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Uwe Nehls, founder and managing director of Schoener
Tauchen, visited Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort over
Christmas and New Year with his family and friends.
During this holidays the older son David get certified
as a Junior Open Water Diver and the younger son Peter
as a Bubblemaker, congratulation!
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Former Siquijor branch manager visited Sea Explorers and
Pura Vida. Marcel & Joanne Kestenholz with their kids
Miguel and Xenia spent their holidays in Negros and
Siquijor.
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Some impressions from the Pura Vida Christmas
party 2007
Jesse, the Filippino Santa Claus
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Mary Ann in action. A little bit unconventional way to
eat an apple
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Orphanage children from Dumaguete with an enjoyable
singing and dancing performance
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Ifugao native dance performance of the restaurant team
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Sexy dancers from the Pool Bar
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A tragic-humorous presentation of the Reception and
Maintenance Department
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Two additional new Deluxe rooms are now available in
Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort.
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Proud father: Chris son JR passed
his CMAS 3* and SSI Dive Control Specialist
certifications at
SUBEX Red Sea in Egypt, congratulation!
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Mixed IDC-Class in December im Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort with Andrea from Germany, Michael from Canada,
Chris from South Korea and Remo from Switzerland. On the
picture together with PADI Examiner George Wegmann and
the Course Directors Raphael Virchaux and Chris Heim.
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Paul
Munzinger, well known German underwater journalist and
author, visited Sea Explorers again in December and went
on safari with a group of friends. They visited Moalboal
and Dauin-Dumaguete area on their trip.
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Like in the passed years Tauchsport Klose from Austria
came for Island Hopping in 2007 with different groups.
Karin and Wolfgang were guiding their guests personally
through the Visayas and visited all our branches.
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3rd anniversary party beginning of December in Pura Vida
Beach & Dive Resort. It was also Sea Explorers branch
manager Hervé’s last evening before his family holidays
in France.
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New outfit for our Vida Spa therapists Jenny, Claret and
Grace.
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Always fun to have our repeating guests and friends
Biggi and Hardy Zielauf from Germany back on board.
On their last evening in Pura Vida they invited the
Sea Explorers staff for free beer, thanks a lot we
really appreciate that
J!
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1. ASIA PREMIERE DIVE
The biggest event in Sea Explorers history started
on November 22 in Cebu City.
The first ASIA PREMIERE DIVE of ROGER TOURS,
Germany, with 65 participants was welcome by an
official reception at the airport and transported in
3 groups with 3 busses to Marco Polo Plaza. The
first evening was organized and sponsored by DOT
(Philippine Department of Tourism) with colorful
polo-shirts and hats, delicious dinner buffet and
cultural dance performance. Following DOT and Cebu
officials were present: Dawnie Roa, Laani Jaraplasan,
Cynthia Carrion, Agnes Almendras Magpale, Verna
Covar-Buensuceso and Ina Asirit.
The 3 groups visited our branches in Cabilao, Dauin
und Malapascua. One group could not go up to
Malapascua due to the weather conditions and went to
Moalboal instead. About half of the 65 guests are
spending an extension week at Alona Beach.
For more pictures please click here
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Michael Meier of diving school Poseidon, Zollikon-Zurich,
Switzerland visited us in November with a group of
ten friends in Dauin-Dumaguete and in Cabilao. On
the picture during briefing and welcome drink in
Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort.
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Sensational encounter again in Dauin
The
Poison Ocellate Octopus (Octopus
mototi) was discovered first time in Dauin
area on a sandy slope close to Pura Vida Beach &
Dive Resort. Roan
Stoel and Janny Hadderingh together with dive guide
Daniel Wernli were even able to get the first shots
of this rare specie. Some more pictures of different
rare creatures in Dauin area you can find in our
forum.
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Beginning of November
André
Baerlocher and
Urs Zbinden
from Berne region in Switzerland were certified in
Pura Vida by Course Director Chris as PADI Master
Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT). Both of them did already
their IDC with Chris a few years ago in the
Philippines. They
were now able to climb another step upwards in their
Dive Instructor career by passing 5 Specialty
Instructor Courses, congratulation!
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Hiroshi Karube, a Japanese Diving Instructor living
in Manila, visited Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort
with a group beginning of November.
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Phil & Marilyn Hiatt, Underwater-Journalists from
UK
visited us for several times already in the Philippines. Their last article
which was released in the September edition of the
Sport Diver Magazine can be gleaned on their webpage
www.philhiatt.com
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New Boule court in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort
In October we opened a new Boule court on the beach
at Pura Vida. The pictures show style studies of
Hervé (in classic-french style since he is a
compatriot of the world best Boule players) and
Chris (sporty-elegant) and the winners of the first
competition.
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As well not for the first time we get visited by
Doris Schirl and Peter Sacher from Abyss Divers Linz
(Austria) with a big group. They were diving around
Moalboal, Dumaguete, Siquijor and Cabilao. One of
the dive groups was already very lucky on their
first diving day in Moalboal when they had a whale
shark encounter.
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The Diving Club Winterthur (Switzerland)
went on safari with Sea Explorers. The group is
guided through the Visayas by Lee, Ray and Bileg and
they were visiting our branches in Moalboal, Cabilao
and Dumaguete.
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The smiling
fish and its model
Sea Explorers’
smiling fish get visited by its model Joy Kohler-Jipulan.
Together with her husband Beat “Bonzai”, the
designer of the fish and creator of our slogan “dive
with a smile”, and the three children spent their
autumn holidays in the Visayas after a few years
break. The picture was taken on a dive at Pura Vida
house reef beside the newly sunk easy ride.
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Katja and Peter Kobelt spent their honeymoon at Pura
Vida Beach & Dive Resort and ended their stay with a
romantic candle light dinner at the beach.
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Massage Therapy Training in Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort:
The training seminar at Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort was conducted by the Massage Therapy
Consultants Ted and Tess of SIVI Career Development
Center in Manila.
Beside our three therapists of Vida Spa Claret,
Grace and Jenny also Patricia Acker from Manta Ray
Bay Hotel in Yap participated in the training. The
massage modalities included were:
1. Swedish
2. Japanese Shiatsu
3. Harmony (combination of Swedish and Shiatsu)
4. Aromatherapy
5. Thai
6. Philippine Traditional Hilot
7. Stone Therapy
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Visit of Schoener
Tauchen Switzerland Staff in Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort:
Doris Boccali (lady in the warm jacket), a travel
agent of Schoener Tauchen Switzerland, spent her
diving holidays together with her friend Michael
Wettstein in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. On the
picture together with Pascale from our head office
in Cebu City.
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September 2007
International
Cleanup Day in Dauin on September 15
This event was
organised by Sea Explorers Dauin and we were able to
cleanup our beach and also another dive site located
outside Dauin, the Ducomi Pier, they allowed us to
do so and were very happy that we ask for it. At the
end of the day, a team of 10 divers on 2 dive sites
and 15 members of Sea Explorers and Pura Vida Beach
& Dive Resort, were able to collect a total amount
of 79 kg of waste from the sea and the land. 48 kg
were taken from the sea and 31 kg were collected on
the beach. It was a nice event and everybody was
very happy and proud of their efforts that day.
Thanks to Jimmy Christrup, our new PADI Regional
Manager who help us in this event.
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More comfortable pick-up and transfer to and from
Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort:
A
new, bigger and more comfortable car is in service
now in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort for the
convenient transfers of our guests.
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Last destination of the Sea Explorers Easy Ride:
The Sea Explorers Easy Ride, which transported
hundreds of divers in Dauin area in the last years,
found his final destination in about twenty meters
depth in front of Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. As
a new artificial Reef it will be home now for
different kinds of fish.
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Sea Explorers Manager Meeting in Pura Vida Beach &
Dive Resort end of August. All branch managers
assembled in Dauin to discuss about the coming high
season, new strategies and standards of the company.
During the business lunch the new Pura Vida
specialty “Swiss holes” was served, it looked that
Martin enjoyed it.
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Bill Acker the “MANTA MAN” together with his wife
Patricia, the owners of Manta Ray Bay Hotel and Yap
Divers in
Yap,
Micronesia
visited Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in August.
Chris and Martin know them well from the diving
fairs in Europe and Chris was visiting them last
year in Yap. They are also member of
Quality Divers.
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First helicopter landing in front of Pura Vida Beach
& Dive Resort. Max Raetz, a longtime Swiss friend of
Chris was visiting in August and invited him and his
family for a round trip flight over Dauin and Apo Island.
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A new unique culinary specialty is now available in
the Pura Vida restaurant – Swiss holes – derived
from a Swiss specialty in
Basel
area. The platter will be served either with
chicken, beef or sea foods with the sauce of your
choice.
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Again a young newly wed couple in Pura Vida Beach &
Dive Resort. Rilana and Matthias Faisst from Switzerland combined their Honeymoon with diving
holidays in Negros. |
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Becky Chan, PADI instructor and a long time friend
of us visited us again in Pura Vida with some
friends from Hongkong and mainland China .
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A new generator (125kW) in Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort will serve our facility with power more
reliable and quiet during brown outs and low
voltages.
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Swiss National Day party as well in Pura Vida Beach
& Dive Resort as well on August 1.
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August 2007
Our very regular repeaters Monika and Franz
Giovanoli from Switzerland visited us this time
together with their sons Pascal and for the first
time also Patrick.
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Daniel Strub and his Philippine wife Annabel from
the French speaking part of Switzerland visited together with their friends
our branches in Malapascua,
Alona
Beach and Dauin-Dumaguete.
They were accompanied by Hervé, our branch manager
in Dauin and good friend of Daniel and Annabel.
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Annabel Strub and Aurelie Picaud enjoy their first
diving experiences in the Pura Vida swimming pool
together with our instructor B-Bing.
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The Open Water Diver blessing of Stephane Progin is
conducted by his Instruktor B-Bing in Dauin.
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July 2007
Spectacular sand diving in Dauin:
It’s approved again that even diving just on a sandy
slope without any corals can be very fascinating.
Just beside Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort some rare
species like Hairy Frogfish (antennarius striatus)
on the picture together with a Painted Frogfish (antennarius
pictus), Wunderpus and even Mimic octopus were
encountered the last days and weeks.
(for some more pictures please check our forum)
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Like every year in summertime another interesting
and colorful spectacle can be observed in some sandy
diving areas in Dauin. On a few spots several fire
urchins are gathering and juvenile imperator
snappers are seeking sanctuary between the spines.
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Family Loosli from
Switzerland
together with Jeanine Murer visited several Sea
Explorers destinations. On July 20 Samuel celebrated
his 18th birthday in Pura Vida,
congratulation again. On the picture present with
Christine Cardo and the dive guides Chito and
Carlos.
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The students
Chul-Wook Kim, Ji Hyeong Heo,
Hee Gyo Jang, Jimin Hwang, Woo Sub Choi and Jae-Hun
Chung from
Korea
enjoyed their first diving experience together with
B-Bing and Chris in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort.
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As well good friends and very regular guests for
many years are Ulrike and Uwe Rzeha from Germany. This
time they visited Cabilao and Dauin. Uwe is a well
known underwater photographer and won several awards
already. A portfolio of him can be visited at
www.aurumspace.com . |
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June / July 2007
Our long time Swiss friends Max Zuercher, who is
living in Florida
and Rolf Stampfli who is based in Australia visited us in Dauin again.
Rolf and Chris have met each other the first time
exactly 20 years ago in Moalboal.
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Dexter Yeung and his friends Ivan, Mars, Candy and
Billy from Hong Kong spent a few days in Pura Vida
Beach & Dive Resort and were diving in Apo Island
and Dauin area.
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For the second time already Anita & Daniel Filippi
together with Sylvia & Francois (Sam) Fiechter from
Basel area in Switzerland
spend their diving holidays Sea Explorers. This time
they are visiting our branches in Malapascua,
Cabilao and Dauin-Dumaguete.
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May / June 2007
As
well repeaters and good friends from Bern area in
Switzerland, the honeymooners Sonja and Rene
Hiltbrand-Caletti and “almost” honeymooners Regula
and Rony Steimle. After a nice diving day trip to Apo Island
the well deserved San Miguel Light in the pool.
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Nina Carpio and friends from
Manila visited Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort and enjoyed a day trip to Apo Island
for their first time.
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Always very welcome in the Sea explorers family are
our German friends Rosi and Georg Heinze. For many
years they are visiting some of our branches
regularly. Thank you very much for your continuous
loyalty and all the presents every time you visit us
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Robi Frommenwiler from Schoener Tauchen Switzerland went with a group on
safari in May with Sea Explorers. They are visiting
Moalboal, Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in Dauin and
Jollibee in Dumaguete
City (2nd picture) and then
Cabilao and as the last destination
Alona
Beach.
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April 2007
Tanja
& Alois Lautner and friends from the diving club
Scubbuddies in Erlangen, Germany
are hopping from Moalboal to Dauin, then to Cabilao and
as the last destination they are choosing Malapascua. |
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Also
in this year Marianne and Georges Goette from Coral
Tours in Switzerland are
going on safari with Sea Explorers. With a big group
mostly from Basel area they are
visiting Dauin, Cabilao and Malapascua. |
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Record holder in Sea Explorers safari matters is without
a doubt Tauchsport
Kaeser
from Bern,
Switzerland. Since 15
years Olga
and Heinz are traveling regularly to the Visayas with
groups. This year they started in Moalboal, continued to
Siquijor and Dauin and ended the safari in Cabilao.
Thank you very much for the long-standing loyalty! |
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Paul Darden and his group from
Belgium visited our branches at
Alona
Beach, Siquijor and Dauin
the first two weeks in April.
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Visitors from Diving Club
Solothurn,
Switzerland.
Karin and Christian Uldry met their club mate Rolf
in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort and enjoyed an
after dive beer in the pool.
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Claire and Ziad El Zein from
Key Largo travel agency in France,
Marine Biologist Steven Weinberg and his wife
Marie-Xavier and the famous Turkish underwater
photographer Alptekin Baloglu visited together with
a group the Visayas. Some of the group members
visited first Malapascua Island
before they reached Negros.
In Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort after the daily
dives, Steven conducted some lectures on marine
biology. On the last evening Steven and Alptekin
showed a selection of their best pictures taken in
the last days.
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Very regular guests already from
Erlangen area in Germany.
Doris and Martin Jaegers of Sailfish Diving visited
with a group, fortunately most of them repeating
guests, first Pura Vida
Beach & Dive Resort
and then Cabilao Beach Club.
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Not only on the snowboard also under water in his
element: Philipp Schoch and buddy during a dive in
Dauin area.
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Double Olympia
champion in snowboard Philipp Schoch from Switzerland dives with Sea
Explorers!
Philipp and his girl friend Sandra Huber visited
Sandra’s brother Mirco (dive instructor with Sea
Explorers) in the
Philippines
and did some courses with him at our branch in Alona Beach.
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Two new PADI Divemasters.
Manuela Raemy and Patrick Zbinden from Switzerland passed their divemaster
course with assistant manager of Dauin branch Mr.
Lee, congratulation!
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Anke and Rainer Lange and their daughters Katharina
and Johanna, Susanne and Marcus Erb and Susanne
Grosse, together with Frank Thomas and daughter
Alyssia from Germany are
spending already for many years the diving holidays
with Sea Explorers. We are always very happy to have
you here with us!
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“Schoener
Tauchen“-Safari group picture with wet feet. On the
way from Moalboal to Dauin the group was visiting
the
Kawasan
Falls. Even with wet feet
the mood was great.
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Eight members (Alain, Christian, Jean Claude, Luc,
Ludovic and 3 x Michel) of the “Club d’Exploration
Sous-Marine d’Aquitaine” from
Bordeaux
in
France
are spending their diving holidays in Pura Vida
Beach & Dive Resort.
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In the April edition of the German magazine
“tauchen“
you can find an interesting article with
beautiful pictures about the Pier in Bacong written
by the Swiss editor and UW-photographer
Fredy
Brauchli, a regular guest of Sea Explorers.
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NEW!!
Four different, colorful Sea Explorers stickers,
designed by our Assistant Manager in Dauin Mr. Lee,
are available now for free in all our branches.
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March 2007
Alois Maenner from our agent “Bunte Urlaubswelt” in
Austria
visits with his group our branches in Malapascua, Alona Beach
and Dauin.
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On March 13 Ludwig Haslauer can celebrate his
TENANDFORtieth birthday in Pura Vida Beach & Dive
Resort with a lechon party and firework,
congratulation and all the best!
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John Swinnen and group from
Belgium
started their holidays with Sea Explorers at Alona Beach,
then they continued to Dauin and finish their stay
with thresher sharks and mantas in Malapascua.
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Christl Van Zandbergen and group from
Belgium
are our guests in
Alona
Beach and Dauin. On the
picture together with Danielle and Jose Sola from France.
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Oswald “Ossi” Pohn and friends from
Linz and Kaernten area in
Austria
visited our branches in Moalboal and Dauin and some
group members continued as well to Cabilao.
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February 2007
Volker Rohe, a very frequent Sea Explorers guest and enthusiastic
UW-photographer, achieved the
first place
in the “tauchen”
reader photo competition in January 2007. The
awarded image shows a couple of Coleman shrimps in a
fire urchin and was taken last year in Cabilao with
a Canon D70 SLR Digital camera in a Sealux housing.
Congratulation!
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Simon and Marc Goss from Germany get certified as Advanced Open Water and Nitrox Divers by our Instructor Mr. Lee during their two weeks stay in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort, congratulation! |
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Florence Vuillemier and Matthias Wirz from Switzerland get certified in February as PADI
Dive masters by Matthias Grieder in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. Congratulation and all the best in their future diving career! |
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For the second time JJ Brandt Corstius, Managing Director of Scott Haldane Foundation in the Netherlands and Harm Kahmann (ENT-Specialist) are conducting a Diving Medical Seminar for doctors in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in February. There was even some time left for diving. Some of the doctors even start their diving career during the seminar week with our instructors B-Bing, Lee and WäWä.
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Happy faces after the successful PADI Instructor Examination beginning of February in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. Sara Kuepfer, Andreas Keller, Michael Go, Michael Meding, Peter Huebscher, Vicente“Borge” Reyes together with PADI Examiner Gary Cruea, Course Director Gabrielle Banister and Master Instructor Raphael Virchaux. |
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January 2007
Peter Brakhoff of Sailfish Diving and his friends from Erlangen area in Germany visited Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in January 2007. |
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Alexey Seleznev and his group from Tomck in Western Siberia visited our branches in Malapascua and Dauin-Dumaguete in January 2007. |
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December 2006
The fourth and last Austrian group of Tauchsport Klose for this season spent their new-year’s eve at Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort before they moved to their last destination Moalboal. |
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A nice surprise during the Christmas dinner in the Pura Vida restaurant. Cute singers from an orphanage in Dumaguete were presenting some songs and dances. |
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Klose group No. 3 on island hopping tour. Starting in Moalboal last week of November they visit Dauin-Dumaguete, Siquijor and Alona Beach on their trip and end up in Cabilao middle of December. |
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| The first three November weeks the Klose group No. 2 with 15 guests from Austria and Germany is hopping around the islands. All Sea Explorers destinations except Malapascua are on the schedule. |
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An old but restaurated ”piece of art” is in duty now. Sea Explorers Dauin-Dumaguete has a new, typically Philippine transportation, an original Jeepney. After a complete overhaul and renewal the car is artistically decorated with a complete coral reef by the local artist Troy Antipolo. |
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End of November another Sea Explorers IDC starts in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. After the IE four candidates achieved the goal to be a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, congratulation! On the picture from the left: Master Instructor Raphael Virchaux, Thomas Christen, Steffi Gisler, Mirco Huber, David Forster, PADI Examiner George Wegmann and Course Director Chris Heim. |
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The new building in front of the reception of Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort is completed. More office space and a small souvenir shop with internet station is located on the ground floor and the office of our Webmaster and IT-Specialist Florian Obermaier is in the tower. |
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On December 19, during the Christmas party of Pura Vida and Sea Explorers Staff, the new Miss Pura Vida 2006 was elected. After a few different tasks the four judges announced out of the seven contestants Maria Rolyn Cardo as the new Miss Pura Vida, 1st runner up Rechiel Dizon and 2nd runner up Jackilyn Credo. Congratulation! |
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November 2006
End of October beginning of November Adriana Klerkx and John Bolle from Belgium are visiting our branches in Moalboal, Dauin-Dumaguete and Malapascua with a group of 20 divers. |
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October 2006
Reto Luethi and Matthias Wirz are visiting Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in October and do some courses. Matthias is an old friend of Martin and Chris and grew up in the same village. |
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