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Monday, July 5, 2010

Hilutungan Island [My World - Tuesday]

Hilutungan Island is one of the seven satellite islets that forms the Olango group of islands off the coast of Mactan, Cebu.  Hilutungan, like the other islets in Olango, is a low-lying  coral island with with an elevation of no more than 10 meters above sea level.  This island is a marine sanctuary and a favorite destination of snorkelers and divers because of the variety of small and large reef fishes found here, as well as barracudas, manta rays, seahorses, sea urchins and star fishes.  Hilutungan has a small community, a church and an elementary school.  There is stretch of white sandy beach, a sand bar and a nice resort if you'd like to stay for the weekend.

These guys are not pirates, they're called Bantay Dagat (Sea Patrol)---a group of civilian volunteers who keep a 24-hour watch on Philippine coastal waters up to 15 kilometers from the shore.  Bantay Dagat forces have trainings on conservation,  protection, management and development of fisheries and aquatic resources; they also curb destructive fishing practices and illegal fishing in municipal waters.  Bantay Dagat also collects fees from tourists (100 pesos per person)--part of the money collected is  being used to protect the marine sanctuary.
 

To reach Hilutungan Island, you can rent an outrigger at the Hilton Pier in Mactan, or take the regular ferry at Angasil pier to Olango Island.  From Sta. Rosa pier in Olongo, there are outrigger boats that ferry passengers to and from Hilutungan, but I'm not sure if  the schedule is reliable.  There are also organized transfers when you're booked at dive resorts.

Posted for My World-Tuesday

16 comments:

  1. Gorgeous captures! Love the blue, blue water! Marvelous post and look at your world! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    Sylvia

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  2. Nice to know this beautiful place is protected well. Great pics, love the icy blue color.

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  3. interesting info about a lovely place!

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  4. What gorgeous blues! Looks like a great getaway.

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  5. the waters are so clear. i suddenly miss the sea and may just retire from my self-imposed sea restrictions.

    sorry for not visiting enough, this transfer to manila thing is surely taking tolls on me. :)

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  6. the waters are so clear. i suddenly miss the sea and may just retire from my self-imposed sea restrictions.

    sorry for not visiting enough, this transfer to manila thing is surely taking tolls on me. :)

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  7. Nice to know that there are Bantay Daga volunteers patrolling the coast. I would love to try diving there in the future. :-)

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  8. Nice to know that there are Bantay Daga volunteers patrolling the coast. I would love to try diving there in the future. :-)

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  9. How fascinating civilian volunteers keep a watch on coastal waters AND collect fees for preservation purposes. What a fascinating place!

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  10. It's so beautiful there! The water is such a lovely blue. I would love to ride in an outrigger. Well, I think I would love to. :)

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  11. what a wonderful place to live at. The water looks amazing.:)

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  12. aloha,

    i love seeing your photograph, the colors of the waters are beautiful, thanks for sharing.

    my tuesday is a hike on my sari sari blog

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  13. Oh Cebu is such a glorious place to visit. The more I see photos from bloggers, the more I want to experience it. One day, someday, I will see all these beauty.

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  14. an error occurs when i moderate comments. i hope blogger would fix it asap. here are some unpublished comments:

    Sylvia: Gorgeous captures! Love the blue, blue water! Marvelous post and look at your world! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    Sandy Carlson: Very, very beautiful.

    Indrani: Nice to know this beautiful place is protected well. Great pics, love the icy blue color.

    magiceye: interesting info about a lovely place!

    J Bar: Beautiful blues.

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  15. it's good to know that there are Bantay Dagat volunteers. I do hpe they're doing their jobs pretty well because it's really important that we preserve and conserve our natural resources.

    Just wondering at the first pic's foreground, is it a buoy or trash?

    My world is here.

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