The resort boasts 12 luxury villas including 6 all new Buri Villas of 2 stories, with plunge pool, 2 bathrooms and exceptional views of the Unesco voted “man & biosphere” protected area of Puerto Galera Bay.

Nestled in the Batangas Channel, inside Puerto Galera Bay, which was recently named one of the 32 most beautiful bays in the world by UNESCO affiliated Paris based Club des Plus Belles Baies du Monde, Buri Resort & Spa has undergone a dramatic transformation since it first opened with 5 simple villas in 2001. From December 2006 to end 2007 the resort underwent a total renovation and revamp with all the structures in the resort being rebuilt. Today the resort boats 12 modern villas, 6 of which have private garden plunge pools.

The resort’s dedicated “Nurture Spa” is located at the very top of the hillside resort and features breathtaking views of the surrounding resort and bay. Spa services include poolside massage, garden massage, in-room services and dedicated 3 to 5 hour full treatment courses. Buri Resort also offers regular programs for meditation, yoga, crystal healing and other specialist services with visiting masters.

Buri means “palm” and each of the villas are named after a flower and palm from the region to recognise the importance of nature and the environment placed in the redevelopment. The resort boasts many environmentally focused initiatives including recycling of all water for irrigation, capture of rain water for irrigation and service water use, solar cell use for exterior lighting and some pumps, water control mechanisms in showers to reduce excessive water use as well as training programs for the resort staff to constantly reduce energy use, recycle all possible materials and reduce the resorts impact on the environment.

The resort is offering rates from PHP 8,300 to PHP 11,300 inclusive of transport by its own motor boat leaving the Batangas Bay area 3 times a day. Onboard guests can enjoy refreshments while enroute to the resort, check-in and have the chance to observe dolphins, sea birds and the incredible scenery during the short 45 minute cruise to the resort.

The name Puerto Galera literally means Bay of Galleons due to the history over the past many hundreds of years of ships using the area as a safe haven during storms and typhoons. Puerto Galera as a destination offers many rich and diverse activities and has become one of the top diving destinations in the Philippines. Excellent diving is found less than 5 minutes from the Buri Resort area. The diving generally focuses around the areas either side of Escarceo Point There are upwards of thirty dive sites all within a 5-10 minute motor boat (Banca) ride from Buri Resort’s private jetty.

Marine life is highly diverse. 180+ species of nudi branch coral are found in the area and most species of fish can be seen. A variety of wrecks have been sunk over the years in addition to the one genuine wreck of an engine of a WWII Japanese patrol boat. A study by the University of the Philippines in the 1980s, claims that the Batangas, Puerto Galera area has the highest diversity of marine species in the world. It forms the centre of the golden triangle – The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia – renowned for their coral and fish species.

There are many small beaches dotted around the coastline and Buri Resort even has access for its guests to a small white sand beach for private picnics and use for relaxing if they truly need to get even further away from the hustle and bustle of 21st century living.

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There are not too many places in the world where you can do 2 dives for under $40, but the Philippines offers many places where this is possible, and if you have your own dive gear, and dive more than 5 times, you might even bring the price down lower.

My two favorites while I was there was Puerto Galera and Cebu –Bohol. Both dive areas are very easy to get to. For Puerto Galera I went using local buses and a local ferry an easy cheap trip from either Angeles City where Clark Air base is located and even easier from Manila. Getting to Cebu-Bohol was equally easy and cheap with a few regional airlines like Cebu Pacific and the Philippines national air carrier, Philippines Air offering lots of cheap flights from either Manila or Clark.

The diving at Puerto Galera was a real treat seeing numerous butterfly species including tear drops, saddle backs and lots of different noses including orange nose, blue nose, and hump nose. There were also a lot of angel fish including everyone’s favorite the regal and some great pipefish and nudibrachs action as well. Puerto Galera also has some wreck diving, with 3 wrecks doable in one dive at Sabang Beach. These wrecks are shallow enough that open water divers can swim around the outside of them without a advanced open water card or wreck diving specialty rating.

Cebu is one of the larger islands in the Philippines. Bohol is attached to Cebu by a bridge. Alona beach is on Bohol, and is the main jumping off point for Balicasag, which is where the best diving is located, roughly a 25 minute boat ride on the local catamarans from Alona Beach. Shore dives are also possible off of Alona Beach. I was rewarded with a sea snake and a hoard of schooling catfish, as well as some very beautiful pipefish when I first arrived, and did a free diving snorkeling sortie. From the beach it took about 10 minutes to swim too and went down to over 40 meters. The main place for the divers that go to Cebu -Bohol is Balicasag island which is a marine park, while I was there we had some high winds, so were on the lee ward side for two days of wall action that was great!. A highlight of the trip was swimming right into a large group of tunas in 40 meters of water, who swim by close enough for me to see all of the beautiful coloration. Balicasag Island had a few different types of nudibrachs as well that were quite beautiful to behold in their outrageous fluorescent color schemes. There is also some real good shallow reef that held at least 4 different types of clown fish, finding Nemo here is a snap

For all our dives in the Philippines we had local dive masters. I must point out that they were not very good at briefings, and I found it a little disconcerting not getting a boat safety brief, especially when the life preservers were not in sight. English was the language that was spoken mostly on the dive boats that I scuba dived off of. All in all I will go back and dive there as it is a great value in the off season.

Fred Tittle has lived and worked in holiday vacation resorts his entire life, from Lake Geneva’s Playboy Club, as a rock jock for KSPN FM in Aspen Colorado, he became a PADI Pro Scuba Diver in Hawaii, diving on Maui, Kauai, Kona on the big island, and Waikiki on Oahu. He now owns EcoSea Dive in Sihanoukville Cambodia where he teaches SSI and PADI scuba diving courses and runs liveaboards in the gulf of Thailand and Asia adventure tours, http://www.ecosea.com

Fred’s new project http://www.CheapCharliesHotels.com where he reviews cheap hotels , budget guesthouses , discount accommodations and cheap international flights, but is really an excuse to vacation more, China is up next.

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Originally uploaded by MFinChina.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) will conduct a Basic Korean Language Course to be held at the DOT Bldg. T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila from January 8 to March 2, 2007 (120 hours) Mondays thru Fridays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The program aims to provide a basic appreciation of the requirements and culture of Korean tourists. It will equip the participants with the skills in speaking/writing Korean language. This program will also serve as a stepping stone for those who will choose a career in tour guiding wherein language proficiency is a requirement. Instructors who will handle this language course were imported from Korea.

To qualify, participants must be at least 2nd year college level, of good moral character, proficient in English and must be working in any DOT accredited tourism oriented establishment. Seminar fee is P500.00/participant.

Maximum number of participants is 40 only. Acceptance of application will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis. Deadline for submission of application form is on December 29, 2006.

Interested applicants may secure application form at the Standards Development Division, Rm. 203, DOT Bldg., T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila. For inquiries, please call Mutya Aguirre or Haidee Ampatuan on telephone nos. (632) 5257980 / (632) 5361128 / (632) 5238411 local 182 and 176.

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Thousands of islands, white sandy beaches and crystal-clear sparkling blue water make the Philippines the perfect getaway for scuba divers and beach bums alike. Photo-Elaine Yong

By Elaine Yong

With more than 7000 islands, the Philippines has miles and miles of white sand and crystal-clear sparkling blue waters. Its most famous beach, Boracay, is the stuff of legends. So the Southeast Asian country seemed the ideal place to soak up the sun on a “quick” long weekend getaway from Hong Kong.

However, the only last-minute airplane tickets I could get were to Manila and the closest beach to the steamy hot and maddeningly chaotic capital city is Puerto Galera on Mindoro, a 5 hour bus and ferry ride away. But it would be worth the trek, right? After all, everything I had read on Puerto Galera gushed about “splendid beaches”.

As I sat on the cramped and stuffy bus, which looked as if it may have been held together with duct tape, I began to wonder if I’d made a mistake. It took 4 hours to travel a mere 120 kilometres to the Batangas ferry terminal, where I endured another sweltering delay with hundreds of locals.

Finally, nearly 8 hours after leaving Manila, our over-loaded boat puttered into the bay of Sabang Beach, one of Puerto Galera’s beach towns. According to the guidebooks, this isn’t the nicest stretch of beach in the area and I had to admit I was disappointed by the narrow strip of sand, barely peeking above the high tide. Dinghys, boats and jet skis were crammed together like cars in a Costco parking lot. Plus the water looked a bit questionable with a flotilla of garbage bobbing about.

I wasn’t ready to give up yet. A mere 10 minute walk away, Big La Laguna and Small La Laguna are supposedly much nicer, but when I got there, I looked around with growing dismay. I came all the way here by plane, bus and boat for THIS?

But the next day, I found Puerto Galera’s real treasure as I snorkeled at the so-called “Coral Garden” off Long Beach – the amazing scenery UNDER the water. Hard and soft corals in a wide array of jewel tones, and an abundance of reef fish – bright yellow butterfly fish, speckled groupers, iridescent blue-green parrot fish and dozens of others I couldn’t even begin to identify. I felt like a kid in Captain Nemo’s candy store.

Despite the devastating practices of cyanide and dynamite fishing, the diversity of marine life in the Philippines is astounding, and stricter environmental regulations are slowly reversing the damage. While the Caribbean only has 60 species of coral, the Philippines boasts of more than 500.

Pair that with the friendliness of the locals and the relatively low living cost, it’s easy to see why this “slightly off the beaten path” country has become a world-class diving destination. An on-line diving magazine has voted the Philippines one of its top ten dive destinations for marine life and Scuba Diving magazine has named it one of the top five shore-diving destinations in the Pacific/Indian Oceans.

With some of the best diving instruction in the world, I thought I’d stop whining about the miniscule beaches in Puerto Galera and don a wetsuit instead (an especially appealing option after getting stung dozens of times by invisible jellyfish while snorkeling). There are more than 30 dive sites in the area, most of them easily accessible by a 5-minute boat ride.

Full PADI open-water certification courses are about $300US. Complete “learn to dive” packages including accommodations are a bargain at around $400US (4 nights, double occupancy). Certified divers can enjoy “unlimited dive” packages (1 week package include 5 days unlimited diving $272US).

I was the only student for the 1-day “Discover Scuba” course ($60US) and my German diving instructor, Christian, came right to the hotel pool for the first part of the lesson. He has dived all over the world but always returns to the Philippines. “I only go home to Germany to make real money so I can come back and dive,” he laughed. Now, he spends half the year in Sabang as an instructor.

After going through “Diving 101″, which includes frightening descriptions of stretched lungs, the bends and poisonous coral, we hit the pool. I floated around in the deep end, trying to maintain equilibrium, basically swimming in circles making myself nauseous. An hour later, Christian declared, “You’re a natural!” But maybe he says that to all his students.

We walked over to the dive shop, right on the beach, and suited up for my first real dive in Sabang Bay. Christian told me there’s a lot of amazing sea life just offshore. We waded in about 20 metres, popped in our regulators, and ducked under the water.

I saw the same kinds of coral and fish as when I was snorkeling, but when you’re diving, the perspective is totally different. The colours are much more vibrant and the details are literally in your face.

A feisty clownfish (thinking “Finding Nemo”) tried to stare me down in a valiant effort to protect his patch of anemone. I swam to the left, he followed. I swam to the right, he wouldn’t give up. I would have laughed, but it’s hard to do that when you’re underwater.

At one point, Christian gestured to something on the ocean floor. It looked like a skinny brown twig, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was some kind of fish with excellent camouflage skills (I later learned it was a pipefish, related to the seahorse).

Half an hour later, I had a big Cheshire cat grin plastered on my face as we surfaced. So when Christian turned to me and smiled, “Well, what did you think?” he didn’t really need to hear my answer. Puerto Galera may have disappointed me with its beaches, but it more than made up for it with its treasures under the water.

source: http://www.vancourier.com/issues06/074206/travel.html

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Situated on the northern peninsula of Mindoro island, approximately 160km from Manila, Puerto Galera (Port of Galleon) was an excellent port for Spanish Galleons seeking refuge from heavy storms and typhoons. Now that the Galleon days are over, the island become a world class diving spot and a perfect get away for anyone who shows interest in outdoor activities. Trekking high up over the sea-front hills shows vistas of sandy cove after sandy cove fading into the horizon. But the greatest attraction of this island cannot be seen from here. More than twenty world-class dive sites await those willing to put their heads under water, and the nationalities of the diving instructors reflect the main visitors; Americans, Europeans and Australians tend to dominate the diving stations around Puerto Galera. The cost of vacationing and diving is as good as it gets and beginners can qualify inexpensively on a three-day course. The scuba diving season in Puerto Galera is year-round, and going under water can be a good way to escape any rain.

The Trip

It was early morning of Thursday when I left Manila to catch up with the first trip to Puerto Galera via Batangas Port. It has been always in my plan to travel during evening for long trips and early morning for short trips, practically to avoid the traffic in the metropolis. Upon reaching White Beach, it took me fifteen minutes to reach New Encenada Beach Resort, located at Sitio Pandangan, the resort offers a different Puerto Galera experience, no beach vendors, no roving masseurs, only turquoise waters nestled in the famous encenada cove. Unspoiled and uncrowded, Endcenada Beach Resort is the place to get away from it all. The beach here, arguably the best in Puerto Galera, is almost one hectare of nice designed cottages, dive shop, restaurant, souvenir shop and beach volleyball court. Encenada means a protected place; true to its name, the beach itself is a complete island destination where you can be treated like a god.

On the second day, I met Joey, the jolly and gay all around majordomo of the resort, he brought me to the poblacion by a fifteen-minute walk by the seashore. The resort staff’s are all nice, a living proof of the famous Filipino hospitality. The place is more of a garden and the beach is just another unusual surprise. Imagine a sunrise in a beautiful veranda, surrounded by various species of palm trees and colorful flora that gives a vista of a beautiful and exotic hideaways, truly; stumbling upon this beach was serendipity at its finest. Now tell me, who needs the Caribbean?

The New Encenada Beach Resort may not be a five-star resort but its ambiance is more of a home, giving you the feel of being in Boracay a couple of decades ago. No noisy night bars, no internet but mobile phone connections are excellent. During night, the overlooking veranda type of restaurant offers not so expensive freshly cooked local foods. There are 42 rooms available, composed of ten nipa hut and thirty-two concrete cottages located in the main building. For underwater explorers, there is an in-house dive shop with professional dive instructors to guide you to the coral gardens just of shore and in the marine reserve of Varadero Bay. If you like island hopping you can hire a motorized banca and explore the nearby beaches or you may walk along the beach to reach the town center for gift shops, internet cafes and a couple of restaurants.

On my third day, I met Christina Fuentebella, the charming owner of the resort. She managed the resort for almost fifteen years in partnership with an Australian lawyer. She prepared me a jigger of “Mindoro Sling”, their in-house specialty mixed drink, thus heaven begins. Live acoustic bands are performing in the restaurant every Friday and Saturday night, singing romantic love songs and reggae, a la Jamaica nights. On my last evening I’m beginning to love the place like a home, walking around the shore alone sounds lonely with the crystalline night sky like a trespassing constellation. The stars are thick upon my head. I’ve spent the entire trip by myself, it’s all about resting like you never did before, and the serene coolness that comes with being alone but not lonely has settled into my body. I’ve stopped listening and observing my mobile phone, and even though I’m wandering in completely different environment, I feel no danger. Still, if I were part of a honeymooner couple right now, I’d head right off this secret cove and sneak onto the beach to re-create another travel tale, this time more romantic. Oh well, next time.

Getting There

More economical are the commercial buses of BLTB, JAM and TRITRAN. Bus terminals can be found in Cubao, and in Buendia in Pasay City. Schedules of these buses are quite erratic, but the earliest bus usually leaves at 6AM and every hour from then on (depending on the volume of passengers). Fare on these buses range from Php 80 to 100 depending on whether it is a regular or an air-con bus.

At the Batangas City Pier, there is a wide selection of ferries going to Puerto Galera, depending on which port guests intend to enter. (There are three main entry points to Puerto Galera by way of its port facilities: Muelle Pier, Balatero Pier, and Sabang Beach).

Where to Stay

New Encenada Beach Resorthttp://encenada-resort.com/
http://www.lakbaypilipinas.com
Email: inquiry@encenada.com
c/o Sunlink Travel and Tours Pearl Terraces 1700 Ma. Orosa Street, Malate Manila
Tel. No. : (00632) 5240861
Telefax: (00632) 4000285

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