(Part 4)
The Great Sta. Cruz Island (also known as Isla de Sta Cruz)
is Zamboanga’s best kept secret.
If the island were to have its Facebook account, its pink sand would be its profile pic. But its banner photo, would definitely be its lagoon surrounded by verdant mangrove forest tucked just behind its pretty sands and turquoise blue waters.
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| On our yellow boat. On the background are the other lagoon visitors. |
When national geographic featured Sta. Cruz Island’s pink beach as one of the world’s best, nature lovers, beach bums, and domestic and foreign tourists swamped the island to check this amazing place. But locals already enjoyed this piece of paradise when it opened to public in 2014.
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But more than just the pretty pink shoreline that stretches over a kilometer, Sta. Cruz island has a lagoon which is the heart and soul of the island. The sustenance of the Sama-Banguingui, a Muslim community living in the area.
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| Entering to the Lagoon. |
The lagoon is a vibrant 180-hectare ecosystem of rich biodiversity with a thick cover of the natural-grown mangroves scattered in the vastness of mostly shallow waters.
When you are deep into the lagoon, you feel it pulsating with life. It is the habitat of stingless, upside-down jellyfish, shell food, blue crabs, agar-agar (seaweed) and green caviar seaweed (locally known lato) and much more.
It has also been a refuge to many migratory birds from Australia, Africa and neighboring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia according to Zamboanga City’s Protected Area Management Unit (PAMU) Operations Officer Richard Aliangan.
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| Richard, the Sta. Cruz Island Operations Manager and lead marine biologist, doubles as tour guide. |
As the lagoon is a protected and preserved mangrove area, only less than 25% is open to tourists.
Richard who is the lead marine biologist in the conservation efforts doubles as our tour guide in this visit.
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| Richard shows the propagule of mangrove. |
The community of Sama-Banguingui welcomes you at lagoon’s entrance with their warm smiles. Few of them (mostly men) act as the boatmen for the 30-minute tour using their ‘yellow boat' which are rented for only P200.00 (but if you feel generous you can give more.)
The boatmen were properly trained as ushers of tourists as well as PAMU’s partner in protecting, guarding and monitoring the protected lagoon.
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| Proper Handling| The boats are in Delta position looking over a group of upside-down stingless jelly fish. |
As a mangrove area, the lagoon becomes the breeding ground for many fishes like lapu-lapu (grouper) and bangus, our boatman said. This is also what they learn from the seminars conducted by the PAMU for them. He said that being the villagers of the island, they are the only ones allowed to fish inside the protected area.
Richard said that the local community are also trained to do the non-destructive ways of fishing. Local fisherfolk use fishpots (bobo traps) to harvest blue crabs and fishes in the lagoon. They also harvest shell fish by handpicking them.
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| CATCH OF THE DAY | Cherry tries to retrieve one fishpot. It has blue crab in it. |
As a mangrove area, the lagoon becomes the breeding ground for many fishes like lapu-lapu (grouper) and bangus, our boatman said. This is also what they learn from the seminars conducted by the PAMU for them. He said that being the villagers of the island, they are the only ones allowed to fish inside the protected area.
Richard said that the local community are also trained to do the non-destructive ways of fishing. Local fisherfolk use fishpots (bobo traps) to harvest blue crabs and fishes in the lagoon. They also harvest shell fish by handpicking them.
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| LOOK| See those brownish sponge-like creatures, those are the stingless jellyfish in the lagoon. They are upside down to easily trap planktons, their food. |
Into the tour you will see, the mangroves of different varieties Richard described aging 40 – 60 years old trees. Century-old mangrove also abound in this water forest which I think is pretty amazing. Mangrove varieties include Piapi, bakawan lalaki, bakawan babae, among other endemic species in Zamboanga Peninsula.
Adding color to the “educational trip” are fun-filled activities like retrieving fish traps and the line of seaweed caviar, the jelly-fish handling, picture taking on the strong branch of century-old mangrove tree and the vinta boat ride (which requires additional fee of P100.00) for 30 minutes.
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| 100 YEAR AND BEYOND. We sit on the main trunk of a century-old mangrove. |
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| Cherry and the guides. The other guy is from the City Tourism Office. |
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| Meet and Greet with stingless jelly fish. |
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| Vinta Boat Ride is added attraction in the tour. |
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| With other visitors. These ladies are personnel of Western Mindanao Command of the Philippine Army. |
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| Loving the eco-tour. |
When visiting Sta. Cruz Island, the pink beach experience is just half of the fun and awe. A visit to the lush lagoon completes the whole experience. You will not just learn, you also help the gentle people of Sama-Banguingui tribe who are the guardians of Zambonaga’s best kept jewel.
(RAW PHOTOS FROM iPHONE 7)
You may also like to read:
Part 2. Zamboanga's Best Eats!
