She sells seashells...

Yes she does, this girl from Gaspar Island, but big ones like these are getting harder to find.

Normally washed up on the Marinduque shores are the small ones that children collect, play with or turn into garden or house decors.

Hidden beach with a past, Gaspar Island

On a small strip of white sand beach mantled with crushed corals hidden along the southern part of Gaspar Island (one of Tres Reyes (Three Kings) Islands off Gasan), one feels completely isolated from the rest of the world.

This island figured prominently in the journal by a French naturalist who explored Marinduque in 1881, Alfred Marche. He may have referred to the crevice from where the above photo was taken: "About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the sea being calm, on another exploration of the coast, we visited a few crevices and discovered a grotto, the entrance of which was hidden by debris produced by a volcanic convulsion... I entered and, having the ground dug, I found out that the bottom was carpeted with a bed of skulls slightly covered by madreporic debris and sand." (Marche)

10th Philippine Hobie Challenge - Marinduque Leg

Marinduque is one of several island hosts to the 10th Philippine Hobie Challenge earlier this year. Leg 1 of the race was from Laiya to Marinduque. Powered by easterly Amihan monsoon winds the fleet made rapid progress on a bearing of 129 degrees across the southern reaches of Tayabas Bay. The lead boats sailed on the open waters at 16 Knots ahead of the competitors to lay the buoys for the Gasan gate and Katala Beach finish.

PHC reported that "in the lee of Marinduque, with it’s mountainous peaks of over 1,000 metres slowing down the wind, former grand master World Champion Bruce Tardrew displayed his experience and cunning nearly overhauling defending champion Engwirda in the final 5 nm.

Engwirda however put in an extra squirt of speed at the end to finish just over a minute ahead. These two Australian teams were a full 12 minutes clear of 3rd placed Andrew Locke, also representing Australia.

Bob Engirda’s overall time of 2 Hrs 46 Min and 34 Sec equated to an incredible average speed of 13.3 Knots for the 36.9 nm leg, including the final 5 miles in light and variable winds.

The final team was ashore and enjoying a cool beer at the Katala Beach Resort within half an hour and joining the enthusiastic welcome from our hosts in Marinduque with dancing and singing on the beach.

Governor Bong Carrion hosted a sumptuous dinner for the competitors and support crews that evening as the full moon rose in the heavens."

The sailors were treated to the traditional "putong" welcome ritual at Katala Beach Resort in Pinggan. The 10th PHC covered Laiya, Marinduque, Romblon, Tablas and Boracay. Sponsors were Fairways & Bluewater, HobieCat Australia, Villa Maria and Margrita, Seair, Petron and the Department of Tourism in cooperation with the Provincial Government of Marinduque.

Behind Extreme Marinduque

Some of those behind MARINDUQUE EXTREME: Dr. Josue Victoria, Atty. Allan "P.A." Velaso, Joven Lilles and Gerry Jamilla.

MARINDUQUE EXTREME

"MARINDUQUE EXTREME SERIES 2" goes on Saturday morning, November 28th. The race will occur at the very heart of an old mine site in Capayang, Mogpog. The lake dominating the scenic view is what remains of an old open mining pit, part of the mountain that was carved and dug out more than 420 meters below sea level.


Abandoned for five decades, this hallowed ground has become a Mecca for extreme sports enthusiasts, offering adrenaline rush-guaranteed sports events suited for athletic men and women with nerves of steel. This is the present home of Team Marinduque for its Aggressive Cross-Country Mountain Bike Race, Offroad Duathlon Competition and other adventure sports like motocross and airsoft.

Race Director is Dr. Edgar Ancheta, with Dr. Josue Victoria as Race Grand Marshall. Romeo Mabiog, Sr. is Team Marinduque president. A project of the Provincial Government of Marinduque led by Gov. Jose Antonio N. Carrion, Atty. Lord Allan Velasco, Marinduque Tourism Council president and Team Marinduque.

BELLAROCCA AND MARINDUQUE TOURS

Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa in Buenavista, Marinduque continues to attract foreign tour operators and international travel correspondents who have been enticed by the island resort's relatively new fame.

In recent months, tour operators from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, KSA, USA, France and others have come to have a glimpse also of what mainland Marinduque has to offer.

Two weeks ago a group of visitors from Germany similarly organized in association with DRV Insider-Tour, Baron Travel Corporation, Department of Tourism, Bellarocca and the provincial government visited a butterfly farm in Gasan..

...found time to appreciate the old church in Boac as the colorful rituals of a local wedding ceremony were in progress.

The bride walks down the aisle smiling as the visitors look on.

The well-travelled Germans also took time to trekk down a mini forest in Bocboc, Mogpog...

... where the refreshing waters of Paadjao Falls awaited, they couldn't resist taking a plunge into the natural pool to refresh.

Then back to Bellarroca's dream view of luxury, and time out for more dreams.

Derek at Bellarocca

Spotted yesterday at the Marinduque Airport: Filipino actor and commercial model Derek Ramsey together with other Ramseys being picked up by Bellarocca Island's luxury van. Actor and family apparently getting away from all the buzz and excitement of showbiz and the city for a quiet weekend here.

Bellarocca is currently offering special packages to friends and families wishing extra vacation before the year ends, visit bellaroccaresorts.com.

Photo: Cosmopolitan Philippines

Marinduque on Tripfilms

Watch more Marinduque videos at tripfilms.com

www.tripfilms.com features nearly 5,900 "inspiring, informative travel videos from real travellers", one of them by "wanderlass", of Marinduque's popular tourist sites. There's real fun and excitement on the video among the island visitors.

OF MALINDIG, TRES REYES ... AND DONA PAZ

View of the steep Malindig Volcano between Melchor and Baltazar Islands off the coast of Gasan.

The sea between Mindoro and Marinduque is often choppy. The worst peacetime maritime disaster in the world occured here (Dec. 20, 1987), when the ferry "Dona Paz" carrying more than 4,000 passengers disembarked from Tacloban City to Manila and collided with MT Vector, an oil tanker en route from Bataan to Masbate.

"Dona Paz" was situated at Dumali point, east of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro along Tablas Strait near these small islands. The Vector's cargo ignited upon collision as it carried 8,800 barrels of gasoline, the fire spreading rapidly into the Dona Paz and the sea itself, a nightmarish sight visible from Marinduque's western coasts.

Time Magazine called it the "worst peace-time maritime disaster of the 20th century". The 2008 World Almanac recorded the death toll at 4,341.

The shark-infested area of Tres Reyes (Three Kings)Islands. For the brave and adventurous.

BALTAZAR'S LIGHTHOUSE FOR TABLAS NAVIGATORS

In the early 1900's the Americans built a lighthouse and a building made of hardwood on the island of Baltazar. The tower has long been destroyed by numerous typhoons that battered the island over time. It was replaced by a new one built in the 1980s under a grant from JICA. The wooden structure on this island occupied by a watch (in photos) may well be the oldest American-built standing structure in all of Marinduque.

The three islands used to be called "Los Tres Reyes" under the Spanish regime, but many natives,particularly in Gasan still call them by their local names, Laki (Gaspar), Man-nga (Melchor) and Pangikog (Baltazar). The solar-powered lighthouse is an important navigational aid to maritime vessels traversing Tablas Strait that separates the islands of Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon with Panay islands.

DIVING AT BALTAZAR ISLAND, GASAN

Baltazar Island in Gasan, Marinduque, Philippines is one of the 'Tres Reyes Islands' that boasts of an excellent divesite with an underwater cave. Team Marinduque promotes adventure sports here including scuba diving. Baltazar is only one of many known divesites around this island-province.

Also view other marinduquegov videos HERE.

NOVEMBER METEOR SHOW

"Meteor Show on Marinduque Beach". How's that for a tourist come-on?

Many years ago, one moonless night, my friends and I camping out atop the mountains of Mahinhin, central Marinduque, were amazed to see a spectacle of meteors shooting in different intervals that lasted until dawn... with some lull in-between.

Little did we know that each year at about the same time on Nov. 17-18 there’s really something called the Leonid meteor shower occurring. Yet it was quite an experience to be on an open space with the sky all around us putting on a unique show of stars shooting and no one could explain why.

Starting tonight, I’ll be on the beach in Bahaghari, Amoingon to find out what will be up in the sky this time, shooting stars falling down in dramatic bursts or just a few one could count on his fingers. Maybe one occasion, this, when one wished there'd be a brownout again so the stars wouldn't be drowned out by the lights.
From news.yahoo.com: "We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Other astronomers who work in the nascent field of meteor shower prediction have put out similar forecasts.

“Urban dwellers and suburbanites will see far fewer, as the fainter meteors will be drowned out by local lights. The best viewing will be in rural areas. Get out of town if you can. If you have local lights, scout a location in advance where the lights are blocked by a building, tree or hill.”

From Space.com: “The Leonid meteors are debris shed into space by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which swings through the inner solar system at intervals of 33.25 years, looping around the sun then heading back into the outskirts of the solar system. With each visit the comet leaves behind a trail of dust in its wake.”

Nov. 18 early a.m., Asia/India/Indonesia.

"The "Main Event" in 2009 is expected to take place when the Earth has rotated about 12 to 14 hours after passing through the first round of comet dust from 1567. Astronomers Jeremie Vaubaillon (France), Mikhail Maslov (Russia), David Asher (Ireland), and Bill Cooke and Danielle Moser (NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office/MEO) are all in agreement that material that was ejected from the nucleus of Tempel-Tuttle during the years 1466 and 1533 will likely produce a very strong meteor display over much of Asia, India and Indonesia."

So, cheers to the meteors we'll sing to and catch on the beach!

(Photos courtesy of Brian Scott & Chip Griffin. Space.com).