Zambales Trip: Cooking and Camping in Nagsasa Cove

After taking our last dip in the waters of Anawangin Cove, we proceeded to another cove called Nagsasa. As described by others who’ve been here, Nagsasa Cove is a bigger and more secluded version of Anawangin. There aren’t as many people but it’s not as deserted anymore. Travelers who have more time to spare head to this cove for a better and more relaxing escape. This has also been my primary destination why I wanted to visit Zambales in the first place.

Nagsasa Cove, Zambales
February 19, 2011

boat nagsasa
small outrigger boat that fit around 15 people

I’ve never really thought about how treacherous the water was going to be. I assumed that every trip would always turn out fine. Only then did I realize how lucky we were to have a perfect weather. Even so, outrigger boats don’t want to throw caution to the wind, else unfortunate events may happen.

boat dock nagsasa
other visitors already in Nagsasa

nagsasa trees
setting up our tent behind thorny trees

Nagsasa Landscape

30 minutes seemed fast and we arrived around 4:30pm. After settling in, we put up the tent brought by our new travel companions. We didn’t have any camping gear available but even so, I would’ve settled sleeping under the stars – provided that I was all-covered with my blanket as mosquito bites would’ve ruined the ideal thought altogether. Still, I’m really thankful that they brought out a spare tent  to accommodate us.

mountain range nagsasa
mountains

cove nagsasa
landscape is better than

We quickly set up our temporary house so that we could explore the vast landscape. Anawangin may have made me jump around and about but Nagsasa rendered me speechless. I couldn’t call it deserted but the surroundings seemed calm and peaceful.

Sunset in Nagsasa Cove

Then the sun set. I was too stricken by it that I forgot to use my tripod to finally practice a shot that I wanted to try.
Here’s the link of that beautiful photo by Winston: Nagsasa in Red

sunset hand
I pick the sun as if it were booger. – corny me.

sunset nagsasa cove
the ‘Chyng effect’ – check out her blog to see what I mean (it’s one of her profile photos)

sunset nagsasa
emo naman

Cooking 101

We set foot on the cove just in time to set up our tent, just in time to catch the sunrise. But definitely NOT in time to cook dinner!

It was already dark and the rest of the campers had already eaten when we were still in the process of lighting up more wood. Having no electricity available, we relied on cellphone flashlights as our source of light.

Ignoring hunger pangs, it still took us time to cook our food. Marinated pork bellies and fishes were waiting to be grilled and no matter how hard we tried using plastic plates to fan the coals, our fire wouldn’t light as much as we wanted. It even came to a point wherein we dropped by other campers’ grills so we could place our food there.

camp nagsasa
all smoke, no fire.

Darn it, this what we get for not preparing. All the while the other travelers were already sharing stories and laughing like there was no tomorrow, drinking booze and singing ‘Kumbayahs’. If my scoutmaster back in grade school could see our situation, he would’ve shook his head in dismay.

The Bonfire

After a few more attempts to light our fire, I felt hopeless knowing that it still didn’t work accordingly. Then a sudden light bulb hit us all. We bought bonfire wood from our boatman and decided to use that as our grill. Gas was poured and a match was lit; the end result? A stroke of genius. When one is hungry, every moment leading to food is heaven.

bonfire nagsasa
finally!

We wanted to use the bonfire so we could gather around after eating. But it didn’t matter anymore. Our stomachs desperately begged for food so using it up wasn’t so much of a sacrifice at all. We had dinner at 8pm.

grill nagsasa cove
almost done

Despite having our source of light coming from a lone cellphone bulb, we still ate with gusto. The food was good, if I may add; and no, not because we were too hungry. It’s something that I was really happy with.

After we ate, my companions spent the remaining time at the beach. The moon was full and it helped that the stars filled the sky. But I didn’t bother joining them as I was too tired to even get up. Another case of SSB.

tents nagsasa
tent – photo by Doi

Camping in Nagsasa cove made me ask myself: “When was the last time I went camping?” At the top of my head, I could barely recall when.

While the rest of the world, continued with their talks at midnight, I hid inside the tent and lied down to rest. My shirt was filled with smoke from that night’s cookout and I didn’t change clothes as I dozed off to sleep all full and less famished.

Bonfire Wood: 100 Php
Nagsasa Cove Overnight: 100 Php/person

Note: There’s no electricity nor cellphone signal in Nagsasa.
Better start early when you cook to avoid the hassles that this blogger and his companions went through.
Don’t worry about bathroom breaks, toilets are available with available water from the faucet. 😀

Check out articles about my Zambales adventure trip here:


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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
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For questions, advertising, and other concerns, shoot an email to ed@soloflighted.com.


26 thoughts on “Zambales Trip: Cooking and Camping in Nagsasa Cove”

  1. Only soloflightEd can turn the sun into a booger. 😀 You already!
    And I'm surprised you had difficulty in lighting fires. I thought it came naturally. Tee hee….
    Nice post. Looks like a place I'd like to see but not stay in. I need indoor plumbing!!!

    Reply
  2. @AJ: haha. couldn't think of any other caption. didn't want to sound too emo. lol.

    we all had difficulty, I think it's because of the clay pot that we used to place twigs, wood and charcoal, it wasn't able to breathe that's why the heat didn't fire up properly. oh, by the way, let me add some notes, there are restrooms and flowing water from the faucet so that's no biggie! thanks for the reminder! 😀

    AJ… wait. had to reread your comment re: the fire. hahahaha. parang may hidden meaning ah. lol!

    Reply
  3. Ang liit ng boat! I have this fear kasi of small boats…as in muntik na ako mamatay dahil sa maliit na boat like this! LOL!  But it seems like you enjoyed every bit of it…I love the photos, too!

    Reply
  4. sayang naunahan ako ni AJ mag-comment! haha Wow! ang sarap ng inihaw! nainggit ako lalo. and this post  makes me bitter again! hmmp!  pero I love the caption "corny me"! trademark mu na yan dear! hahaha 😀  ok lng yan Ed, cute naman pagiging corny mu! *wink   at  hmmm…kaya pala tahimik ka sa FB gumagawa na nman ng pera!  my limit ka din ba like Angel? pero mukhang mas malala sayo, mukhang more than 48hrs ka na di nag-online. hehe Ok fine, magpaka-busy ka lng jan, d kita pipigilan ng malibre mu na ako soon!  =)) 

    Reply
  5. a head lamp is a must-have when we go camping… and we really see to it that we cook early because it's hard to cook when it's already dark… at least you got it through… thanks to the bonfire… 🙂
    there's no electricity in Nagsasa but I'm wondering they have a TV set in the store… when the night comes, everyone in the community goes there to watch… 🙂

    Reply
  6. Oh my I would never go back to those islands. Not because I didn't like it, but because I got scared of the waves. Notorious. Sinama ko pa naman bunso namin before. hahah! Yari ako sa nanay ko.
    About the fire.. Same experience. Feeling ko napakahusay ko ng maglaro ng apoy nun. lol! Good thing supportive ang mom ko, dahil first time namin nag-camping she prepared adobo for us. Kanin na lang ang niluto namin.
    Mantakin mong may halohalo kaming natikman sa island na yun… ang galing! ang nice ng mga shots mo as usual. ang kulit ng chyng shot. hahah!

    Reply
  7. @ding: yikes, looked really small. our boat was only good for about 5-6 people. had a near-death experience as well with boats.

    @thepinaysolobackpacker: haha, paunahan talaga! ok lang yan gael, malapit na matapos ang mga bitter posts. mga 2 na lang ata. hehe. yeah, aside sa headstand, yung corny naman. lol. haha. yep, kayod tayo nang kayod. actually online lang ako almost always, di lang ako nagoonline sa FB chat kasi mahirap na. hehe. at bihira rin nagrereply sa mga walls kasi mahirap na maadkik. lol. sige. pagyayaman ako nito, libre kita gael! 😀

    @mervz: haha, thanks indeed sa bonfire! haha. sayang di namin naabutan yung TV ah!

    @wendell: thanks wendell! camping is fun! very outdoorsy talaga. 😀

    @tinathefrustratedtraveler: haha, plus one pa sa corniks! ok lang yan tina. malapit ka nang makapunta dito! 😀

    @kura: ganun ba? nakakatakot pala talaga. nakupow, buti na lang you were safe with your bunso. hehe. pero saya talaga if our parents are supportive with our endeavors (endeavors talaga? hehe) haha. yep, nagpapakachyng kami nun. hehe.

    @renevic: I think that’s the great thing about Anawangin and Nagsasa, you can truly see the difference. Anawangin is still nice as it adds contrast to Nagsasa. 😀

    Reply
  8. For some reason may curse yata ang Zambales sa akin..twice na ako nagpunta(2009,2011) sa Pundaquit para sa Nagsasa…lagi lang ako sa Anawangin napapadpad dahil lagi malakas alon at may bagyo. Kahit lighthouse ng Capones di ko pa naakyat.:/ Inggit tuloy ako.hehe

    Reply
  9. @Bob Crunch: thanks Bob! Really love the sunset there! 😀

    @bineysam: you should check it out, zambales has lovely landscapes!

    @mike: thanks Mike! nice change of the name (blog)! looking forward to your season 2 posts! 😀

    @lakwatsera de primera: haha, may gulay pa pala yun. sarap magluto ni Teresa (wifey ni Anton)! gusto kong magcamping uli sa beach. hehe.

    @batang lakwatsero: malapit na yan Ivan. sama ako sa inyo para tipid! 😀

    @killrfillr: wow, ganun ba? maswerte pala talaga kami! pero buti na lang di tinuloy ng bangkero para safe 😀

    Reply
  10. This looks like so much fun.  The sunrise looks gorgeous and the water is inviting.  Plus, I have to love the way you cooked that food.  I probably would be fine with sleeping under the stars too.  But I'm like you in that I'd want to be completely covered to avoid misquitos.

    Reply
  11. Gusto ko na rin mag-camping waaah 😐 I think i'll just bring red eggs and red tomatoes just in case para hindi na masyadong hassle kung sakali or dapat may kasama ako na magaling magpainit…. ng apoy o bonfire para hindi ako mahirapan kumain nyahahaha
     
    Nice post! Nice links too *wink*

    Reply
  12. @Steve: check out the Philippines Steve! We've so much to offer. haha. indeed, we don't want any bites when we wake up in the morning. 

    @Tripper10: yun din naisip ko when I saw it. haha. galing ni Chyng di ba?

    @Chyng: Chyngggg!!! hehe. dapat ganda nun eh. sige sige or pagdating mo ng Cebu! hehehe

    @pinaytraveljunkie: tuyo talaga! samin naman gulay, (Oh My Gulay!) talaga hehe. wag lang yung tipong gutom na gutom na gay. teka, feeling ko magaling ka sa Kumbayah. ehehe. hippie kasi! 😀

    @micamyx: anong nasa red? eggs and tomatoes talaga! hahaha. ganda din ng links ng site mo. lol!

    Reply
  13. kakapunta lang namin nung last wik ng march 2012, dami ng bago ngaun sa nagsasa, meron na electricity, pde pa magpacharge, 50 pesos per gadget, at magara ang CR, naka tiles!! at madami ng kubo!! sana wag na nila maxado damihan ung kubo at cr para ndi magmukhang crowded, at iwasan magbakod katulad sa anawangin, parang rancho na ang itsura sa dami ng mga bakod!

    Reply

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