Image courtesy NCCA

The Philippines will host the galleon Andalucía - a replica of a 16th/17th century Manila Galleon. Berthing at Manila Harbor, guests and visitors will be able to board the ship and walk through history. With the exception of two diesel engines (for times when there is no wind) and minimal other modern navigation & communications technology, the galleon Andalucía is sailed in almost exactly the same way as the famed Manila Galleons of four hundred years ago.

In this first UNESCO-endorsed Día del Galeón Festival year, the Philippines will reclaim its rightful place as one of the centers of global trade and cultural transmission.

Believed to be a World First, Cloud 9, Siargao, will be open for night surfing, 365 days a year, from October, 2010. Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has confirmed that he will break a ceremonial surfboard at the venue to publicize the Cloud 9 Night Surfing project.

Construction of a lifeguard & floodlight tower commenced this week along the reef and is scheduled for completion before the end of October. Every night, nine thousand watts of floodlighting will illuminate the World famous surf break at Cloud 9 to allow for safe surfing under the watchful eye of lifeguards. It is also planned to install an Internet connected IP camera at the site, so if you can’t get there you will be able to watch those who do.

Image courtesy NCCA

The Día del Galeón Festival celebrates the unique journey of the Manila galleons and their place in maritime history - spanning the globe and linking the Philippines with Mexico and Spain. For 250 years (from 1565 – 1815) the Manila galleons were a conduit for global trade and cultural exchange between Europe, the New World and Asia.

In October 2009 UNESCO recognized the unique part the Manila galleons played in the globalization of trade and cultural exchange by declaring 8th October as the international “Día del Galeón” (day of the galleon). Motivated by Senator Edgardo Angara, the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in conjunction with the embassies of Spain and Mexico, spearheaded the creation of a month-long series of events that will span the traditional galleon trade route through the Philippines.

Image courtesy Billabong Australia

UPDATE 7TH AUGUST 2010: THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED

[Originally published June 2010] The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational surfing cup on Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte, is the most eagerly awaited surfing event in Asia – mainly because of the uniqueness of the Cloud 9 break but the idyllic tropical island location, combined with the laid-back Siargao Island lifestyle, has a lot to do with it.

An international cast of surfers from Australia, Bali, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Hawaii and the Philippines are the typical line-up for international surfing cup events at Cloud 9, Siargao, and if a typhoon happens to pass by then everyone will be literally on Cloud 9.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

Living Asia, one of Asia’s premier travel & tourism promoters, spent a week during May discovering the travel & tourism investment opportunities and activities in the province of Davao Del Norte. Their production will premiere in the Philippines and Asia-wide on cable and television channels during August, 2010.

The Living Asia crew traveled throughout Davao Del Norte and: experienced, the beautiful rivers, beaches and waterways; learned the myriad of ways to use bananas (ripe and ruined), grasses and other fruits; explored plantations, factories and ports; and, they discovered the sometimes surprising history of this vibrant and culture-rich corner of the Philippines.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The All Souls Regatta 2010 in Puerto Galera will be the largest All Souls Regatta yet organized, the news that the Philippine Hobie 16 fleet (from Taal Lake Yacht Club) will be joining the racing & cruising keelboats and multihulls is a guarantee of extra color and fun during this legendary sailing event.

The All Souls Regatta was first held in Puerto Galera, in 2004. It was specifically designed to be the first sailing regatta of each Philippine racing season. The Philippine racing season starts with the arrival of the drier northeast monsoon in October and runs until the following May, when the wetter southwest monsoon blows in . . . competitive sailing still continues throughout the year around the Philippines but the southwest monsoon weather keeps some of the less hardy sailors at home.

Image courtesy Girlie Cervantes

Competitive sailing flourishes in Subic Bay in August with two weekend regattas: the Lighthouse Marina Resort Ninoy Aquino Anniversary Invitational Regatta; and, the Philippine National Hero’s Day Invitational Regatta. The best of the racing and competitive cruising sail boats will be in Subic Bay for these events.

Organized by the Saturday Afternoon Gentleman Sailors (SAGS), supported by The Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel and the Subic Bay Yacht Club, these two regattas will feature races around Subic Bay and possibly (weather permitting) to some of the nearby islands outside the bay area. Winds in August can be somewhat unpredictable so courses will be set on-the-day to suit the forecast conditions.

Image/Video courtesy Martyn Willes

Every day at sundown, when all God fearing citizens of the World are contemplating retirement to the safety of varietous shelters, the 1.8 million inhabitants of the Monfort Bat Cave are just waking to the opportunity of emergence into a night-long feast on their favourite prey: nectar and fruit . . . lots of nectar and fruit. The Monfort Bat Cave on Samal Island is home to the largest colony of fruit bats in the world (see previous World record article).

On one not-so-moonlit evening in June the GetWet camera crew braved torrential rain to bring you this 2-minute video-segment of the “bat emergence” – an event that actually spans approximately three hours, starting with one or two fruit bats gingerly inspecting the fresh air outside the cave entrance and then calling back to their friends and colleagues with a semi-audible “all-clear”.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The new airport - Laguindingan International Airport - under construction in barangay Moog, Laguindingan, is currently a scar on the landscape on the northern tip of Misamis Oriental. It is expected that this new airport will become a major hub for export of agricultural and trade products, and for the import of tourists to the areas around Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City.

As you fly North from Davao to Cebu you may see Laguindingan International Airport off the port wingtip (you have to sit in an “A” seat). The photograph accompanying this new airport news item was taken just a few weeks ago and shows the runway all but complete, with only the runway direction numbers missing.

Image courtesy Asian Bird Fair

The 1st Asian Bird Fair will be held in Davao City later this year in conjunction with birdwatching clubs from: Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and Singapore. The plan is to promote birdwatching as a eco-adventure, recreational sport and to: encourage international friendship, collaboration and the exchange of experience & best practices among the birdwatching clubs of Asia; foster bird-watching as an eco-tourism activity; highlight bird festivals, bird fairs and bird races in the Asia region; and, promote the host cities/countries – their natural beauty, eco-adventure activities, wild bird conservation and cultural heritage.

In conjunction with the 1st Asian Bird Fair, a birdwatching adventure tour will take place in the forests and wetlands of the provinces of Bukidnon and Surigao del Sur, to the North & West of Davao City.