Midway between the water-world town of Sitangkai in Tawi-Tawi to the Philippine-Malaysian border lies an uninhabited island. An island gifted with fine white sand, green grass and palm trees at its inner areas and vibrant turquoise seas with rich underwater ecosystem. This is Mardanas!
Panguan Island is the most remote island of the southernmost province in the Philippines, Tawi-Tawi. It is located just at the edge of the border between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is also called as Malamanok Island by some locals. A white-sand beach and turquoise waters getaway.
Tawi-Tawi is composed of 107 highlands and is known for its numerous sandbars that is spread along the shallow waters of the northermost extremeties of Celebes Sea. A mountain, in solitude, towers at 342 meters above sea level amidst the flat island of Bongao. It is a masterpiece of nature as it shows its prowess with vertical limestone rocks and lush forests. Bud Bongao stands as the sacred mountain of the land.
Tawi-Tawi is the southernmost province of the Philippines with about one hundred seven (107) islands scattered across the Sulu archipelago. It is bounded on the north by Sulu Sea and the south by Celebes Sea. The province is known to possess beautiful islands with powdery white and pink beaches, shallow turquoise waters, flourishing ecosystem and numerous sandbars. Hence, our original mission was to map the province for tourism development. Chain of events has made this expedition more complicated as we have originally planned.
Bordering Philippines and Malaysia, there lies a group of islands at the southernmost tip of the province of Palawan. Unknown to many, these islands have one of the best and fine beaches in the country and probably the world. Composed of over thirty islands and numerous sandbars including endemic species such as the Philippine Mouse-Deer and the Philippine Eagle. Schadow1 Expeditions was there to map it and see for ourselves the beauty that these islands possess.
Change is the only constant existence in the world. It is inevitable. And change can lead to the betterment of society and can also lead to its destruction. Yet as citizens, we are tasked as humans, to contribute to uplifting the quality of lives of people. We owe this for sharing our time in this world through co-existence. In this ever changing world; paths, directions, and locations may change. And people must remain to be informed of such changes and so we may adapt. We need a map to graphically visualize them. We need expeditions to experience them, and we need stories to live by them.
