Zamboanga City Highlights: Things to Do, Places to Visit

zamboanga airport

I spent 9 days in Zamboanga City. I visited my girlfriend’s hometown and also toured the area in the process. I was a little worried in the beginning because I left on the day that Typhoon Pablo entered the Philippines. However, Zamboanga was one of the few destinations where scheduled flights still pushed through.

For the sake of having a new blog post, here are a few highlights about this trip. I’ll be writing more detailed accounts about these places soon.

Zamboanga City Highlights: Things to Do, Places to Visit
December 2-10, 2012

zamboanga airport
Zamboanga International Airport

Sta. Cruz Pink Island

I read about the Sta. Cruz Island (also known as Pink Island of Zamboanga) through Chyng’s blog post. The island is called such because of the crushed red corals that have sort of “mixed” with the white sand. We were also escorted by an armed soldier for security purposes.

Blog post here: Picnic at Sta. Cruz Island aka Pink Island

sta cruz pink island zambonga
Sta. Cruz Island aka Pink Island

Read more

Zamboanga Trip: Gorgeous Merloquet Falls

The day before I left Zamboanga, I was able to visit the gorgeous Merloquet Waterfalls in Barangay Sibulao. This was one of the main highlights during my trip to this side of Mindanao known as Asia’s Latin Cty.

Merloquet Waterfalls in Zamboanga
December 9, 2012

merloket falls
Merloquet Falls in Zamboanga

I initially thought there were only two of us going to Merloquet. Jana and I were planning to take a bus to the junction, and then hire a motorcycle (habal-habal) to the falls. Fortunately, Jana’s family also expressed interest. We hired a jeepney from the city to the destination instead.

The 2-hour trip to the junction was a scenic route of plantation fields and mountains. I also noticed that there were many Philippine National Police (PNP) checkpoints for security reasons.

road to merloquet zamboanga
riding a jeepney

trek to merloquet falls
going down

Read more