Panay Explorers Update

[Babydamulag]

Hello All,
We are very proud and very excited to announce the purchase of 4000 square meters of beautiful beachfront land to build our facility. We think it is absolutely stunning. We hope you share in our excitement. Go to our website and look through the pictures of the property. Again, it is very exciting for us. Go to www.panayexplorers.com (http://www.panayexplorers.com) and follow our journey as we build our SCUBA diving resort from the ground up.:)

[Sarah]

BD, your story of a new resort starting to happen from the start makes for some compelling reading!

It will be interesting to watch it happen from the start....keep giving us updates please.

[acelockco]

Very cool! Maybe a group of us will be able to get together there. I am wondering how the fish and reef are, considering the local fishermen with big nets I saw in the photos.

[The Publisher]

Babydamulag,

The Microsoft map image shows Culasi as being on the west side between Sebaste and Luktoga, but I also see a Culasi near a bay on the northside of the Panay Island on a peninsula.

Are there 2 Culasi's on Panay Island?

[Babydamulag]

Okay, to stop the confusion......
Culasi is on the west coast of Panay. It is on the ocean at the midpoint of Antique Province. It is below Pandan and above San Jose. The exact coordinates can be found on our "How To Get There" page of our website. You can fly into Kalibo and drive don the National Highway (west coast) to CUlasi. Wikipedia has a very good write up for Culasi. As for the marine life, look at our photo library and be prepared to be impressed. It is virgin diving country with zero diving pressure and little fishing pressure. The picture with the fisherman depicts a surf net at 5 meters (no coral in the area) to catch small sardine/anchovy type fish.

[Babydamulag]

BD, your story of a new resort starting to happen from the start makes for some compellng reading!

It will be interesting to watch it happen from the start....keep giving us updates please.

We thought the same thing. It seems that it has never been done! We want to show people our progress along the way. It is an effort to share our experiences with our future clientele. Ideas are appreciated!!!!

[Babydamulag]

We hope that you have had a chance to look at our updated website. It is interesting to note that we have discovered many new friends in the diving business that are willing to share their lessons learned. If you know what mistakes NOT to make then share your thoughts and ideas with us. I do not pride myself on "original thought". We willingly listen to others that know better. We plan to blog the actual construction phase and eventual opening. It will be an adventure that's for sure.

[Babydamulag]

http://www.panayexplorers.com/IMG_1260.jpg

[Sarah]

That is some backyard! You might not have to mow the grass, but the fish do need to be fed!

[eelpout]

From Iloilo???

[Babydamulag]

From Iloilo???

The resort will be built in Culasi. The resort is about 3 hours drive from Iloilo.

[Babydamulag]

Just a little update.....We are working on the acquisition of another property and will submit our paperwork for incorporation, licensing, etc. The project is moving pretty fast these days. Come check our website for updates. Our target opening is FEB 09. Expect to see a self-contained facility that can support 40 divers and up to 80 guests. We are very excited.

[Babydamulag]

Two new hot diving destinations in the Philippines. We have whale sharks, mantas, hammerhead, barracauda, nudis of every kind, and pristine coral.

[Babydamulag]

Welcome back to another update for Panay Explorers. We have recently acquired another property. This will allow us to build a 160 meter long reinforced concrete private entrance to our resort. The road will go through a beautiful nippa palm forest. It is very beautiful and will give us controlled access thereby enhancing our physical security for our guests. Got to www.panayexplorers.com (http://www.panayexplorers.com) to see what we are doing these days. Dive to live, live to dive!

[Babydamulag]

We are a new SCUBA resort that will open the doors in Feb 09. We are planning to hire 5 PADI instructors to work on one year contracts. If you are interested then send me a PM. We understand that many instructors are on contract and are always trying to plan their job ahead of time. the instructor must be bilingual. We are specifically looking for instructors that speak German, English, Korean, French, and Tagalog (with dialects is a plus). The employment opportunity will start January 2009. The construction of the dive shop will be completed in NOV 08. We can consider bringing 2 instructors on early. Got to: Panay Explorers (http://www.panayexplorers.com/) to check out our website. Send me a PM, or an email at information@panayexplorers.com (information@panayexplorers.com)

We will talk about compensation, contract rquirements, etc.

Drop us a line.

[Babydamulag]

We just spent a month of serious planning and work to get the resort up and running on time. We are updating the website to reflect the latest information. Go to:www.panayexplorers.com to see what we have been doing. We are working really hard to get things done correctly and on time.

[Babydamulag]

UPDATE FOR PANAY EXPLORERS, INC.

HOME (http://www.panayexplorers.com/index.htm)

December 2007 - January 2008
It is official. Panay Explorers, Inc. is an officially listed company in the Philippines (6 December, 2007- Securities and Exchange Commission # CS200731213). The company has procured approximately one hectare of land for the construction of its SCUBA Diving Hotel and Resort operation. The property has 140 plus meters of beach frontage. During the month of December the team procured an additional 400 square meters of land along the private access road route. The new acquisition of land totals to over one hectare now. Panay Explorers, Inc. has been granted a positive resolution from the Barangay of Caridad and the Municipality of Culasi for operations. The Municipality of Culasi has granted us PIONEER PROJECT STATUS as well. Panay Explorers, Inc. will register with the BOI to attain the benefits derived from PIONEER PROJECT STATUS. As of this writing, the team is working with the architects to finalize the construction drawings for the hotel. The team has completed the construction drawings for the private access road, foreshore lease survey has been completed, land survey (updated), further cleared the property, constructed a native bamboo bridge for limited foot traffic, conducted a preliminary survey of what trees to let stand, identified 18 different species of trees on the property, conducted dive boat maintenance, conducted SCUBA diving reconnaissance along the beach frontage of the property to a depth of 30 meters, discovered three new dive sites and much more.
It is important to note that we have been very successful in following our goal of being eco-friendly, socially responsible, and following good business practices. During the December - January timeframe we employed 25 locals for clearing operations. The team was able to provide additional contributions to the local community by purchasing foodstuffs to feed 25 workers two meals a day and one marienda. Acting a business multiplier for the area, Panay Explorers used the services of many of the local tricycle drivers, purchased tools and an equipment from local vendors, and even used local expertise to determine what area should be used for pier construction. The team worked with local DENR personnel to conduct surveys and foreshore determination. We were very concerned that the pier would interfere with local marine life. As it turns out, we do have to be concerned with harming any marine life with our small pier construction project. The terrain is flat and sandy throughout the proposed area of construction for the pier. Through our contacts from within the LGU's we were able to further get the word out about our project and keep the local populace informed as to what our intentions are for our project.
As for the eco-friendly aspect of our project, we were able to use all of the natural resources that our clearing operations provided us. We had to remove 58 mature coconut trees. The trees generated over 6500 board feet of premium coconut lumber. The same trees provided enough ubod (coconut tree heart) to feed the workers and provided ample leftovers for their families. The trees generated over 500 young coconuts providing enough coconut milk for cooking, drinking, fresh meat for desserts and copra. We were able to use the coconut tree skins for several small temporary construction project on the property (bamboo bridge, nipa hut, etc.). The property yielded enough hardwood to generate over 100 sacks of uring (cooking charcoal). The uring was made on-site by the workers using traditional techniques. The proceeds were split between the workers and Panay Explorers, Inc. We estimate that half of the limbs removed from the trees were used by local families for fire wood in their cooking stoves. The hardwood stumps were removed and trimmed to provide growing area for the over 500 orchids that will go on the hotel grounds. The hardwood trees standing will be removed and the lumber will be used in the construction of the 7 star rooms. The nipa palms that were cut for the right of way were recovered and used on the nipa hut headquarters that we have established on the grounds. The only mechanical device used on the property was the chain saw that was used to cut down the coconut trees and cut the lumber. All other work on the property has been performed with good old human power. We will continue to use human-power as much as possible throughout the project. Our municipality needs jobs and our citizens are not afraid to work!


Our new dive sites need to be further researched and mapped. We have discovered and named three new sites: Atoll, Nablag Sur, and Mararison North. The Atoll dive site is very easy dive at a depth of 16 meters. It is made up of three large rock and coral formations. The structures are sitting in beautiful white sand with no current. The dive site Nablag Sur is a cousin of Nablag Tugpo. We discovered one of its inhabitants to be a very large and wary Napoleon Wrasse. The site is covered with all of the "usual suspects" too. Mararison North is one of our dive sites that must be dived when the winds allow it. It faces open ocean (toward Batbatan Island) and is covered with healthy coral and the normal fish inhabitants. The site due West of the dive site Steps. We will provide more data as we dive these new sites.
What is our next step? The ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate) is the next hurdle for our team. We are working with the LGU's to establish the "standard" for future tourist development in the area. As we pursue our dream we welcome any comments or recommendations you might have as you follow our progress. We are still on track with our plan. Keep checking our website (www.panayexplorers.com (http://www.panayexplorers.com/)) and see what is new. You can expect to see a completely new website within the month.

HOME (http://www.panayexplorers.com/index.htm) | HOW TO GET THERE (http://www.panayexplorers.com/how%20to%20get%20there.htm) | DIVE SITE INFORMATION (http://www.panayexplorers.com/dive_sites_and_scenic_locations.htm) | DIVE SITE PHOTO LIBRARY (http://www.panayexplorers.com/DIVE_SITE_library_start.htm) | MISSION STATEMENT (http://www.panayexplorers.com/mission%20statement.htm) | USEFUL LINKS (http://www.panayexplorers.com/LINKS.htm) | CONTACT US (http://www.panayexplorers.com/contact%20us.htm) | SITE MAP (http://www.panayexplorers.com/SITE%20INDEX%20PAGE.htm)
Copyright © 2005-2008 Panay Explorers, Inc.

[The Publisher]

We're really enjoying the photos, great concept drawing......looks like every room will have an equally great view.

[Babydamulag]

Thanks for the comments. We're going to redo the whole website format pretty soon. I am trying to get the latest information out before we take it all down. Your feedback is appreciated.

[DrBill]

Ah, the Philippines. Warm water, tropical critters and high biodiversity. Some day Babydamulag!