Anawangin: The Tent City

01-02 May 2010. I did not sleep after arriving from Aurora because I found out that we were supposed to leave for our Division Teambuilding at 2:00 am. I only got roughly 4 hours to prepare (unpack and pack again) for Anawangin.

This trip almost did not materialize because of some fears about drowning and floating slippers which my officemates read from some blog warning people not to go to Anawangin, plus the low pressure area threatening to spoil our boat ride to the island. Thank God we were spared of that, and I still have my pair of tsinelas intact. But I don’t know if the lack of rain was a good thing or a bad thing because I never thought it would be as hot as summer in a tropical country in Anawangin. “Awan-Angin”-- Ilocano words coined to literally mean no wind (Awan Ti Hangin). And I never expected Anawangin, which I always thought as an island isolated and bereft of facilities, would be as crowded as Subic beaches on a regular summer day.

I’ve never been a fan of crowded beaches so Anawangin’s beauty was somehow eclipsed by the colorful tents beckoning in the beach front and the loads of city boys and girls looking for Starbucks and something else to do because of the lack of network signals and electricity.

So thank goodness there was something else to do other than sulk in the heat and stare at the crowd of half-naked men and bikini-clad women who seem to like walking in their garb rather than swimming in them. We walked on the crisscrossing trails, or paths of righteousness and wickedness as we like to call it (ang daang baluktot at matuwid, sabi nga ni Noynoy), which can be found in the forest of pine trees just after the sandbar that divides the sea and the river… or look for firewood while making sure we were still in the trail. Anawangin is actually a beautiful and unique place beset with pine trees and off-white sand, which, according to some, was the result of Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption. Pine trees and beaches don’t seem to go hand-in-hand, but that’s what you get with Anawangin. The lack of facilities is also not for the faint-hearted and maarte.

What made my day, though, was the short hike in the mountain just before sunset. I never thought I would be able to hike barefoot just to get a glimpse of a beautiful sunset from atop a mountain. (Buti na lang kasama ko si Barry at Jan as bodyguards.) The view was very calming indeed, and far from the madding crowd. I wish I can go back when there are only 5 tents perched on the beach front and no tents and hammocks on the forest of pine trees. Hiking to Anawangin is also a must-try.