A Salty And Sweet Taste of Summer in Liw-Liwa Beach, San Felipe, Zambales

It's summertime again and everyone thirsts for a relaxing beach escapade to beat the heat from the humid and draining city temperature and keeps themselves dehydrated with the therapeutic salty sea water as well as drenched somewhere cool to create beautiful memories with colleagues-turned-friends.

It was a long weekend, due to the holiday, so my colleagues and I decided to color, finally, the plans that we have been drawing for quite a long time that has always been deferred for some reasons.

Liw-Liwa Beach in San Felipe, Zambales

- is where we have quenched our thirst for the summer vibes. Its name sounds like liwaliw (a Filipino word) which means to unwind. It took us a 6-hour drive from Manila, via private car, for us to reach this unwinding excursion.

Unlike any other beach destinations, which are usually shaded with a green and tropical view of palm trees and mangroves, this place welcomed us with a Baguio feels with its lush pine trees.

There's a long and narrow pathway towards the way to the beach.

And then we headed towards our cottages which rented $54 for one day. It's just where we put our bags and food while we stay at the beach, not a place to have a sleepover since one of our colleagues, our boss actually, is from the neighbouring town of San Felipe, San Marcelino offered us his house so we can be free from spending for the accommodation.

_{One of the cottages we rented.}

After putting our things in the cottage, we went to the seaside and we saw that a cheerful flock of people was already enjoying taking a dip in the sea without minding the scorching heat of the sun.

It's a long weekend that's why it's no wonder many people gather here, just like us.

Since my friends were not yet in the mood to join those cheerful crowd in the sea, so we decided to rent an ATV and went for a ride, which is $9 for 30 minutes, and go to some parts of the beach that is not very crowded. It was my first time to ride an ATV and I enjoyed it well.

In the late afternoon, when the sun was no longer unbearably hot, my friends already decided to join the festive swimming of the crowd in enjoying. While I decided to go on a walk to the other side of the beach, which is also not crowded since I wanted to go somewhere quiet and peaceful. While others enjoyed with the crowd in the sea, having a walk alone is my way of enjoying the moment. And along the way, I saw these tents being set up along the beach. I thought to myself it's also a cool idea to stay in the tent overnight. Although I have already tried it before, I miss doing this experience, to wake up with the calming sounds of waves waking me up in the morning.

As I proceeded with my walk, I saw this jungle-looking area with pine trees and other trees growing. It's like a wilderness at the seaside.

And then I came across this lone cottage, standing beautifully in the middle of the wilderness.

I am very amazed with the idea of having these pine trees planted by the beach side which is very different from what we have in the Visayas. And I found it very stunning.

The sun was already setting when I decided to go back to the group. And along the way, I did not miss the moment to capture the breathtaking views that only get more beautifully dramatic when touched and colored by the golden hour.

_{These lovely flowers which usually grow on the beach added beauty to the setting sun.}

_{These boats that have witnessed quite several moments of the sea's worst wrath are now witnessing a calm haven.}

_{And of course, nothing more dramatic than seeing your friends unwinding after a hard day of work by the beach, enjoying the sunset with each other's company and a cold cup of beer. A perfect way to end the day indeed.}

And the rest of the days was spent with my friends in enjoying the sea.

The next day was spent for the sweet taste of summer.

Aside from Guimaras, the province of Zambales is also recognized as a home of the varieties of mangoes which are considered the sweetest in the world. And since the regular harvest season for mango is from March to June, so we were just right on time to go back to Manila without bringing home plenty of these sweet mangoes all for free. We were lucky that one of our colleagues who is from Zambales [the one who also offered us his house for an overnight stay for free], was so generous enough to also offer us to harvest all the fruits of their carabao mangoes as much as we could.

Some used a ladder and fruit picker to get the fruits.

While some climbed the tree to surely pick the fruits by having someone to catch the mangoes.

And tadaaaa! The literal fruit of o̶u̶r̶ their labor which was shared fairly with the rest of the group. I may not have shed a sweat in getting these mangoes, but I swear I cheered up the boys, Lol.

It was indeed an unforgettable moment that we surely shared and enjoyed. We did have a liwaliw in savoring the salty and sweet taste of summer in Liw-Liwa, San Felipe, Zambales.