Guests 2009
 
December 2009 
 
Congratulations! 3 time World Enduro Champion Mika Ahola (Finland) made his 200th dive with us. We wish him more dives to come and more championships to win.
 
 
November-December 2009

Familiar faces! Walti Guggenbuehl and his friends Peter Brand und Niklaus Mueller are visiting us again in the Philippines. This time they were choosing Cabilao and Dauin as their destinations. With them on the trip were Niklaus’ partner Anne and Roger Manser, a good friend of our Pura Vida chef Markus.

It’s always a pleasure to have you with us and have a beer or two with you! 
 
 
Marius Cwieluch and his friends from Poland were diving with us for 2 weeks around Malapascua, Dauin and Alona Beach. Thanks a lot for your visit and we hope to see you again soon! 
 
 
After a few months practical course in Indonesia Luc Tranchet and Karine Plée from Geneva area, Switzerland successfully completed their divemaster education in Dauin. Congratulations and have fun diving back in the cold Lake Geneva! 
 
 
 
November 2009
 
What would be a year without Klose from Kärnten in Austria, for sure something would be missing….Karin and Wolfgang, including several very loyal repeater guests, accompanied the first group. After Malapascua and Moalboal they travelled for a few days to Pura Vida and also spent some days at Cabilao Beach Club. It’s always a pleasure to have you with us, thank you very much for your loyalty! 
 
Viva España! The Spanish group ‘Josep Farre’ spent their diving holidays with us and was hopping first to Siquijor, after that to Alona Beach and for the last days to Dauin-Dumaguete. Muchas gracias, it was a great time with you. We hope to see you again. 
 
 
Twelve members of the diving club TC Basilisk from Basel, Switzerland, were spending their holidays in the Visayas from November 7 to 21 and visited our branches in Alona Beach and Cabilao. Thank you very much for your visit and we hope to see you back with us soon. 
 
October 2009
 
Ursula Meier, Olivier Kuster and Stefan Gschwind spent their diving holidays in Pura Vida in  Dauin and in CBC on Cabilao Isl. On land they were guided by Regin and under water by Aking. Thank you very much for staying with us, we hope to see you again soon! 
 
 
Eric Lee and his friends from Hongkong visited us beginning of October at Alona Beach. Thanks a lot for coming and we hope to see you again soon! 
 
Very regular guests in the Philippines are Andre Baerlocher and Urs Zbinden from Berne area, which did their instructor course with Chris several years ago. Andre is one of the only guests who is diving without wetsuit during his whole stay, impressive, but first he is used to cold water diving and second of course his “Bioprene” is also helping to keep himself warm…. It was a pleasure to have you with us again! 
 
 
A very well known person in the divers community is Marina Goebel, CEO of Kowalski under water lamps in Berlin, Germany. She visited us together with her daughter Jessica in October in Pura Vida and in Cabilao Beach Club. Thank you very much for your visit and the short lamp seminar in Dauin! 
 
 
Kerstin and Franz Hahn of the diving school DIVE INN in Overath, Germany, visited us in October with a big group in Cabilao, Dauin-Dumaguete and Moalboal. Beside diving they enjoyed as well party time at the beach. Thanks a lot for your visit and we hope to see you soon again! 
 
 
It took Jenny Jay and her group a very long way to come to the Philippines since they were travelling from South Africa via Doha (Qatar) to Cebu. The reason they were choosing Sea Explorers was our friend Randel Van Heeren who is living in Manila for a while and regularly dives around the Visayas. Thanks a lot for your visit, we are proud to have the first South African group with us! 
 
“Family”- Open Water Class in Pura Vida Beach & Dive beginning of October. Franziska Kopp, together with her daughter Patricia and her boy friend Stefan Kuebeli and her partner Rolf Grossenbacher (the brother of our regular guest Mario) completed successfully the first step in their diving career with Instructor Pat and the Divemaster-candidates Arlene and Matthias. 
 
 
August-September 2009
 
Guests from Hongkong. Our friend and helping hand in the Chinese market Becky Chan visited us on our 20 years anniversary event together with Connie Wan and Cheung Wai Chi in Dauin. Also Matthias Dorsch, Head of Sales & Marketing of MARES Asia Pacific is based in Hongkong and enjoyed our party. The fifth person on the picture is our guest Michael Mc Coy, a friend of Becky. 
 
 
Our old friend and Sea Explorers Co-founder Patrick Gillieron is always in the mood for a joke. Some similarities of the two guys cannot be denied! 
 
 
Our picture shows that our regular guest Peter Schmutz likes water not only while diving. 
 
 
Also Friederike and Sam Breisacher belong already to our established clientele. This time they visited our branches in Malapascua and Dauin. Thank you very much for your visit for the delicious meat specialties from Germany! 
 
 
Henkie Averesch and Herlinda Bouwman from the Netherlands visited our branches in Alona Beach and Cabilao in August. Not only Henkie’s original Dutch wooden shoes attracted attention, also his very special “nudibranch” hair style did Smile. 
 
 
July-August 2009
 
Special offer for members of the Diving Club of Solothurn (Switzerland): Survival-Camp with Beat “Bonzai” Kohler in the mountains of Negros! Doris and Hans-Rudolf Schlaeppi from Solothurn area pampered themselves due to their 20 years wedding anniversary (congratulation!) beside an island hopping with Sea Explorers, with a few days “quite humid” fresh air in Bonzai’s mountain shelter in between.
 
 

Probably nonrecurring event and big family visit from Switzerland

A seven member family delegation (father Kurt, uncle and namesake Rolf, nieces Mirjam and Jana, nephews Matthias, Jonas and Simon) of Rolf Muehlemann visited for 2 weeks Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in Dauin end of July beginning of August. Sarah, the daughter of Rosario and Rolf, was proud to show her cousins for this time her homeland, unfortunately the bad weather limited her plans a bit. To be once together in the Philippines with all his six grandchildren made Kurt to “the happiest grandfather in the world”, as he stated himself.
 
 
A bit bigger and pure Swiss Open Water class with instructor Chris JR Heim and divemaster-candidate and regular guest Raymond Schwab. The Mueller family with Renate, Urs and son Joel together with Matthias Batzli, the oldest nephew of Rolf started the adventure end of July. All passed the course successful, Matthias had to stop unfortunately at Scuba Diver level because of severe ear problems, but also Raymond get certified as divemaster shortly after this course. Congratulation to all of them and all the best in their future diving career!
 
 
What adults can do is no problem for kids as well. All the siblings Marianne, Philip and Matthew Detroyat get certified as Junior Open Water Divers in July by our PADI instructor Poloy. Congratulation, well done! 
 
 

Hola España! Susana, Hortensia, Antonio, David, Pedro and Santiago from Spain visited our branches in Dauin-Dumaguete and Alona Beach in July. Hasta la vista!

For our Spanish speaking webpage visitors here a link to nice report of our guests:

http://www.buceofilipinas.com/files/Cronica_Visayas_del_grupo_Antonio_y_Susana.pdf 
 
 
Jun-July 2009

Swiss expats in Pura Vida

Like almost every year we get long time Swiss friends in July for a visit in Pura Vida, Max Zuercher, living in Florida, USA and Rolf Stampfli, living in Sydney, Australia. Beside drinking beer Max even did his Advanced Open Water Course with Chris, congratulation!
 
 
April - May 2009

Diving Club of Solothurn (Switzerland) on tour

Several members (including technical director Manfred Steinlechner) and friends of the diving club, most of them repeaters, were diving under the leadership of JR around Cabilao, Siquijor and Dauin-Dumaguete.
 
 
Visit of the two charming dive-travel agents Sonja and Claudia of Schoener Tauchen Switzerland. After the stressful first evening in Cebu City with dinner and dancing with Chris and Rolf they were able to relax a little bit on the subsequent dive safari.
 
April 2009
 
Schoener Tauchen Schweiz on Tour! Many thanks for staying with us. We were happy to see you again. The picture with Otto C. Honegger and Chris Heim (middle) might become picture of the month in May :).
 
 
Apart from many individual guests, several groups visited us during the high season. As you can see in the pictures (from left to right) Heinz Binkert Safari, Peter Nussberger Group and Peter Zimmermann Group were our guests again! Thank you very much for your stay with us.
 
 
March-April 2009
 
The first beer at the “CBB” (Cabilao Beach Bar) beside the new dive center in Cabilao. The safari group of Tauchsport Kaeser Bern, Switzerland, unofficially opened the bar with a cold deco-beer. After Cabilao they visited together with tour leader Rolf our destinations Siquijor and Dauin. 
 
 
What would be a year without you, the Sea Explorers Team would miss something! Biggi & Hardy Zielauf were creating together with Mireille Stieglitz a furor in Moalboal, Cabilao (on the picture with divemaster Aking) and in Dauin above and under water (have a look under the news as well).
 
 
Doris & Andy Weibel from Switzerland were already the second time with us as well. This year they visited together with their friends Irene & Rolf Haessig und Heidi & Andy Sollberger our branches in Malapascua (on the picture together with divemaster Dishely), Cabilao, Alona Beach, Dauin, almost our complete island hopping program. Thank you very much and we hope to see you soon again.
 
 
Tatjana Novikova & group from Lithuania visited our branches in Dauin-Dumaguete, Siquijor and Alona Beach. Thanks a lot for your visit and we hope to see you guys again soon.
 
 
Daphne Leung and Fritz Wong visited us as well several times before. End of March they brought their friends Anthony, Daryl, Rebecca, Felicia and Patty to Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort. Anthony and Daryl passed their Advanced and Nitrox certification with B-Bhing, congratulations!
 
 
Anja Kiesewetter and Benjamin Spieler were diving around Dauin-Dumaguete (on the picture), Cabilao and Malapascua during their holidays. Thanks a lot for your visit, our team had fun with you Smile.
 
 
Agneta Idbohrn and Christian Ionescu-Idbohrn from Sweden together with B-Bhing in Pura Vida. After their stay in Dauin they visited as well our branch in Siquijor. Thanks a lot and we hope to see you soon again.
 
 
March 2009
 
Another anniversary, already for the 10th time Rosi and Georg Heinze are guests of Sea Explorers. We hope we can count many more years on your consecutive visits, it’s always a pleasure to have you with us.
 
 
Aqua Sport from Stetten (Canton Aargau Switzerland) on Safari. Markus Engel together with Edith & Heinz Kuepfer and Michael Gmuer, owner of Aqua Sport, have accompanied a group to the Philippines. They visited Moalboal, Dauin-Dumaguete, Cabilao and Malapascua. For all of them it was their first time in the Philippines.
 
 
We are happy to welcome again the group with Martin Jaegers and his wife, who had been our guests for several times. This year they are visiting Malapascua (actually all, except FESI Smile ), Dumaguete and Cabilao. The picture shows Andreas Marx during his birthday party in Pura Vida. Happy birthday! The age shall not be revealed...
 
 
Underwater journalists and -photographers on their own. Our regular guests Marilyn and Phil Hiatt (UK) and the Australian seahorse scientists Suzanne Offenberg and Dave Harasti together with our divemasters Jesse and Rico after a dive at Ducomi pier. The main reason for Suzanne’s and Dave’s visit in Dumaguete area were the Tigertail seahorses at the pier. They were lucky and satisfied since they found male and female ones in different colors and were able to take some pictures.
 
 
February - March 2009
 
Sea Explorers Fan-Club from Austria. Irene and Christian Hofer, Sandra and Ewald Jelinek in their own T-Shirt creation. For their repetitive visit to Sea Explorers Christian created T-Shirts with Sea Explorers- and “Dive with a smile”-logo, very good idea and we are very excited about that Smile.
 
 
Conny & Carsten Schubert from Denmark, together with parents and children, were visiting again Conny’s native country. In 1996 Carsten was one of the first Open Water-Students at Sea Explorers Dauin-Dumaguete. Now it’s time for the next generation – their son Jean Paul and his school mate Rene were making the Junior Open Water Course with B-Bhing. The youngest son Jeff was making the Bubblemaker.
 
 
Martin, Michaeel and Alexander were certified as Open Water Divers by JR Heim at the end of February. Congratulations!
 
 
Marta Lewandowski from Schoener Tauchen Switzerland spends her holidays in Negros together with her partner Sebastian. Of course they were also diving at the dive spots around Pura Vida.
 
 
A reunion by coincidence of the elderly dive generation. Elfriede "Elfi" Ratzel meets Walti Guggenbühl at Pura Vida, the dive instructor who learned her in 1973 in Elba how to dive.
 
 
As like the previous years already, SUBEX-founder and dive expert Walti Guggenbühl and two friends visited us again. On the boat with the Swiss dive guru Walti Guggenbühl: From left to right: Marcello, Irena, Kerstin, Crista, Michael, Jr, Walti, Jesse and Peter
 
 
January 2009
 
Visitors of the Diving Club of Solothurn: Joy Kohler-Jipulan, Heini Breitner and Martin Hess (Rolf’s dentist and former school colleague) met their club mate Rolf in Pura Vida. Heini and Martin spent the first few days of their holidays in Cabilao Beach Club.
 
 
World Champion diving with Sea Explorers: Mika Ahola, 2007 and 2008 World Enduro Champion from Finland, was visiting and diving in Malapascua and Dauin before the new season starts. On the picture together with our “Scuba Rider Champions” Jesse and Mr. Lee.
 
 
Manager in his well deserved New Year’s holidays: Matthias Dorsch, Head of Sales & Marketing of MARES Asia Pacific and his partner Donata Poeschl, spent their diving holidays over New Year in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort and enjoyed a relaxing “wellness day” in the Negros mountains together with Chris.