Who can Identify this Fish? Please help...


Photo © Lee Goldman, image taken in the Philippines

Snorkeling the Islands of Palawan. Okay, so the title sounds like we spent the entire time in Palawan, but our first 2 days of the expedition were snorkeling with Whale sharks in Donsol. Come ‘on, how can I invite guests to the Philippines and not expose them to one of the best big animal encounters a snorkeler can have!
This entry will be a quick one because how can I describe the experience? Amazing, exhilarating, sometimes exhausting. Because visibility often does not exceed 12 m, when you see a whale shark, it is an up close and personal encounter! The guides put you right near them and as they swim by, you are sometimes only a few feet from them. My guests all commented on how amazing it was that they actually had to swim away from the sharks rather than having to chase them down. Needless to say, our experience with the whale sharks in Donsol was exactly as it has always been promoted; come and swim with lots of whale sharks. We swam with no less than eight. We also had a chance to snorkel in the area. Due to proximity of the rivers, visibility was not optimal, but we didn’t miss a beat. Many varieties of fish and coral exist there and for most of my guests, new species of fish were checked off in their fish identification books. For one guest, an avid admirer of nudibranchs, a new species of Phyllidia was her treat for the day. As a guide who spent many years in the Philippines and Palau, you may think I had seen it all. No way, that’s what I love about the Philippines; new species of fish I may know but not seen, or in my case in Donsol a new species of fish I had no idea existed.
Even some of the better ichthyologists could not help me with the identification. I intend to pursue this one and will keep everyone updated as I know more. Anyone out there with a suggestion?
Lee Goldman

Our Philippine-Micronesia Alliance partner in Palawan Philippines is Club Paradise & Dugong Dive Center for all your travel arrangements and for Lee Goldman's Wilderness travel contact our partner in Manila Blue Horizons.

Tags: MARINE, Science,, Snorkeling, Kayaking, Whale shark, WILDERNESS, NATURE, PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES

PHOTO: © Lee Goldman - Palawan at its very best...the camp site.
I wish I could be there...

Today another lad strolled into the office & not just anybody…my good friend and soon a new Alliance Partner Lee Goldman Marine Biologist and Expedition Leader of a great new Tour in Palawan Philippines.
Supported by Wilderness Travel and our partner in Manila Blue Horizons, Dugong Dive Center and Club Paradise in Palawan…the last frontier in the Philippines with spectacular limestone cliffs equal to Palau and Thailand.

Lee’s Expedition was also named as one of the
Best Adventure Trips 2008

A Masked Ball in the Philippines
http://www.concierge.com/ideas/

There be a lot more in the near future, you just have to stay tuned or subscribe to our blog…
A lot of exciting things are on the way…see below some of Lee’s Photos and text from his recent trip in April 2008, just completed…very cool and amazing…YOU should join him on his next trip and experience the Philippines like no other has done before…sounds familiar yes… STARTREK…but hurry bookings have to be made well in advance.
Gunther Deichmann

PHOTO: © Lee Goldman - "Alien Lights?" No Palawan!
Exploring Palawan by Kayak & in the evening
there is fine dining... under the stars.

Hi Gunther,

The first PHILIPPINES Expedition for WILDERNESS TRAVEL is in the books and as I have done in previous blogs I want to thank some of the Philippine-Micronesian Alliance partners, Dirk Fahrenbach at Dugong Dive Center at Club Paradise and Blue Horizon Travel for their help in making it a successful tour. The highlights? How about Whale sharks, fantastic snorkeling among fields of colorful corals and abundant fish, Apo Reef National Park, and great weather! The super-highlight? KAYAKING and LUXURY CAMPING in the middle of some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet; the limestone cliffs of El Nido, Palawan. Of course, our 5-star chef at camp helped in areas all marine enthusiasts are familiar with: growling stomachs at the end of a full day of fun…& there be a lot more very soon… this is only an appetizer.
Lee Goldman

© Gunther Deichmann

Soon a new member of the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance, Lee will be joining us with his extraordinary and very exiting Kayak tours in Palawan and beyond, subscribe and stay tuned for the official announcement.
GD

His tour has just been in the top listing of the Concierge,
Best Adventure Trips 2008!
http://www.concierge.com/ideas/skiadventure/tour/detail?id=1729&page=11


Hi Gunther,

A while back you blogged about my excitement and appreciation for the significant inclusion of Club Paradise onto our new Wilderness Travel Expedition to the Philippine Islands.

I should also mention that another one of your Micronesian-Philippine Alliance partners has made important contributions as well. Jem Kemp from Blue Horizon Travel has been extremely helpful in arranging our flights to and from Legaspi, where we will continue on to Donsol for a couple of days snorkeling with Whale Sharks, and for all of the transfers for our guests when they arrive in Manila.

While it may sound easy, from my point of view, it helped to keep me from pulling even more of my hair out of my head while trying to coordinate all of the other activities for our 12 day tour. So, when coordinating 5 days of luxury kayak camping (that’s tents, supplies, equipment, personnel and their travel arrangement, the outfitting of our new boat, coordination of the daily excursions, food procurement, and contingency plans) became almost as much as I can handle, Jem came through by taking care of the guests in Manila, thus alleviating some of the weight from my shoulders.
Thanks Jem!
Lee Goldman, Marine Biologist and Tour leader

Photos: © Gunther Deichmann – Images from Palawan…the last frontier in the Philippines and a heaven for nature lovers, pristine beaches, crystal clear water surrounded by majestic limestone cliffs and spectacular diving… explore and discover this incredible part of the Philippines with Lee Goldman and our other Alliance partners. A pure natures paradise.

Click on the images above and see more photos from all our partner destinations.

Asia Divers our partner in Puerto Galera visits Palawan frequently for the wrecks in Coron Bay, Asia Divers with El Galleon Beach Resort is also a major sponsor of the Layang Layang Photo Contest,
for more info on Wreck diving with Asia Divers check out our previous blog from David Ross at:
http://www.alliancediving.com/blog/files/category-asia-divers-articles.html

No matter where... we get you there.
The Divers Choice.

© Gunther Deichmann - This is what Alex and Jem dreamed about during their
sleepless nights in London, one of the Alliance destinations - a great beach in Palawan, Philippines

Now the first hand report by Jeremy Kemp:
The WTM in London was attended by over 30,000 global representatives (from over 200 countries) of the travel industry and the Philippines Dept of Toursism stand attracted a great deal of attention over the four days of the event. A large 160m area featuring a beach hut and dramatic colorful posters where hundreds of people came to discuss travel within the Philippines and the development of new destinations.
 
Alex Stutely and Jem Kemp from Blue Horizons our travel partners held many meetings greeting old friends and making new contacts. They report an impressive interest in diving opportunities and many visitors were particularly interested in the concept of two centre holidays combining Boracay, Busuanga or Club Paradise and Palau or Truk.
 
In fact many visitors were impressed to learn that Manila is one of the best routes through to Micronesia with regular direct and connecting flights to both Palau and Truk. The idea of combining great diving with excellent beach and adventure holidays in the Philippines and Micronesia is increasingly attractive. Additionally there is much interest in land based and water based activities whilst diving in this part of the world such as kayaking, biking and trekking.
 
As well as existing travel partners Alex and Jem report that there are exciting new possibilities with tour operators and agents from the UK in particular but also Spain, South Africa, Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Russia etc. The combination of tropical waters and weather, blue seas, sandy beaches and of course fantastic diving is proving irresistible.
 
Courtesy of our Alliance partners there were also some great raffle prizes on offer. Everyone that visited Blue Horizons on the stand was encouraged to leave extra business cards behind with the promise of great diving offers for the winners. The last day of the event saw the raffle and the first prize was a combined Boracay and Puerto Galera package with accommodation and diving for two people at Calypso Diving and Pinjalo Resort Villas (Boracay) and Asia Divers and El Galleon Beach Resort (Puerto Galera) with Manila Hotel accommodation included. The lucky winner of this great prize was Eric Prins of Namaste Reizen (Netherlands) who are looking to promote diving activities in the Philippines for the Dutch market.
 
Second prize of a diving and accommodation package at Sam's Tours and West Plaza Hotels was won by Kate Philipps of Regaldive (UK). Regaldive feature Boracay, Puerto Galera and Club Paradise on their website or in their brochure.
 
Lastly, Chris Hawkins of Blue Lizard Travel (UK) won a 10 dive package at Dugong Dive Centre, Club Paradise Resort, Busuanga. We wish all the winners a great holiday with their prizes.
 In addition, t-shirts and cuddly soft turtles and dugongs supplied by Club Paradise Resort were enormously popular and were presented to many of the visitors.
 
Overall a highly succesful event with the message on diving in the Philippines and Micronesia being spread to an ever wider audience.

 ______________________________

The Philippine-Micronesia Alliance in London
at the World Travel Market Show.

Calypso/Pinjalo Dive Resort, Boracay, Philippines

Sam's Tours Palau, Micronesia

Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center, Truk Lagoon, Chuuk, Micronesia

We have also made some more improvement to our web site, you find it easy now to go direct to certain articles and read all about Did You Know? (see the image on this blog)
If you have never tried or checked it before click on our build in Photo Gallery in our Blogs, marked with a red circle, once you click here you see the amazing Photos from all our partner destinations, images from above and below, Island hopping, Palau Micronesia, Marine Bio-diversity, the amazing wrecks from Truk Lagoon, or check the location of our beaches.
GD



left Image; find articles easy now. - right : check out our Photo Gallery
You find all of this on the right hand side of our blog!

____________________________________

Get to know the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance and their representatives at this years World Travel Market in London, meet Jeremy and Alex from Blue Horizons.
On todays blog we introduce to you Asia Divers with El Galleon from Puerto Galera which has one of the best Marine Bio-Diversity in the world, a sheer heaven for underwater photographers, and there is Club Paradise with Dugong Dive Center with a spectacular house reef and the only place in the Philippines where you can spot Dugongs, it is a real natures paradise. Tomorrow we bring you our other partners from Boracay in the Philippines and Palau Micronesia so please stay tuned, check with Alex and Jeremy for all you dive vacation and island hopping needs at the WTM.

Thanks to the generosity of the Alliance members, members who have pledged something for the raffle so far include:
Asia Divers, Puerto Galera Philippines, Calypso/Pinjalo Dive Resort, Boracay, Philippines, Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center in Palawan, Philippines, 
Blue Horizons Travel, Manila and Sams Tours our partner in Micronesia.  
There is also a grand price. is it real big? I guess you have to find out when visiting the WTM. Maybe a trip for a two week vacation? I keep it a bit of a secret now, you just visit Alex and Jeremy at the Show and find out, hope to see you all there.
Good Luck!

_______________________________________

As promised here it is: "The Philippine-Micronesia Alliance" at the World Travel Market with our representatives from Blue Horizons
Jeremy and Alex at the show.
We are happy to announce some very cool Raffles and a lot more...

We will be giving away several prizes during the WTM.... and all travel agents who visit us during the WTM and leave their calling card with us (Blue Horizons) will be included in the draw. So if you ready for your next dive vacation or holiday, or just go island hopping from one island to another, check out our great white sandy beaches after your dive... and there is so much more we can arrange for you, just talk to Alex and Jeremy for all the details at the WTM.
 
You can win minor prizes - such as stuffed toys - every day (Monday 12th November - Thursday 15th November), and we will be giving away one or two 'major' prizes on the afternoon of Wednesday 14th November. If the winners are not present during the draw, it does not matter because they will also be notified by email.

Thanks to the generosity of the Alliance members, members who have pledged something for the raffle so far include:
Asia Divers, Puerto Galera Philippines, Calypso/Pinjalo Dive Resort, Boracay, Philippines, Club Paradise and Dugong Dive Center in Palawan, Philippines, 
Blue Horizons Travel, Manila and Sams Tours our partner in Micronesia.  
There is also a grand price. is it real big? I guess you have to find out when visiting the WTM. Maybe a trip for a two week vacation? I keep it a bit of a secret now, you just visit Alex and Jeremy at the Show and find out, hope to see you all there.
Good Luck!

DID YOU KNOW? Is brought to you by the Philippine - Micronesia Alliance, the Divers Choice.
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Welcome to World Travel Market 2007
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World Travel Market (WTM) 2007

Staged annually in London under one roof, World Travel Market is a must attend, business to business exhibition. WTM provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry. Read more about WTM...

http://www.wtmlondon.com
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The Philippine -Micronesia Alliance is represented by:
Blue Horizons Travel and Tours, Inc.

Delegates: Alex Stutely and Jeremy Kemp
representing Blue Horizons and the Philippine - Micronesia Alliance
your experts in island hopping and dive travel. The Divers Choice.
Check with Jeremy and Alex about our special dive packages, our exotic destinations, island hopping, your next dive vacation in the Philippines, the Pacific, China Sea and Micronesia,
and remember the Alliance website is in 9 languages, English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.
You can find Jeremy and Alex at the Philippine Department of Tourism Booth (DOT), just ask for the Guys from Blue Horizons.
The Philippines will again be putting its best foot forward during this year’s World Travel Market, to be held at London’s ExCel exhibition center at the Docklands,
from 12 to 15 November.
The WTM, staged yearly in London, is one of the world’s biggest and most important business events. It provides a unique opportunity for people and companies in the travel trade and tourism industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay abreast with the latest developments in this global business.

Welcome to the The Philippine-Micronesia Alliance, your partners in quality diving holidays!,
Willkommen bei der Fillippinen-Mikronesien Allianz, ihr Partner für erstklassigen Tauchurlaub!
ДОБРО ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ К НАШЕМУ ФИЛИППИНЫ - МИКРОНЕЗИЯ АЛЬЯНСУ ЭТО ТВОЙ ЛУЧШИЙ ПАРТНЕР ДЛЯ ПЕРВОКЛАССНОГО ПОДВОДНОГО ОТПУСКА
Bienvenue à l'Alliance Philippine-Micronesia, vos partenaires pour des séjours plongée de choix.
Benvenuti nell’Alleanza Filippine – Micronesia, I vostri partners per vacanze di qualita’ nel campo delle immersioni!
Bienvenidos a la Alianza Filipinas-Micronesia , sus compañeros para esas vacaciones de buceo de calidad!
and of course Japanese, Korean, Chinese and very soon Polish.

See you there!

______________________________

I almost forgot, this is a reminder that you can now book all your diving direct or with Blue Horizons on our Philippine-Micronesia site. The Divers choice.... just choose your link.