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 15th, 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.
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| No starfish were harmed in the capture of this photo |
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| Sandbar in the lagoon on a low tide |
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| Sea grapes from the lagoon are a rich source of iodine |
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| 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.
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| View of Zamboanga City from Sta. Cruz's Shores |
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.
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| Accessories for sale are somewhat a cottage industry on the island |
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| Swimming Area features the I Love Zamboanga standee |
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| 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.
