Showing posts with label Dumaguette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dumaguette. Show all posts

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Phillippines..Bohol, Underwater Dumaguette and white Water Rafting Laguna

http://animoto.com/play/3qjmXZX6Jk0RvOafNH6Qsg

Tarsis
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands.[1] Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of 4,117.3 square kilometers (1,589.7 sq mi) and a coastline 261 kilometers (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. [2] To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.
The province is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts.[3] The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is famous for its diving locations and routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts dot the southern beaches and cater to divers from around the world. The Philippine Tarsier, considered the second-smallest primate in the world, is indigenous to the island.
Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the "Republic of Bohol" with both conviction and pride.[4] A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos. Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.



BoholDancing.avi
http://animoto.com/play/ZA9FcM4L0NNm7wXROhIEVQ

Dumaguete remains one of the Philippines best kept secrets.


Awesome walls and drop-offs, stunning coral gardens, electrifying drift dives and many rare and truly unique creatures are waiting for you! All the dive sites are replete with huge numbers of splendid fish (triggerfish, parrotfish, pennant fish, moray eels, surgeonfish, snappers, groupers, Moorish idols, lizardfish, gobies, batfish, lionfish, trumpet fish, puffer fish, filefish, emperors, wrasses, fusiliers and trevallies to name only a few).

Invertebrates from the tiniest transparent shrimp and neon-coloured nudibranchs to huge basket sponges adorned with hundreds of multi-coloured crinoids; anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish and worms reside with vast numbers of hard and soft corals and gorgonian sea fans. Turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, manta rays, eagle rays and sharks make guest appearances.
See the Underwater photos....
http://www.diveadventures.com.au/pages/destinations/Philippines/Dumaguete.htm

From Manilla we went to Laguna where we went White Water Rafting at Pagsanjan Falls.



Phillipines Manilla to Bohol

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dumaguette, Philippines

Dumaguette Philippines


http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g616032-r30267793-Dumaguete_City_Negros_Visayas.html
I started by staying at Phillipinen Dive...its a brand new Dive Resort and I could be the first guest as there wasn't even a menu, and other concrete huts were being constructed even as I speak.
It boasts the best Reef along the coast..and from the photos of the divers they could be right.
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Here I photographed some of the best sunrises I have ever seen. The colors of the sunrise woke me every morning, and I would go out to sit on the sand and take photographs.
I stayed there for 4 days and they took me to Kookoos Nest in a little boat..and the huts right on the waterside won me completely.
I stayed at Kookoos for 3 nights, (cost 1000 pesos in their best hut, and the smaller hut was 450 pesos), and it was marvellous...lying in bed at night listening to the waves and being woken up by the birds. Mai, the cook there, is world class...and the meals were cheap and absolutely amazing. She bakes their own bread and rolls and the curries are wonderful.
Going back was a it of a issue and I would have had to pay 800 pesos for a ride back, but I got a lift with some tourists on the last night.
I stayed a night at Bethel in Dumaguette..and that was 850 pesos but the food was OK in the downstairs restaurant, but further up the road is Annabel's which is run by an Australian and noted to be good company and good food.
I also found a Korean Hotel there..Negros..right at the Manila Airport..and they also run a English School.

One can buy pearls in the Philippines..and they are lustrous and beautiful. The people are ultra friendly and the diving people are really the tops. I had a wonderful stay and am thinking of going back and running a school there next year.
I found the tropical rains really heavy...and was damp for the days I stayed in the bamboo hut...and the cold water bathing means you should take a good shampoo and soap with you...or buy it there...and the reef was beautiful. I was lucky to get the photos of two of the divers. I snorkelled and that is amazing too.
I can recommend the Philippines for a holiday..and if you dive and snorkel, it is the place to go.
I also learnt there are ferry services from Dumaguette to the other islands...and next time that is what I will do...go exploring the islands around.
Great place..

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Maggi