Southern Leyte

Panaon Island Philippines

September 6, 2015 by Exploretraveler.com Leave a Comment

Panaon Island Philippines

Panaon Island is a special island that is surrounded by Mindanao Deep. This area is often visited by magnificent pods of Dolphins and schools of impressive Whales. What a morning this is! How amazed you are as you return home from a night of fishing! What magnificent creatures you have just seen! How awesome it is to return home through these deep blue waters! Welcome to a life in a tropical paradise. Welcome to Panaon Island.

Have you ever desired to dive in an area where the land is lightly touched by commercial interests? Have you dreamed of going where people are still real and genuinely friendly? Would you like to dive where the coral reefs are amazing? Do you desire to see water that radiates a deep blue. If you want to dive in the land of paradise, come dive around Panaon Island. Panaon Island has the biggest reefs in Southern Leyte. Come join us in the land of paradise!

Standing tall between the mainland of Southern Leyte and Panaon Island is Wana bridge. It is a beautiful steel bridge that is now called Diosdado Macapagal Bridge. It is under this magnificent bridge that some the most amazing drift dives in the Philippines takes place. Here in this amazing channel, you will find dives that have no words. Under the bridge is where it all happens. It is challenging and exhilarating! This area has strong alternating currents! This is not a dive for the novice! Panaon Island is surrounded by some of the most fabulous coral reefs. Not only is the water is filled with rich coral reefs but there are also many caves in the area. If you are an experienced diver, then this is the dive of your dreams!

Panaon Island is home to some amazing people. For them, the island is paradise! Life is simple, serene,extremely peaceful and laid back, Many of the people are farmers or fisherman. Life revolves around the land or the sea. There is a steady and simple rhythm to life here in Panaon, Philippines.

The farmers revolves their whole day around the plants of the field. When it is time to plant or harvest things are busy. The rest of the year the day is simple and restful. In order to be a farmer in Panaon, Philippines, you must be able to live a quiet life, void of a lot of outside stimulus.

For the fisherman, the day revolves around the see. The sea is beautiful, it is lustrous, waiting for you to discover it. For the fisherman the whole night is spent on the fantastic waves. They quietly wait to hear or see a school of fish. They fish all night and come home the next morning to sleep. While they sleep, others clean the boats and mend the nets. Setting up for the next night. It is a simple life but a rewarding one.

The pier is a beautiful boulevard for strolling, or jogging. It has just the right amount of atmosphere for couples to enjoy a quiet night out. The sea is beautiful and the sunsets are amazing. The luster of the waterr is waiting to be discovered. Romance is in the air. Some modern amenities are coming to Panaon Island, but for the most part it is still quiet and peaceful. Here you will find a way of life that has changed little over the years. If you have a yearning for nature and simpler times, you will love Panaon Island.

Panaon Island is beautiful, peaceful, friendly, and inviting. The residents are waiting to introduce you to their island. Whether, you are a diver who is looking for the perfect drift diving, or an adventurer looking for natures best, Pananon Island is the perfect vacation. All that is missing is you!

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Sogod Bay Southern Leyte, Philippines

March 24, 2015 by Exploretraveler.com Leave a Comment

Treasuring the moment as evening sets at Sogod Bay in the Philippines

Sogod Bay As The Evening Sets

Sogod Bay, as the evening sets, is so beautiful. When you look across the bay, the water is so blue that it blends into the sky. Can you picture watching the sunset across the bay? What majestic beauty! The perfect end, to a delightful day.

Watching the natural beauty of the bay is a fantastic experience, but it does not end there. As beautiful as the bay is, there is more! Sogod Bay is an underwater paradise teaming with soft and hard corals. These waters are home to an endless variety of beautiful marine life – all waiting to be explored. With extraordinary reefs, divers delight in beds of coral with amazing and steep drop-offs. For the more experience diver, there are shelves and walls to delight you. On the floor of the bay there is black sand teeming with life. This is the other side of Sogod Bay!

What might you see on the underwater side of the bay? First you will notice an awesome cover of soft coral with beds of hard coral. As you move through the coral beds you may see the shrimp fish, the pipe fish, the frog fish, and the bat fish. There are so many amazing creatures for us to see. You might see Sea turtles and lion fish. There is a Charismatic Signal gobie fish that lives on the sandy seabeds. They mimic the eye spots and claws of a crab. This is their built in way to fight off predators. It is amazing what you can see and this is just the beginning. If you have a trained eye, you may spot the frog fish and the scorpion fish waiting to ambush an unsuspecting predator. The blue-spotted Ribbon Tail Rays are extraordinary. Large families of snapper run through the reefs and are awesome to watch. If you watch you may see the odd looking Dogtooth Tuna or a Great Barracuda.

Not only is Sogod Bay a divers paradise, but it is a snorkelers dream. Because of the massive numbers of plankton in these waters, the Whale Shark also calls this their home between November and April as they drift through the bay on their migratory route. There are many snorkeling trips that seek out opportunities for snorkelers to swim with the Whale Shark. These huge sharks move with a smooth continuous motion, making very little noise. Those who have had the privaledge to swim with these magnificant creatures of the sea, know that it will take all your best swimming skills to keep up.

Not only is Sogod awesome for the tourist looking for peaceful sunsets and an awesome beach, it is a delight to the photographer. Underwater photographers often return multiple times to the same spot or shelf to get as many of the different shots available. Sogod is an underwater photographers dream, with an unlimited number of wide angle shots.

What are you waiting for? Make this the year you discover Sogod Bay Southern Leyte, Philippines. Grab your passport and pack your bags.

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Nipa Huts: Traditional Filipino Rural Living

January 27, 2015 by Exploretraveler.com Leave a Comment

Nipa Hut in the Philippines — Traditional Filipino Nipa Hut

Traditional Nipa Huts in the Philippines

Nipa Huts are a living symbol of rural life in the Philippines. It is the home of yesterday that has changed and survived even until today. Nipa Huts or Bahay Kubos are an icon of Philippine rural living. They are built differently in different areas, according to the conditions and circumstances of the area. Nipa Huts are a living Pilipino icon.

There is no real definition of how a Nipa Hut is made, but there are several things that most have in common. The conditions in the Philippine lowlands have led to some basic similarities. Most of these huts are built-in three layers. Depending on whether they are in or near water. Most Nipa huts are built on stilts. Since most of the island has water to deal with, usually the bottom part of the hut allows the water to freely go under the hut. This is true especially near the coast and in boggy areas. There are a few exceptions to this rule in modern times, but it is followed even today in most areas. Only some of the materials have changed. Today, often the stilts are simple concrete cinder blocks rather than the traditional hardwood. Regardless of the materials used, the benefit to this style is protection from floods and also it keeps small animals out of the living area, such as rats.

Above the stilts is the living area or the tagalong. This area is accessed by a ladder. It is built open and is well ventilated to help keep the home cooler and to allow natural light to penetrate the home. They often have bamboo slats for floors, which allow the cool air to come up from the silong. The Philippines is very hot and humid, so the traditional Nipa hut allows for cooling. There may or may not be a ceiling. Often times the ceiling is not built to allow the hot air to rise and leave through the roof.

The roof is usually tall and steeply pitched, creating a space above the living area for the hot air to go. They are built with thatch, a material that is readily available. This gives the hut a cooling effect in the long hot humid summers. These roofs also were the reason many of these small huts survived the ash fall from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. Many more modern homes succumbed to the weight of the ash and collapsed.

While modern Nipa huts have changed, the design has stayed basically the same. The walls are often built with bamboo rods or mats to allow the house to be cool in the hot summers and warm in the rainy season. They are still built-in a square shape and are left open for light and coolness. The windows are large to help give light and often are held open with a long bamboo rod, to allow for air flow. This is the modern Nipa hut—an icon that has survived and adapted over time.

On your next trip to the Southern Leyte, Philippines, take a trip to the rural areas and see living Filipino history. History is alive in the Philippines, so pack your bag and grab your passport. Make this the year you explore the Southern Leyte, Philippines.

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