Anawangin

The bangka boat's motor roared as we ripped through the waves along rocky parts of Zambales' coastline. It felt good to be out of the dark, and it felt even better as a cool ocean mist sprayed on my skin under the heat of the glorious sunshine. We were on the way to a place called Anawakin or Anawagin, I wasn't sure which. I had heard about it once in the past. I couldn't put a finger on who had mentioned it, but I recalled that it was supposed to be "better than Pundaquit." And so, ready for another venture, I took off today in search for the little known but highly regarded Anawa-something.

Waves rolled and crashed on dark gray rocks that speckled the coastline. A few caves could be spotted along the cliffs. After about twenty minutes we approached a beach. We landed on its pristine white sand. It wasn't the typical tropical beach found in the Philippines. Instead, it was filled with tall evergreen trees, though not necessarily pine trees as I saw no pine combs. The place was known as Anawangin, as I learned from the nearby inhabitants. Mountains surrounded the enclave, and so it appeared to be a valley. A fresh water stream ran through the center of the place.

I walked along the tranquil and untainted beach, pausing for a while at certain spots to savor the aura of Anawangin. Large piles of feces could be seen all along the stream. At first, one may think that it would come from horses roaming the countryside. But I know what horse feces looks like as my very first job was as a ranch hand, and I had spent many a day shoveling horse manure, so I knew that the feces along the stream did not belong to horses. I tried following the hoof marks along the sides of the wide stream to see if I could find any animals, but I wasn't able to spot anything. I thought briefly that if someone were to get killed here, it is likely no one would know. But I discovered that if you yell, it is loudly echoed back within the mountain-surrounded Anawangin enclave. I took a peek inside one of the caves there. When I walked inside, a large lizard or bayawak crawled deeper into the cave. The cave reminded me of a scene in a novel I had read in the past. Perhaps it was Robinson Crusoe.

Before leaving, I spoke with the caretakers of the land there. They appeared to be descendants of the Aetas. They told me that they were the caretakers of only a small portion of Anawangin. A large portion, they said, belongs to a politician (Magsaysay). They went on to say that Magsaysay may turn Anawangin into a tourist resort in the future. But I'm hoping that it doesn't happen.

I asked about the hoof marks along the stream and they told me that they were from large Tamaraws. The Tamaraw, which shares some characteristics with the domesticated Carabao although not a subspecies of it, is the wild Philippine water buffalo found primarily on Mindoro Island and is an endangered species. They told me that they were brought to Anawangin and allowed to flourish. Now they roam deep within the Anawangin countryside and sometimes spend time along the wide stream. They said that people have already died from the Tamaraws in Anawangin as these buffalos naturally have fierce tendencies.

I learned from the caretakers that there also exists a path through the mountains that can be taken to get to Anawangin although it takes a few hours. Upon learning this, I decided that I would return to Anawangin another time taking that mountain route. It just seemed that there was much more to see in Anawangin, and thus I wondered what lied within the evergreen forest and beyond.

Anawangin, Barangay Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales Pictures / Photos: