy to make the hike. Follow this link for more detailed information about the falls.
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