Stella Chiu-Freund's latest posts

13 – 25 May 2009 Our first Pacific country in the Coral Triangle is Papua New Guinea (PNG). As soon as we stepped into the Air Niugini flight to PNG while in the Manila airport, we felt closer to the Pacific. We were homeward bound! We have four months to go till the end of our […]

29 April – 2 May 2010 N6 01.215 E125 17.393 – Sarangani Bay We made a most interesting and educational trip to Sarangani Bay in Southern Mindanao to photograph aquaculture or aquafarming.  Alsons Aquaculture Corporation is the producer of Sarangani Bay Prime Bangus or milkfish, which in the Philippines is food for the millions! A […]

27 April 2010 N12 55.589 E123 34.459 – Woodland Resort, Donsol We have not been to the Butanding Festival since 2003. It was exciting to be here again during the festivities and the fluvial parade was not to be missed. We went to Donsol via night bus from Manila. It was a 12 hour drive to […]

24 – 27 April 2010 N12 55.589 E123 34.459 – Woodland Resort, Donsol To address some important questions about where sharks spend their time and what habtitats are important to them, a whale shark tagging program was set up four years ago in Donsol for whale shark conservation. With funding for megafauna research from WWF Denmark […]

18 – 22 April 2010 N12 13.943 E120 05.304 – Dimakya Island, Club Paradise Some thirteen year ago, Yogi already had a very special relationship with people working in Club Paradise resort, Busuanga, Northern Palawan, Philippines. Interestingly, the same friends he made back then are still there in an industry that is constantly changing and […]

18 – 22 April 2010 N12 13.943 E120 05.304 – Dimakya Island, Club Paradise Many snorkelers and divers quickly swim past seagrass beds without stopping to check out the interesting marine life that live there.  Seagrass beds are very important marine habitats and ecosystems. With their root like stems, which can extend horizontally under the […]

18 – 22 April 2010 N12 13.943 E120 05.304 – Dimakya Island, Club Paradise Dirk Fahrenbach is a dear old friend of Yogi’s. He owns and runs Dugong Dive Center in Club Paradise and we met him in Singapore during ADEX 2010.  Upon finding out what we’ve been up to, Dirk immediately asked when we […]

9 – 11 April 2010 It was a fabulously planned and executed event! Asian Diver Magazine, the organizer of this year’s Asian Dive Expo in Singapore’s Suntec Convention Centre have a lot of kudos going their way for organizing such a brilliant trade show. We were invited to speak for half an hour each day […]

2 April 2010 N14 86.396 E120 79.011 – Kapitangan N14 57.380 E120 53.943 – Baliwag The Philippines is predominantly a Catholic country with a minority of Muslims living in southern Mindanao. The Catholic faith is strong and thriving and Folk Catholicism finds its major outlet during Lent, where traditional Philippine style rituals can be observed in […]

27 – 31 March 2010 N13 44.441 E120 53.580 The charming clownfish finds a symbolic home out of water in this quaint dive resort by the sea in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas.  Club Ocellaris is where I first entered the water with a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus and Boy Venus was there to teach and introduce […]