ZAMBALES
by Charles Davis, Jr. (Seahorse Tours and Travel)
Don Juan de Salcedo, the Spanish explorer, formally organized the province of Zambales in 1572 after he explored the place. The earliest migrants, the Malay, came from the Celebes Sea and settled in the Northern area up to Cape Bolinao of Lingayen Gulf, and the Tagalogs who came from Southern Luzon. The native inhabitants, the kinky-haired Negritoes and Aetas, were thus driven inland and replaced by the newcomers who estab¬lished villages.
The crystal-clear waters of the vast China Sea rim the entire stretch of the province in the West. The thirteen sprawl¬ing towns dotting the province from the North to South, most of them along the shoreline, are Sta. Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc, Palauig, Iba, Botolan, Cabangan, San Felipe, San Narciso, San Antonio, San Marcelino, Castillejos and Subic. Olongapo, until it became a chartered city, was the fourteenth town. The tourist industry in Zambales is primarily focused on the province's only city, Olongapo and the SBF. Tourism in the rest of the province is still in its infancy but is growing. International vis¬itors rarely get a glimpse of the wonder¬ful coastline with its 173 kilometers of beaches and the majestic mountains and forests beyond Subic Bay. Locals have known for a long time of the wonderful quaint resorts that dot the coastline and those that are hidden away in the mountain ranges. Sixty percent of the province is mountainous and forested, giv¬ing those who enjoy hiking and camping many opportunities to explore. Majority of the beach resorts are simple, rustic and relaxing. The towns of San Narciso and San Antonio are just 30 to 40 min¬utes away from Subic Bay and are com¬plete with beaches with a wide expanse of areas for surfing, water sports, scuba div¬ing, horseback riding, boating and a vari¬ety of other activities.
Further information about the area can be found online at the following websites: www.zambales.gov.ph and www.zambales¬resorts.com.
HISTORY OF CAPONES ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
About a 90 minutes drive from Olongapo City is the town of San Antonio, and a few kilometers further on to the southwest one reaches the fishing village of Pundaquit. Here, a boat can be rented to take you to Capones Islands which are about six kilometers or 15 minutes away from Pundaquit's shore. The Faro (Lighthouse) de Punta Capones on the Island of Grand Capon is a significant lighthouse of the first order. Its light guides ships entering and leaving the ports of Manila and Subic Bay. Together with the lighthouses of Los Frailes and Los Jabones, its light warns of the dangers posed by the surrounding rocky shores. As a navigation guide, this lighthouse serves the main artery for ships heading towards China.
Responding to the need for better nav¬igation guides throughout the Philippines, the Spanish colonial government initiated a substantial building program of light¬houses and light stations throughout the Philippine archipelago. One of the ini¬tial projects approved was the lighthouse the Island of Grand Capon or Faro de Punta Capones.
The initial surveys to determine a suit¬able location for the lighthouse were executed on June 22, 1884 under Antonio de la Camara. Difficulties caused by the advanced state of storms and other weather problems that forced ships to go to Subic, then to Mariveles, delayed the progress of the stud¬ies and results were thereby not very elabo¬rate. As such, plans and recommendations made by de la Camara were not approved until March 10, 1885. Even then, the point chosen for construction was changed by the consulting committee because of its height and distance from the sea which was 300 meters, as well as the accompanying high cost of road construction. Finally, on August 8, 1885, Francisco Cristobal Portas proposed changes to the plans which were accepted by the governor general of the islands on September 17, 1885.
The contract for the construction of the lighthouse was awarded to Juan Mendoza Esplana on February 26, 1886. Subsequent studies to determine the most suitable spot for construction of the lighthouse were then made. Findings showed that the Capones Island Grande was causing a blind area of 18-20 degrees and a zone of shadow farther away wherever the boat was (boats were not visible at a distance). These findings resulted in the elevation of the lighthouse to 53 meters above the sea with a 196-degree angle of illumination to cover the canal. These changes meant cor¬responding variations on the heights of the building and tower and pavilions to be consistent with the geography of the land and to avoid costly excavations. The rect¬angular building, measuring 8 x 22 meters, was then divided by 5.10 meter high walls to form rooms, a transverse corridor serv¬ing as vestibule cutting into two parts. The left part was for the toreros (the lighthouse keepers) while the other side served as storage and work area communicating to the tower. Inside the tower is a helicoidal stair¬case made of iron. The light area was con¬structed from metal with marble with a covering of white tiles to support the weight of the lighting apparatus and to pre¬vent the accumulation of dust. Materials for the light and equipment were imported from France and manufactured by Henry Lepaute and Barbier Bernard. These mate¬rials included a friction belt with the pre¬cision to maintain the manual movement with the lantern flashing at intervals of 32-30 seconds; the optical parts consist¬ing of 16 annular lenses with lamps of 5 threads, capable of using vegetable or min¬eral oil for combustibles; and a lantern of 3.5 meters in diameter.
Engineer Guillermo Brockman was commissioned to purchase additional materials which included a clock, a barometer, thermometer, a boat used for service transportation, and a bronze plaque containing the name, situation and principal characteristics of the light¬house. This plaque was placed at the entrance to the tower.
During construction, because of the high prevalence of monsoons, two roads were being used. One road, 345 meters long, led down to the beach to the south, while the other, 391 meters long, was used on the opposite side. Strong currents also prevented the building of a pier so mate¬rials had to be loaded in balsas (rafts) with great difficulty. Because of this difficulty in transporting materials, a hydraulic mold¬ing device was brought onsite for the com¬position of bricks. This material was also used for the foundations. Galvanized iron over wood were used for roofing and molave was used for the windows and door jambs. The floors of the houses were made from tindalo wood and the interiors and doors were made from narra. Chairs were made from volcanic stones and water came through the sea from San Antonio. The rest of the materials were brought from
Manila.
After seven years of construction, the Capones Island Lighthouse finally began to operate on July 16, 1890 but was for¬mally inaugurated on August 1, 1890.
Today, the Capones Island Lighthouse is still in operation and is powered by solar cells. A meteor burst radio transmis¬sion system notifies the Coast Guard when any of the lights or lenses are not work¬ing. These significant improvements have restored the lighthouse to full operational capacity, while the buildings themselves remain in a highly denuded state.
On a related note, a local organiza¬tion, the Environmental Protection of Asia Foundation, has chosen the province of Zambales as their focal point and, among other projects, the foundation plans to restore the existing buildings of the Capones Lighthouse complex to its former grandeur and to serve at the same time as a Marine
Conservation Research Station. The formation of a special purpose marine area is intended to cover the coastal com¬munities of Barangays San Miguel and Pundaquit with the lighthouse complex to be the headquarters of this undertaking.
For more information about the his¬tory of the Capones Lighthouse and the foundation's other flagship projects, visit www.epafi.org/capones/index.htm
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