Destination Diary: Sta. Cruz Island

Being Zamboangueno, I can’t help feeling a bit proud to say that we live next to one of National Geographic’s 21 Best Beaches in the World.

Of all the beaches in the Philippines as well as the planet, our very own Sta. Cruz Island made it to the shortlist of the Top 21. It landed a sweet spot in the 15^th, not bad for being there with the other gorgeous beaches from England, Seychelles, Cambodia and even North Carolina.

Because of the crushed red corals mixed in with the fine, powder white sand, the beach from afar reflects a pink tint and is widely dramatic come sunset. It’s only one of a handful pink, sand beaches in the country, and for someone living in Zamboanga, I can’t express how lucky we were to be invited to spend the night there summer of this year. I invited Michelle to come along and on such short notice, she agreed.

Overnight Stay in the Village

We’ve always talked about coming over for a while now. I’ve visited before, but my day trips were always limited to the swimming area. Spending the night meant seeing the village and cruising through the lagoon. On a long weekend, we finally met up with our former boss who is enjoying retirement life and then hopped on a short boat ride and headed straight to the village.

One advantage is that our former division chief has a home in the village, which she generously allowed us to stay in. together with her family and friends from work, we occupied their house and had a hearty lunch right in front of the beautiful shores of the island.

After lunch, we went on a visit to the lagoon where we rode on yellow boats and experienced leisurely rowing around, looking at lazy jellyfish, standing on sandbars and spotting blue starfish, bats and sea grapes which I reminiscingly called “small grapes” when I was younger. Locally, they are known as latu.

No starfish were harmed in the capture of this photo

Sandbar in the lagoon on a low tide

Sea grapes from the lagoon are a rich source of iodine

After our lagoon cruise, we went on a stroll to the only village school for a short while amidst the white sand all over the island. The locals were surprised to see a group of “mainlanders” walking about, but we were told that most of the villagers are related, so that makes them one big family in a way.

Michelle's New Career

 

After dinner that night, we were sitting on the shore, looking at the city with its lights. We could hear the sounds from Paseo del Mar and the gentle breeze from the ocean was slightly humid. Some of our companions brought a tent and camped outside right there on the shore, while we occupied the floor of the house’s living room.

View of Zamboanga City from Sta. Cruz's Shores 

While on the island, we got to experience the unplugged life, although there was cellular signal for communication, we got to see that most villagers relied on solar powered lamps and drinking water was a scarcity. With the help of motorboats, almost anything from the city can be delivered to the villagers at any time of the day.

The Swimming Area

The next morning, we headed on to the swimming area after breakfast, which was swarming with tourists and visitors because it was summer. Here’s where we played the board game that I brought, Monopoly Ultimate Baking, where I eventually lost to my friends.

Accessories for sale are somewhat a cottage industry on the island

Swimming Area features the I Love Zamboanga standee

Monopoly Ultimate Banking

After our quick and simple lunch, we paid a quick visit to the sandbar (which only shows up during low tide) and then finally docked back in the boulevard as we concluded our overnight stay.

Clarifications

To answer a few questions, the swimming area is the only portion where tourists are allowed to spend the day and is managed by the City Tourism Office. Only a limited number of visitors is allowed to regulate the ecosystem of the island.

We were invited by the family already living on the island for an overnight stay so arrangements were made months before we departed for the island.

To be honest, I consider myself lucky to have this story to share, because not a lot of visitors get to spend the night on the island unless they were born there or have stayed as a local all their life. But what makes this experience special is that it’s spent with good friends on one of National Geographic’s 21 Best Beaches in the World.