i heart u... pink sand Sta Cruz Island (1 of 3)

can you get any "pinker" than that? :-)




in this photo, we were trying to highlight the pinkness of the sand using a red color accent mode of my ixus camera... can you see it?




The pink sand was actually due to the endangered Red Organ-Pipe Corals, crushed over time by waves. These red organ-pipe corals were pulverized and mixed with the white sands resulting to its colorization. These corals are considered rare due to it’s unique qualities of a soft coral having a hard skeleton.




now you would wonder why no attention was given to this island... well, see that silhoutte at the background of this photo? that's zamboanga city, and behind this lovely place is already basilan... yeah, it's smacked right in the middle of these 2places... we were not allowed to go on the side facing basilan -- aside from the fact that we would need to cross a mangrove area(middle of the island), for our own safety we just have to be contented on this part.

(my bea alonzo shot hehehe)




that's one end of the island (the one facing the smaller sta cruz island)...i was able to get to that part during my first visit here... but now we were told not to go beyond that banca (that's where the military post for this island is located)... for this group of my friends we would usually break rules when we go around and shoot... even if its prohibited to enter some place we would still go... but this time, we obliged without objection...we cant blame our police escort since he wont be able to spot us once we go pass the military detachment because the island curves on that part already...



we tried to explore the other end...but didnt dare go beyond that curve as well... we would rather stay safe... :) hehe


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- A pink sand beach is very rare and there are only a few of them around the globe. They can be found in Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, 3 islands from the Bahamas, Culebra in Puerto Rico, Maui in Hawaii, Santorini in Greece, Barbuda in the Carribean, Crane Beach in Barbados, and here in The Great Santa Cruz Islands in the Philippines! We have one of the rare places in the world right here - one out of 10…!!!

- i just found out during this trip that the island is being inhabited... mostly by Samal families. The caretaker whom i talked with told me there are actually visayans staying there too...those that married to Samal families. Also, beyond the beach area, there's also a Samal cemetery... i hope il be allowed to explore the island in my next visit hehe :D

- here's my blog of my first trip in the island: charmie's wanderventures

(...to be continued)



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Sta Cruz Island
Zamboanga City, Philippines
06 September 2009