Of Ants and a Dead Shark

Beach of Pundaquit

We left Manila at 1 AM. Still tipsy and with some abberations, I decided to play dedma and forced myself to sleep. Well, I was not 100 percent successful about the sleep, but the trip from Manila to Bngy Pundaquit went so swiftly. It was a chilly morning when we arrived in Pundaquit where we would be taking a boat ride for less than 30 minutes to the remote cove of Anawangin. It was a pleasant and smooth boat ride with the sunrise embracing the landscape when the sight of Anawangin welcomed us. The place felt surreal despite of many places I have seen lately since if I have been travelling since Oct, Anawangin sights aroused me. It was a different sight of beach and pine trees and plus the feeling of being so remote, it was a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

An isle near Anawangin

Upon our arrival to the cove, a weird (atleast for me) thing happened. The fisherman called our attention and flaunting to us his catch for that day... a small shark. It was my first encounter of shark apart from those in the zoo. I have not seen nor got so close to a shark when I was diving. The smell of a dead (not sure though) shark was unpleasant, a bit pungent but that didn't stop our group from taking photo of it and with it. Also, I am not sure if that shark posed a threat to humans, but it looked harmless. The one who caught it should have left the poor predator alone in the sea. Poor shark.

The group then setup the camp. I brought no tent so I was at the mercy of those who have extra space in their tents. One person brought 3 tents and since I was the bulkiest, I got one tent all for myself! How lucky could I be! After breakfast, I had a quick snooze while the majority of our group went for a hike.

Landscape to Anawangin

Then lunch, then a very uneventful afternoon. I was hopping for one place to another, trying to find the best and most comfortable sleep that I could possibly get. It was an afternoon of endless chatting, topics ranged from sensible talks to down right stupid topics. The cove has not providing visitors any world-class comfort. One has to sleep in a tent (if not on one of those tables). No tiled washroom with hot water, one has to use the pumps. Albeit the discomfort, the trip was turning to be an extra-ordinary one.

The Poor little Sharky

Due to boredom, we decided to have a quick dip to the shallow waters of Anawangin. Despite being shallow, we were warned not to go very far. There were stories of sea sucking some individuals and leaving them to die. It was scary enough for us to be watchful for everyone. Everyone was just waiting for our ever mother goose (Reg) to scold us and call us to go back to the camp. Funny, we didn't hear anything from Reg. She was too busy preparing for our dinner.

Rinsing the seawater with a quick bath in the waterpump, we then enjoyed the beautiful sunset which was also a signal that darkness would be coming. I never had a recent experience of such thing, sleeping in the dark.

Sunset in Anawangin

After dinner was a socials. It was the part where everyone got drunk. Thanks for the always dependable DJ for mixing us Mindoro Sling. Lovely eh. :)