“There is so much to enjoy, to experience in Medellin, and this is just the beginning.”
This was what Governor Gwen Garcia said during the kick-off ceremony of DIVE7 Festival in Medellin on May 25 at the Akropora Beach Front.
Gov. Garcia and Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Shalimar Tamano officially launched Medellin as the newest diving attraction in Cebu, featuring its newly discovered dive sites near Gibitngil Island in Barangay Kawit.
DIVE7 Festival is a DOT 7 initiative to promote diving destinations in the region. The Medellin leg of the festival is in coordination with the provincial and municipal governments, as well as dive stakeholders.
The festival has a theme of “Shoot, Ride, and Dive” to reflect the varied tourism offerings of the municipality.
As part of the pre-activity events for the launch, Gov. Gwen and other officials did a ceremonial tee off at the Queen’s Island Golf and Resort; fun ride along the scenic 7.5 km Aisle of Medellin, and handgun shooting activity at the Achiever’s Firing Range inside the 53rd Engineering Brigade.
“Kini ang pinaka-unique, dinhi ra sa Medellin,” Gov. Garcia said in her speech. “While in other places, the activity would be confined to diving; over here, we not only dive — we shoot, we ride, and we tee off!” she added.
For his part, Tamano, who also sits as concurrent regional director of DOT 7, believed that more and more dive enthusiasts will be attracted to the hidden wonders of Medellin’s waters after the DOT has given greenlight for tourism-related scuba diving activities in the municipality.
The four-day event, from May 25 to 28, highlights scuba diving activities, underwater photography contest, and coastal and underwater clean-up drives.
Municipal officials, headed by Medellin Mayor Joven Mondigo Jr., gave a warm welcome to the participants and visitors present, which also included MARINA 7 Director Emmanuel Carpio, LTO 7 Director Victor Caindec, and Naval Forces Eastern Visayas Acting Commander CDR Rogelio Balderamos. | Babie Jane Revecoy