Seizing Tubbataha Dream

My very good friend and dive buddy Ate Claudia Artazo shares how our Tubbataha Dream started, deferred and will finally come to reality. With  less than a month to go, our road to Tubbataha is coming to an end. See you soon Tubbataha! Prologue: Measuring 99,600 hectares in size, the Tubbattaha Reef National Marine Park (TRNMP) is made up of 2 atolls rising in the middle of the Sulu Sea. A Study by Conservation International has confirmed what Scientists long theorized, that... Read More

Palawan’s Apulit Island Resort is Among Asia’s Best

Britain’s The Sunday Times named Apulit Island Resort as among the best in Asia in their articled entitled “Asia’s Greatest Island Getaways”, written by Susan d’Arcy. The article featured the best new destinations in Asia including those in Bali, Indonesia and Phuket, Thailand, and other resorts in Cambodia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. Palawan’s Apulit Island Resort is the only Philippine spot that made it to the list. Located in Taytay Bay, Apulit Island... Read More

Barefooted in Kalui

Ask the locals and even tourists who have been to Puerto Princesa for the best restaurants in the city and one that will easily and definitely be on the list is Kalui. For years, Kalui has established itself as one of the notable landmark of Puerto Princesa, offering a wide array of Filipino foods prepared extraordinarily with their own original recipes and all made from fresh produce and ingredients. They come in very reasonable prices too. Their menu is based on the catch... Read More

Coron Revisited: The Coron Loop

I was in Coron last October with the ISD divers and friends for a dive trip and tour, my third time to visit the place known for great underwater scenery, wreck diving, beautiful white sand islands and islets, lakes and other natural spots. Coron is in fact one the places I love and a visit will always never be complete without island hopping to its amazing spots. Our Coron Loop ended at sundown The entire Calamianes Group of Islands where Coron belongs cannot be toured in a day... Read More

Banana Island

No, there aren’t so many bananas or its trees here, I doubt if one even exists. But yes, the island’s name is derived from this tropical fruit, because this is how the island looks like from afar. It does look like a banana! Banana Island, officially named as Dicalabuan Island, is one of the jewels of Calamianes. Two hours by boat from mainland Coron, the island boasts of fine white sand beach on clear water, a sandbar that submerges during high tide, a good coral... Read More

Travel Guide: Puerto Princesa

The heart of the Philippine’s last frontier, Puerto Princesa is the second largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area and dubbed as the city in the forest. Home to the world’s longest navigable underground river – the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city boasts of being the only city in the country who has successfully balanced the harmony between the development and environment.A model in local governance,... Read More

Cuyo’s Pagdayao Festival

Every 28th day of August, the remote town of Cuyo in Palawan celebrates its town fiesta in honor of their Patron Saint Agustin. Kids performers in aeta-aetehan (ati-atihan) Cuyo, a town in the group of islands of the same name sits in the open water of Sulu Sea is blessed with rich history and culture, unexploited islands and islets decorated with white sand beaches and built by waves and strong winds. Cuyo Church's interior The town’s century old church is uniquely... Read More

Touring El Nido in Two Days

This is the day three and four travelogue of the five-day trip to El Nido. After a day of diving, Ate Claudia and I were not yet through with our rendezvous. There were so much to see and so much to do in the waters of Bacuit Bay but we need to maximize the limited time left for us to explore and appreciate El Nido, this time by discovering its lagoons, beaches, caves, islands and the beauty above the underwater paradise. We allotted our two whole days in El Nido for island hopping... Read More