Capones Island and the Old Farola

Aside from the secluded coves such as Anawangin and Nagsasa, Capones Island has also been one of Zambales' famous destination. But unlike the coves, this island is visited not for its beach (Capones beach is rocky and the waves aren't that friendly) but for the ruined light station it harbors on its western tip.

Finally after an hour of sailing from Nagsasa, our boat approached the vicinity of the bone-shaped Capones Island. Everyone was excited to set feet on the shore. Our boatman then asked us if we'll still be visiting the lighthouse, we answered yes, of course. At first they were hesitant because we left Nagsasa late, but the adamant us managed to convince them in the end.

Welcome to Capones Island

approaching the island

So they asked us whether we'll trek or we'll swim.

Getting into this old lighthouse may be done in two rough ways, either you trek or you swim:

• Trekking will be done if your boat docks on the eastern shore of the island. It will be a 30 minutes trek on the island's grassy hills and rocky cliffs. sounds good but time consuming.
• Swimming, on the other hand, will be done if the boat stops near the southwestern shore of the island. The rocky characteristic of the western shore makes it unfavorable for the boats to dock, hence swimming must be done to reach the island. It's a short 50 meters swim but huge strong waves won't make it easy for you. 

We opted the latter because we're running short of time.

We wore life vests and pulled ourselves to the coast via the rope tied by our boatman. Most of us, including me of course, dared to bring our cameras to the island. I placed the small point and shoots inside my ziploc bag while Chino risked his large DSLR (which cannot fit in my ziploc) all the way to the shore.

At last we all made it to the island, safe and sound. The cameras were safe too, as well as the DSLR, which was half-wet along the way, (it was still working very fine).

battling the waves

From the rocky shore, we walked for about 5 minutes along the old stone stairs along the island's rocky coast, then on a grassy/bushy trail that led us to the gate of the old Farola (I will make a separate post about the lighthouse's history for my Farola Series).

excited to visit the lighthouse

saya?

tumayo balahibo ko at first sight

Rusty and broken things are scattered everywhere, its walls and floor are slowly eaten by creeping plants and grass, in short, the old Faro de Punta Capones is in a sorry state. But despite the sad condition of the old lighthouse, still, it did not fail to amaze us. Here are some photos of the lighthouse: 

only the lantern of the farola is being maintained by the Philippine Coast Guard

the rest are left to rot

though old and in ruins, Faro de Punta Capones still has an enchanting beauty

At the back of the lighthouse, there's a spot that enabled us to view the southern coast line of the Capones Island.

Back side of the Capones Lighthouse

this is the coast where the boats are stopping and where the swimming will begin

on the beach seen on the middle of the photo is where the boats will dock and the 30 minutes trek will begin

the farola is situated on an elevated part of the island.

the lantern is powered by these solar panels

And of course, our island experience won't be complete without reaching the top of the lighthouse. The spiral staircase, however, was shaking due to its oldness, so we still waited for other tourists to get down from the top.

one person at a time, medyo shaky yung karag-karag na spiral staircase

the original lantern was dismantled and was replaced by this one.

top view of the Farola Compound

Batang Lawatsero conquered his 3rd Spanish Lighthouse. Photo by Joan

The view on top was great, 360 degrees view of the Island and the West Philippine Sea.

As soon as we're satisfied with Capones Island, we went back to our boat and battled again the strong waves.

It was past 3 pm when we got back to Pundaquit Beach.

________________________________________________________________________________

3 in 1 Lakwatsa sa Ikalawang Dekada turned out to be successful and memorable trip. It is so far my best birthday celebration, thanks again to my ka-lakwatsas.

________________________________________________________________________________

We settled everything with Mang Mike as we reached the Pundaquit Beach. I highly recommend his service, reach him through these numbers: 09283405136 and/or 09277801312.     

After a little trouble on the road, we came back to Manila safe and sound.

________________________________________________________________________

 

Viaje Zambales: Mt. Pundaquit-Nagsasa-Capones

Mt. Pundaquit Traverse to Anawangin
Nagsasa Cove Camping
Capones Island Advenure

Itinerary | Mt. Pundaquit-Nagsasa-Capones

.