San Salvador & Magalawa Island

Zambales Expedition: Discover the Rich Biodiversity of San Salvador Island in Masinloc and Magalawa Island in Palauig.

June 4 - 7, 2015

A typical mangrove tree in San Salvador island showing its pneumatophore during a low tide. 

If you are looking to enjoy an unusual travel experience in Luzon without having to hop on a plane or a ferry, the five-hour drive from Metro Manila to this northern town of Zambales province may be well worth the time and effort.

How to get there:

From Cubao, Take a Victory Liner Bus going to Olongapo (it’ll take about 3 hours to get there)then Ride a UV Express Van going to Sta. Cruz (another 3 hours). Tell the Van driver to drop you off in Masinloc “Bayan”. It’s Easy!

 In Masinloc,  you will observe a Plaza “City Square” which comprises a school, market, church, public park etc.  In Palenke, You can ride a passenger boat going to San Salvador Island “Polo/Pulo”. To get to Magalawa Island, ask the passenger boat captain to bring you there but you need to pay additional charge because of the far distance between the islands.

Masinloc offers a good Ecotourism program for visitors. Their “Echo Tour” program includes a round trip to their ecotourism sites: Taklobo Farm, Yaha Mangroves, and Bacala Resthouse/Sandbar.  During our visit, we decided to spend the night in Magalawa Island since it offers a superb sunset and sunrise view.

Logo of Masinloc

A typical busy palenke day in the vegetable section

a boy selling some freshly caught seafoods

Masinloc Municipal Hall

Boat view heading to San Salvador Island

First Boat Stop

Low Tide

Young carabao

Tripneustes sp.

Taklobo Farm "Giant Clam"

The first stop is Reef Discovery, where visitors can snorkel or scuba dive while exploring San Salvador Island’s two adjacent ecotourism projects: a 2-hectare giant clam (taklobo) farm and the San Salvador marine protected area (MPA).

Beth Sarmiento, secretary of Samahang Pangkabuhayan sa San Salvador, the people’s organization (PO) in charge of this destination, says the MPA used to be a “dead zone” of corals destroyed by dynamite and cyanide fishing.

“More than 10 years ago, there was an alarming decline in fish population so fisherfolk and residents sought the help of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute in Pangasinan to mitigate the threat,” she says. Now it has become a coral farm where the taklobo species are restocked and reseeded before they are transplanted in identified areas within the island’s 127-ha territory.

Today, San Salvador Island holds the distinction of being the first community-run MPA and a model for coastal resource management in the country. The PO works with the local government in documenting the population of giant clams, stingrays and various reef fish found there.

Giant Clam "Tridacna gigas"

Artificial Reef System

Pangangawil: Hand FIshing

Native Orchid can be found in most trees of San Salvador Island

Sea Cucumber "Balat"

Yaha Mangrove

Mangrove Forest Adventure. From Bacala, it is only a 15-minute boat ride to Yaha, a 9-ha islet of mangrove forest in the middle of the bay. Yaha is one of the few places in the country where a hybrid species of mangrove known as bakawan lalake and bakawan bato or Rhizophora lamarckii could be found, according to the Integrated Coastal Resources Management Program.

Like the San Salvador sanctuary, Yaha is one of the four MPAs on Masinloc Bay. The other two MPAs are the 50-ha Bani, one of the best dive sites in Zambales, and the 20-ha Panglit Island, where a 5-ha ranching site for sea cucumbers is located.

Since Yaha is part of Panglit Island, reef rangers cover this part of the tour. From the big boat they transfer their guests to smaller canoes with flat bottoms, with three persons in each canoe, for the next adventure that takes them deeper into the verdant mangrove forest.

The reef rangers push the smaller boats, steering their poles along the trails, taking care not to hit sea grass plantations where seahorses thrive. Once in a while, excitement breaks out among their passengers at the sight of marine creatures swimming alongside their canoes.

Bacala sandbar

Standing on a sandbar in the middle of the blue and clear bay waters is a beach house that locals call “Bacala.” The structure was built by the local government and is a favorite part of the tour. From the taklobo and coral farms, this is where the touring boat stops for lunch and swimming.

Here, visitors may sample Masinloc’s native fare, usually the fresh catch of the day—fish, shrimps, rock lobsters or crabs, steamed or fried, and stacked on banana leaves by reef rangers.

Steamed vegetables or the local version of pinakbet, and fresh ararosip (a variety of seaweeds that may be harvested from the bay all-year round) complete the meal. When in season, ripe and green mangoes with bagoong (shrimp paste) are also served. Visitors with children particularly enjoy swimming in Bacala since the shallow water is safe even for nonswimmers.

After the Echo Tour, It is no time to spend the evening in Magalawa Island

Source: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/159334/masinloc-offers-access-to-unique-ecotourism-sites

Sand Salvador Island & Magalawa Island

Let’s learn and discover the Marine Protected Area of Masinloc.

Reminder: If you want to go to Masinloc, It is advisable to gather 10 people or more and inform the tourism office for your visit. Their Echo tour package should have a minimum of 10 participants. Good enough to shoulder the boat fee and guide fees. They also discourage solo backpackers/travelers because of the expenses and environmental impact.

Itinerary:

Day 1

3:00 am Departure from Victory Liner Cubao

6:00 am ETA Olongapo

6:10 am Breakfast in Olongapo

6:30 am Ride a Van going to Masinloc

9:30 am ETA Masinloc

9:35 am Tour around the Place (Church)

10:00 am Go to Market Replenish some supplies

10:30 am Start the Echo Tour

3:00 pm End Echo tour as the boatman to bring you to Magalawa Island

3:40 pm ETA Magalawa Island

4:00 pm Set camp at Ruiz Resort, prepare Dinner

4:50 pm Walk around the Resort and Island, find a good sunset spot

6:50 pm Eat Dinner

7:30 pm Socials

9:00 pm Lights out

Day 2

5:30 am Wake up, Sunrise in Magalawa Island

6:30 am prepare breakfast

7:00 am eat breakfast

7:30 am Snorkeling Time

8:30 am Wash up

9:00 am Break Camp

9:30 am search for boat going to Bayan of Masinloc

10:00 am ETD Magalawa

11:00 am ETA Masinloc Bayan

11:00 am Lunch in Masinloc

12:00 am Ride a UV Express Van going to Olongapo

3:00 pm ETA Olongapo

3:30 pm Ride a Victory Liner Bus going to Manila

7:00 pm ETA Manila

*ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival

Things to Bring:

Foods and non-disposable utensils

Water 2 liters or more

Clothes, Swimming Clothes

Snorkeling Gear or Swimming Goggles

Garbage bag and Eco Bags

Camera

Money

Breakdown of Expenses:

440 php (220 x 2) Victory Liner Bus Cubao-Olongapo *Vice versa

340 php (170 x 2) UV Express Van Olongapo-Masinloc *

680 php Echo Tour Package (Lunch, boat, guide, site fee, environmental fee, snorkeling set)

100 php Entrance fee in Ruiz Resort Magalawa

200 php Tent Fee (whatever size)

75 php boat from Magalawa to Masinloc Bayan (depends on the number of persons, haggling skills)

200 php Foods/water

TOTAL: 2035

What to Expect :

The shallow waters of Masinloc showcase green, light blue, blue, clear waters. While on the boat, you will see patches of sandbars and tons of sea grass sites. Starfish and sea urchins are very common along the area so you have to be careful while snorkeling. Their ecotourism sites are clean and has a relaxing calm aura. People there are so kind and nice.

Contact Person:
Tita Beth - 09103172614