When You Need Something Different

Seahorse tours has added another place to the list of properties that we recommend and represents. Some times a nice hotel or fancy resort is not what you really are looking for when you are staying away from home. As an alternative to the many fine resorts and hotels in the Subic bay area we would like to introduce you to a comfortable alternative, Ero Apartelle. The apartelle is located on the edge of Barrio Barretto, the resort area of Olongapo City. It just minutes from the resorts, entertainment and restaurants of Barretto , only a ten minute drive to the Central Business District of the Subic Bay Freeport and fifteen minutes to the center of Olongapo city. Easily assessable by public transportation, it is on the Jeepney Blue line from the city center. It is conveniently located for those who do not need to be in the center of the action. There is a small beach accessible across the road with two large beaches just three minute walk away

A look behind the scenes.

Around the world nuclear power is looked upon from different levels of acceptance. Many countries fully embrace nuclear power as an clean safe method to generate electric. There are more than 400 nuclear plants all over the world. In other countries, the general belief is that it has too much potential for harm to even be considered. A large portion of the world is still battling the question. The Philippines is one country where the disagreements are still going on. At the center of the discussions is the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began in 1976 a project of then President Marcos. Following the 1979


Three Mile Island accident in the United States, construction on the BNPP was stopped, Some design changes were made and Construction was restarted. Marcos was overthrown by the People Power Revolution in 1986. Days after the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the succeeding administration of President Corazon Aquino decided not to operate the plant. At the time the decision was made the plant was ready for fueling.

Equipped with a Westinghouse light water reactor, it was designed to produce 621 megawatts of electricity. The BNPP has 3 sister plants operating in other parts of the world today. The KRSKO plant in Slovenia. The ANGRA I plant in Brazil. And, most notably, the KORI II plant in S. Korea. These plants are practically identical to our BNPP. These plants have been operating for over 25 years now without incident, accident and with utmost reliability and economy.

Despite never having been commissioned, the plant has remained intact, including the nuclear reactor, and has continued to be maintained. We are proud to present a one of a kind tour. While many power plants have visitor centers, a visitor at the BNPP can visit inside the plant itself. Having never been fueled visitors are able to go inside the containment area. Call Seahorse Tours to arrange your visit

We have decided to take one of our offering for groups and set selected departure dates and open it up for individual bookings. We will be offering a jungle survival camping overnight. This special outing takes the elements of the highly popular Mini-survival training tour provided by Seahorse Tours and adds an overnight experience.

Experience the jungles of Subic Bay from an old view point and the traditions of the Aeatas. The experience starts at the Pamulakakin Trail. Prior to starting on your hike deep into the jungle Lunch will be served, "Luto sa Kawayan" It is a Filipino dish traditionally cooked in Bamboo consisting of chicken and rice.

Your afternoon will be taken up by the hiking, setting up the camp site and learning more from your Aetas guide about jungle survival. Your evening meal will be prepared by the Aetas guide, do not worry we will bring food with us so you do not HAVE to live off the land, but the food we provide will be supplemented with delicacies found in the jungle. After enjoying a good nights sleep and having breakfast, you will break camp and hike back to the entrance of Pamulakakin Trail for transfer to Tree Top Adventure. At treetop adventure you will do some of the activities we do on our mini survival training tour. Look at the web site for full information. Discounts for group

The other day Ocean Adventure and Camayan Beach Resort held their Partner appreciation day. This is an annual event for them where they invite their travel partners such as travel agents, educational tour operators and transportation companies. During the event they honor their top producers, ( sadly we did not meet the level, the educational tours operators are hard to beat), show off improvements and highlight the new marketing plans.

Recently Ocean Adventure has made some improvements and one of these is a new stadium for the Sea lion shows. The new stadium is much larger and provides a improved guest experience. The stadium has a pool, so now some water activities can also be added to the show. The stadium improvement was just one improvement for the sea lions, They also got a upgraded living and training areas. The guest also now have an underwater viewing port where they can watch the Sea lions underwater.

Camayan Beach Resort has three buildings now and are able to expand their group offerings. A new educational tour was announced that has an overnight with full meals, ocean adventure and beach time from 2,200 pesos per person.

Adventure beach also has some upgrades. Adventure Beach is reserved for larger groups and is away from the Camayan beach resort so the groups will not influence the hotel guest. Check out our offers on the Camayan Beach Resort page, we now have lean season discounts plus further discounts during weekdays

  we have also added some recent photos to our gallery and to our face book

While the resort is still underdevelopment it is in soft operation. Accommodations are currently available in a few types. A native hut with simple sleeping arrangements ( Bathroom facilities in a common area) right on the beach, as well as cottages. Other rooms are still under construction. There is a good size restaurant and a recreation area with a pool table. Karaoke is also available in one of the beach side pavilions. We were served a very nice lunch with both Korean and Filipino foods. San Miguel has a number of small fishing boats and the freshness of the seafood really showed it.

The resort is finalizing its room rates and as soon as they are completed we will be
adding them to our offerings. This resort will appeal to those who want to enjoy the beach in a relaxed uncrowded atmosphere.

During the course of the membership meeting was a election of new officers. Charles Davis President of Seahorse Tours was elected as President of the BOSZ Chapter of Naitas.

Arirang beach resort photos

Betis St. James Parish Church located in Guagua, Pampanga, Philippines is one of the most impressive churches I have seen. It is written that Art enthusiasts compare it to the Sistine Chapel, for its magnificent interior, although the Betis Church is also impressive in terms of symmetry, gracefulness and theme. Fr. Fernando Pinto started its construction in 1660 and was finally completed in 1770 by Fr. Jose de Cruz. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) declared this church a National Treasure, one of only 10 churches in the country bestowed that honor.

Behind the alter is a magnificent retablo. A retablo or altarpiece is a shelf or wall
raised above the back of an altar to support ornaments, pictures, and statues from sacred history. It often has paintings or sculptures sometimes both. Spanish retablos of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance grew extremely large and elaborate, typically using carved and gilded wood, and rising as high as 40 feet or more. This is the style found here. A side note for those who may not know about the area, Betis is now a part of Guagua but originally was a separate town. Betis is also well known both domestically and internationally for its carved wood furniture and religious statues. Legend has it that the art of wood carvings was introduced to the locals by Chinese artisans brought to the area to build the first church. The locals first mimic the styles of the Chinese and later over time develop their own styles. Given these fact should give you an indication of the splendor of the retablo.

At the Betis church is a map and description of seven other chapels within walking distance. Each of which have detailed Retablos. Before we finalize our our tour offering we will take a more detail look at these other churches.

Bacolor San Guillermo Parish Church is one of the churches we will include. It is one of the oldest (many say the oldest) and largest churches in the Philippines, located in the former Philippine capital (Bacolor). It was constructed by the Augustinian friars in 1576 on the lot of Don Guillermo Manabat, a rich landlord believed to be the founder of Bacolor. The church was restored by Fr. Manuel Diaz in 1897. It has a central nave and well-lighted transept with windows. The main retablo, side retablos and pulpit are gilded with golf leaf. The richness of the docoration of Bacolor church depicts advanced stage of baroque adn rococo. In spite of the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo which half-buried the church on October 1, 1995, the structure is still being used as place of worship. It was already a renowned tourist destination prior to the lahar tragedies; now more tourists flock to the church which remaining features are being preserved and maintained. They are starting to do some work in the cemetery behind the church. The Lahar that half filled the church also covered the graves of hundreds maybe even thouands who were buried there as far back as 1776 and perhaps longer. One building is slowly being unearthed of about 15 feet of lahar.

Our day included lunch at Everybody's Cafe where Kapampangan food is their specialty

 I am not sure what was ordered but it was good and a wide selection Try out the pako salad, calderetang baka, morcon, chicharon bulaklak, tortang bangus, inihaw na hito or bulalo soup. For the brave, go further and savor the buro with hito (fermented fish paste with catfish), betute (deep-fried stuffed frog), camaru (fried cricket adobo), dumara (wild duck adobo) or pindang damulag (carabeef tapa). It is all served family style and the portions were large. I ordered the Betute for the table but not everyone was willing to try. I did like it, but as they often say it tasted like chicken.

Look for our final tour offering soon

This past weekend the staff of seahorse tours went to Mount Samat in Pillar Bataan

Along with the island fortress of Corregidor, Mount Samat was the site of the most vicious battle against the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942.

Suffering heavy losses against the Japanese all over Luzon, Filipino and American soldiers retreated to Bataan Peninsula to regroup for a last valiant but futile stand. The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 was the end of the one of the most famous battles of the Second World War. It was immediately followed up by what became known as the Bataan Death March, one of the most infamous forced marches of the Second World War.

U.S. and Filipino soldiers had been steadily retreating in the face of a Japanese offensive that had begun in the Philippines way back in December of 1941. Japanese troops landed on Luzon and began pushing south. They had been able to hold off defeat even though they were out-gunned, out-fed, and out-equipped.

After fierce battle lasting 3 days around Mount Samat, 78,000 exhausted, sick and starving men under Major General Edward P. King surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. It was, and still is, the single largest surrender of U.S. Forces ever. See more here

this site also has information

The Pacific War, more than any other theater, was a no-holds-barred, no-quarter-taken-none-given slugfest. And it was places like Bataan and the subsequent brutality of the March that helped make it so

Dambana ng Kagitingan (shrine of Valor) atop Mt. Samat ( 564 meters) in Pilar town Bataan was built in 1966 in memory of the soldiers of World War II.

Republic Act No. 7668, approved on 17 January 1994, declared Mount Samat in the province of Bataan to be a tourist spot whose natural beauty should be preserved and conserved and whose historical importance should be recognized. It then orders the Department of Tourism to prepare a tourism development plan involving the construction, installation and/or maintenance of facilities that will encourage tourism in the area.

Seahorse tours will be offering a tour that includes Mount Samat and the museum at the old Clark airbase. Details to be released soon. more Mt. Samat Photos

The international skydivers who had come to the Philippines for the  Parachute Phun Phestival really enjoyed the tours we had arranged for them. Seahorse Tours had been acting as the ground agent  organizing the hotels and a few optional tours. Some minor problems cause some scheduling changes and the tours were moved to the first few days. They  were all very happy with the tours. On the day before the rescheduled event, it was necessary to again delay the jumps. Due to cancellation of the aircraft and  problems the event organizer encountered at the last minute, changes had to be made. Called  to assist with providing alternate activities, We responded with a rapidly organized but well planned activities. I am very proud of the efficient manner that the entire office responded. In under two hours, they organized a day outing to the Capone Islands and Anawangin Cove , had a number of bancas  on stand by, prepared information , developed a itinerary , planned a menu and prepared a banner. Two hours after the initial inquiry they presented the  activity to the group and got a confirmation on how many would go. The next morning at 5am all was in place for a day of island hopping to the Capones islands, a stop at the lighthouse, a morning snack, and a barbecue on the beach at Anawangin Cove . The day went great and all of the guest loved it.

The “ Capones, Camara and Anawangin Island Adventure”  (photos) is an day outing we have added in late 2010 and  promises to be a great package for a small number of people or larger groups. Departing from Subic Bay area it is just about a 30 minute drive to Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales. There you will meet your boat for the day and enjoy a nice trip to the Capones Island group 30 minutes away. Visitors to these islands will disagree on which is the best feature. Many feel that the old Spanish Lighthouse is the highlight, others the views of the island and the South China Sea, and who could argue with the beach lovers who cite the empty stretches of beaches. The other part of the trip is the Anawangin Cove only accessible by boat or if you wish you can hike in. The hike will take a full day or more. The cove has become well know as one of the best beaches in the Philippines but due to its isolation it is not over crowded. This is a great family outing and should be a prime consideration for a company outing.

As written before in this blog, Mount Pinatubo trek still is a popular outing and well worth the time and effort.

charles