Did you Know? Puerto Galera Bay, now one of the worlds most beautiful bay of the world!

The Philippines is blessed with thousands of kilometers of coastline. It is but natural to say that we possess some of the most beautiful seaside areas in the world – and as recently as last year we proved it.
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Puerto Galera, located on the northern part of the island of Mindoro, was named 2005’s Most Beautiful Bay by the Paris-based Les Plus Belles Baies Du Monde (The most Beautiful Bays in the World) club. A popular vacation spot, known for its beautiful beaches and proximity to the nation’s capital, joins 29 other bays from different countries in the prestigious list.

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Puerto Galera, which means “Port of the Galleon” is a series of landlocked coves. The bay’s formation makes it an ideal and safe docking area for seafaring vessels. Its past is riddled with stories about Chinese and Spanish ships that traded with the native Mangyans and sheltered in the bay. A gold and marble mining industry provided income throughout the centuries. It’s great diversity of marine life perfect for scuba diving, it’s protected mangroves and rain forest mountains are testament to the island’s unique ecosystem.



The club, a UNESCO-supported, non-government organization, bestowed the title to Puerto Galera last April 2, 2005 during its general assembly in Na Thrang, Vietnam. The chosen bays worldwide are known for their natural beauty, diverse marine life, rich cultural heritage and important contribution to the local economic activity. These factors are in line with the club’s aim to promote, protect, and enhance the world’s most beautiful bays and to enhance the area’s sustainable economic development through preservation of its natural resources. The protection and conservation of these identified assets are for the benefit of future generations

Businessman and French expat Hubert d’Aboville was the main driving force behind the movement to get Puerto Galera on the international map. With the assistance of Councilor Daniel Enriquez, they were able to make a presentation to the club for the inclusion of Puerto Galera in the list. The main objective of the move was to harness the inevitable power of development and focus it on one goal: Puerto Galera, and the nation as a whole, should benefit from this natural tourist destination.

D’Aboville and Enriquez mapped out their plan and presented it to the town’s leading families and businesses. The plan was well received by everyone together with the local government where it was approved upon first reading.

In a course of six months’ work, with the support of the municipality and private enterprises, d’Aboville set off for Morocco to present Puerto Galera to the clubs’ selection committee.

All of that hard work paid off. A resounding “yes” was heard from the selection committee, making Puerto Galera one of the world’s finest bays.

“It’s just like opening a jewelry box,” says d’Aboville, portraying his 25-year romance with Puerto Galera. Calling this municipality by the sea his home since 1995, d’Aboville was given the title of Adopted Son of Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, last June 8, 2005.

On October 5, 2006, a photo exhibit representing all 30 most beautiful bays in the world will be organized at UNESCO in Paris. Its President Jerome Bignon, a French congressman, together with Bruno Bodard, secretary general of the world association, are finalizing all details.

Thanks to Ambassador H. E. Jose Zaide, the Philippine embassy in France, for his efforts to make this project a reality.

Visit the the most beautiful bays in the world Club website at www.world-bays.com.

The Most Beautiful Bays of the World:

1) Argentina – Valdes Peninsula

2) Brazil – Todos Los Santos Bay

3) Brazil – Praia da Rosa

4) Cap Verde Islands – Mindelo Bay

5) Canada – Baie des Chaleurs

6) Chile – Megellan’s Strait

7) England – St. Ives and Mount Bays

8) España – Bahia de Santander

9) Corsica – Girolata and Porto Gulf (France)

10) France – Mont St. Michel Bay

11) France – Morbilhan’s Gulf/Quiberon’s Bay

12) France – Somme Bay

13) Germany – Westerland Sylt

14) Guadeloupe – Saintes Bay (France)

15) India – BackWaters

16) Ireland – Bantry Bay

17) Madagascar – Diego Suarez Bay

18) Morocco – Agadir – Taghazout Bay

19) Mexico – Banderas Bay

20) Montenegro – Kotor Bay

21) Norway – Geiranger Fjord

22) Philippines – Puerto Galera Bay

23) Portugal – Setubals Bay

24) Quebec – Tadoussac Bay (Canada)

25) Senegal – Sine Saloum Bay

26) South Africa – Table Bay & False Bay

27) Turkey – Bodrum Bay

28) USA – San Francisco Bay

29) Vietnam – Ha-Long Bay

30) Vietnam – Nha Trang Bay

Dubai American Academy gets wet

Oh what a week it’s been! We’ve had the pleasure of having twenty-five, 13-14 year olds and three teachers here from the Dubai American Academy doing courses last week. There were lots of early mornings and late nights, but in the end we were happy that everyone went home with a great aquatic experience. Josh,Kjell, Warren and Simon, got the 17 Open water students busy as soon as they arrived and never let up until they all left. Alli and Pete were kept on their toes with 8 Advanced students, and Pete and Sam looked after the lone Rescue/EFR student. The Advanced kids having a bit of extra time to kill also did an underwater clean-up dive and a “Tour d Alli” which included a jeepney adventure with stops at the lighthouse, a local public high school, Puerto Galera pier, Ponderosa golf course and an added real life flat tire stop along the way. A special thanks to Daniel Mock for organising all of this from Dubai and a big congratulations to the whole group for all their hard work, determination and depleting our stock of french fries, ice cream, and spaghetti bolognaise. We hope to see you all back here again next year.







The sports bar was turned in to a make-shift classroom last week because of the big TV to watch their videos on and the close proximity to the blender for the chocolate shakes.






Along with their great adventure and certifications, the whole group went home with an Asia divers T-shirt

Thresher Sharks, Birthdays and False Starts

Ok.... having figured out how the page works, here goes Take Two :

Not wanting to upstage the Monday News - more by way of a preview - how about a mention for the Thresher shark that kindly presented itself in front of Jim Morton on his 1000th dive for his Birthday last Wednesday. Where? It popped up and hung around he and buddy Brian King at 65m as they were ascending up past the Deep Atolls. Where they were coming up from is a long story - see Monday - but the shark was certainly fact and not hallucination as there was enough helium in their tanks to fill a Zeppelin, and both the lads had been off the sauce for a few days prior to the big dive. Difficult to believe I know but Sam gave them clear instructions not to go near each other in the evenings which seemed to do the trick.
Nice dive and worth the effort, we'll have a chat to the shark about putting in an appearance a bit shallower once in a while for the masses.
More on Monday - possibly with photos of both the aftermath of Jim's day, and of Brian's sequel celebration today.

I can also now Postscript this message with the news that presumed same Thresher showed up again this morning at the bottom of Sinandigan Wall during a training dive with Sam and John Parish. Not a bad week so far. And to think Best Mate Drew Childers went all the way to Malapascua this weekend when he could have been viewing the beasts here! We'll try and make a habit of carrying the video on dives in that area this weekend, you never know, the first sighting the shark stayed with the divers for long enough to have made a few shots possible.

Watch this space..

The Birth of Asia Divers Blog

Blogspot for Asia Divers was started today... Authors you may starting posting your articles now.. Jon