Reef Check event at El Galleon Resort

It was a great honor to have had Gregor Hodgson executive director of Reef Check (www.ReefCheck.org) and his group sponsored by Malibu Rum for their orientation to the Reef Check program. The group arrived Tuesday and without delay started the program with an orientation to the course and Puerto Galera. There were a few that need snorkeling lessons (given by Divemaster, Richard George) and after their practice session were out for their first look at the reefs of Puerto Galera. Everyone was blown away with the life they encountered and the coral reefs they found over their three-day event. There were five people so excited they continued with a discover scuba and all vowed to carry on with an Open Water course as soon as they arrived back in the US. The party’s continued into the night with Malibu paraphernalia covering the Point bar and lots of fun with cocktail competitions sponsored by Malibu rum. Some of the cocktails invented over the time they were here would be most welcome in any self respecting cocktail bar, anywhere in the world and yes, you can try one or two of them the next time your here at the Point. Many thanks to Reef Check, the wonderful people from Malibu, (Lisa, Jeffery, Pamela & Avil) Malibu Rum and all the participants, we all had a great time. Stand by for the next Reef Check course to be held here by Gregor Hodgson, October 11th to 18th. If you have any interest in knowing how you can help preserve the reefs and participate in the philosophies behind Reef Check, conservation, research and education, don’t miss this opportunity to meet Gregor and do something for our environment. Gregor holds a PhD in marine science and has a wealth of information that can only help us all understand what we can do to be proactive in preserving our coral reefs around the world.

The whole Reef Check group enjoying their final night at Allan’s place before heading off to tuck into curry night at El Galleon

Some of the Reef Check group got giddy about taking the plunge and “Discovering Scuba”. Congratulations Lisa Mccann, Avril Nuinez, Andrew Philips, Diana Vilibert, and Bryan Abras who all enjoyed their “down” time.

It’s not everyday that someone gets a shirt from us with 1000 dives on it. Congratulations to Nigel Barker who hit the magic number here this week with Josh and Sue folks

Willy's Bauters 500th Dive was celebrated in fine style with Josh,Tony Vermeulen, Evelyne Vanoverberghe, and Frederique Desle

Isabelle Strauss did her Open Water course with Kjell and she did a fantastic job. She was like a fish to water and made teaching a pleasure for her instructor. On her final dive she removed, replaced and cleared her mask while hovering, and that is not easy to do. We look forward to see her back her soon for her Advanced course. Well done Isabelle.

One member from the Reef Check group, William Keith, found out while he was snorkelling that the reef was so interesting he decided to do a Discover Scuba Dive. William and Kjell went to Monkey Beach and had a very nice dive. At one point he scared Kjell when he started to chase after a Titan Trigger fish, instead of swimming away from it. Maybe he didn’t know that he should stay away from them this time of year as it is mating season and Titan Trigger fish enjoy chasing divers once in a while. They made it safely back to Asia Divers and The Point Bar for a well earned celebration beer!

British School Manila gets wet!

It’s been an action packed week for all of us here as we had a group of 13 students, and 2 teachers from British School Manila on the grounds learning to dive. Alli straight back from Hong Kong spent a day with the gang in Manila doing their OW theory. The next day the whole group came down to do the fun part. This kept all the instructors very busy and the kids very happy. It’s been a fun week for all…a very big congratulations to goes out to everyone who all worked very hard to get their PADI Open Water certifications. Thanks to Liz Shipp and Paul Doran from the British School who organised this event. We hope to see you all back again soon!

Asia Divers Instructor team celebrates with the British School Manila’s newly certified divers: Elizabeth Shipp, Alexander Mathew Date, Matthew David Que, Harry Bewlay, Alessandra Oledan Rodriguez, Paul Doran, Tamara Gibb, Joanna Ko, Victoria Beckett, Jamie Giron, Yojiro Matsuda, Sachin Patel, Martin Litonjua, Greory Valkovic, and James Robertson

Tubbataha 2009

Allison is back with fantastic tales of Tubbataha. Alli, Lee Hung-ta, Andrew Sharkey, Anne Lim, Sabine Henkel, Alison Pockett, Judy Banning, Kenneth Svennerlind, Suzi Denton, Annelie Thelander, Per Eriksson, spent four days on the Stella Maris, exploring the beautiful Philippine Reefs of Tubbataha, which is a World Heritage site. The journey started out with a quick flight to Puerto Princessa and then and a brief stop at the local supermarket to stock up on the necessities…such as junk food and booze. Once on the boat, the group chilled out and slept through the night as we travelled 14 hours out to sea to the reef. Waking up bright and early we started the daily pattern of dive, eat, and sleep for the four to five dives a day. The walls are stunning and full of heaps of colourful fishes, many sharks, turtles, schooling jacks, eagle rays, barracuda, a very cosy display of marble rays and one very playful manta who teased us all with summersaults in front of us. To top it all off was the 25-30 meter vis and the 30-degree temperature. The group shot was taken at the ranger station, which houses a group of 10 men who live there for 3 months a year at a time. You can walk around this tiny spit of sand in less than 10 minutes. Believe me, this place is really out in the middle of no-where. Can you imagine having to travel 14 hours to the next piece of land! All in all a great trip was had by everyone.

Dubai American Academy gets wet... again!

Welcome back to the Dubai American Academy for the 2^nd year in a row. It’s been a fantastic time for everyone and all went home with big smiles on their faces for completing their courses, having some great diving and food experiences and enjoying their time in the Philippines. There were a few early mornings and a couple late nights, but in the end we were thrilled that everyone went home with an amazing aquatic experience and a new certification card. Josh, Kjell, Warren and Jaime looked after the Open Water gang of 20. Alli kept out of too much trouble with five Advanced students, and Pete got lots of smiles with the three Digital Underwater Photography students. All managed to finish their courses off in time so they could end the trip with a jeepney tour to the waterfalls, and visit a Mangyon village to deliver some food to them. A very big thanks to Suellen Taylor for organising all of this from Dubai and to Mohamad Hovrani and Daniel Summer for leading the tour along with Sue. We hope to see you all back again next year for the third time...

The happy divers accepting their certifications

What the none divers are saying about us

What does it says:

Allen,

Just a quick note to say thankyou for pleasurable stay at your hotel we really appreciate your hospitality & the information you gave us. You and your staff have made this the high-light of our annual holiday this is truely a beautiful place we wish you and your family all the best for the future.

Thanks Mate
Rick and Sandie Brown

PS
Thanks for the tour of your home and keep your eye on virtual tourist website we will your place a great wrap

Thanks Again

What someone has to say about our new restaurant & Executive Chef

My husband and I have been travelling in Asia and the Philippines for the last few months and have eaten in many good restaurants during that time. Our visits to El Galleon were exceptional, I would like to share our feedback with you.

The first time we ate at El Galleon was for breakfast, which was great, mango pancakes and very crispy bacon just the way we like it. From that point forward we enjoyed a number of meals there for several reasons the out going friendly staff, the open very clean modern kitchen, proximity to where we were staying and of course the food.

Your chef Julius introduced himself to us on our first visit, he is truly an engaging individual and a terrific ambassador for your establishment and Philippine tourism. He shared with us a little of his personal background and the enthusiasm he has for his new project with El Galleon.

Julius friendly nature and outgoing personality made him extremely approachable. I stopped in and asked Julius if it was possible to have him prepare a special romantic dinner as a surprise for my husband and me the following evening. We discussed very briefly a few possible dinner choices and I left feeling very confident he understood exactly what I was hoping for with out discussing any specifics.

Upon arrival the following evening the staff seated us under a beautiful little canopy next to the pool. The table had crisp white linens fresh orchids and candle light the ambience was perfect. Upon being seated we were treated to the most fabulous dinner! Julius prepared muscles that were the best we have ever had as an appetizer, the main course was a paste dish with generous servings of fish and shrimp done in a lovely lemon cream sauce. The dessert Julius prepared was a perfect end to the meal, not to sweet and not to heavy. The presentation on the plates was beautiful and accented with fresh orchids. I hade even asked Julius to recommend a wine for us, which he did and we thourghly enjoyed his selection.

Your resort manager Ruby introduced herself , the pride she takes in her position just radiated from her smiling face. We had a group picture taken with the support staff it was an evening that was special not just for us but you could feel that it was important to the whole staff.

We have travelled to many places in the world but our night at the El Galleon will hold a special memory in our hearts. You have a fantastic restaurant that is on the verge of becoming spectacular under the direction of Julius.

When we return to Canada I intend to share our exceptional evening on trip advisor, including pictures. It has been our experience that many tourists rely on this site heavily for advice. We know that we have found a jewel in the Philippines.

Terri and David Leatherdale
Jan 22, 2009

Sha Tin College (CAS = Creativity, Action, Service week) Sun October 12th - Sat 18th 2009

It’s was an action packed week for all of us here as we had a group of 42 students, and 4 teachers from Sha Tin College, Hong Kong on the grounds. They had a great time getting into all sorts of things such as diving, courses and various activities in the local area. We also kept them busy at
night with a sunset cruise and a Fiesta night, which included a cultural show, live band and a fireworks display. Highlights of the week were a costume dive, which started in Sabang Bay and ended at the floating bar, a few games of laser paintball played behind Big Lalaguna and even a sailing day. It’s been a fun week for all and we hope to everyone back again next year for more fun and excitement. A big thanks to Alan Dickson for organising this event with us.