Whale of a Season

As diving season in Gorontalo draws to a close, whales are showing up just off areas where Miguel's Diving takes guests diving. Several days ago Miguel's Diving staff thought a bomb exploded only to see a 12 to 14 meter long Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera edeni) blowing, sending spray up almost four meters. It played on the surface for half an hour before sinking back into the deep. The next day two 10-meter long Cuvier's Beaked Whales (Ziphius cavirostris) passed, breaking the surface on their way east. This type of whale is common enough in Gorontalo that local fishermen have their own name for it. But yesterday, we decided to go diving in the other direction to find a newly discovered specie of commensal shrimp. Had we returned to the other location, we would have seen more than 100 Cuvier's Beaked Whales sunning on the surface.

See You at ADEX 2006!

Miguel's Diving will help represent Gorontalo at Asian Dive Expo in Singapore from 21 - 23 April 2006. This event will feature over 150 exhibiting companies. The Gorontalo booth will be #114. With only a month away, a record 1,800 local and international attendees have already pre-registered.

In addition to speaking to me about diving packages at our new Gorontalo Oasis Hotel, we are offering visitors three special opportunities.

1> Marine photojournalists Stephen Wong and Takako Uno will be at the booth with their blue water Ocean Odyssey book. They spent three weeks in Gorontalo shooting for a new book on marine life and the diving environment here, scheduled for publication later this year. They will be available to talk about their adventures.

2> Miguel's Diving is also offering second prize (a dive trip for two) in the ADEX Fun Tour. When you enter the exhibit hall, simply collect an ADEX Fun Tour map, visit all the booths on the map, and collect the stamps. Then turn in your map at the collection point. You could win one of the prizes. See this link for more information. ADEX promotions

3> We are also hosting a special seminar on Gorontalo diving and marine life featuring underwater photographs and comments by Stephen, Takako, and Singapore's own William Tan. Gorontalo's Governor Fadel Muhammad, himself an avid diver, is scheduled to welcome everyone. The seminar will be in the Manta Room on Saturday, April 22 for an hour beginning at 3 p.m. (1500 to 1600 hrs).

See you there!