Underwater wonder

As the sun sets on Puerto Princesa, the laid-back capital of Palawan, the engines of the Stella Maris start to growl.

The ship sets out just after dark, heading into the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, plying towards the Tubbataha Reefs. After 10 hours in the open ocean, the engines shudder to a stop just after dawn. It is suddenly quiet. Very, very quiet. We could see two tiny nubs of black rock jutting out of the sea.

The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park sits in the middle of nowhere in the Sulu Sea, halfway between Palawan, the long sliver of an island on the western edge of the Philippines, and Mindanao, the last main island before Indonesian waters.

There is no mobile phone service, no Internet connection and no decompression chamber. It is also home to the best diving in the country. The Tubbataha Reefs are 180km from Palawan, far enough from land to discourage most fishermen.

Halfway through our dive trip, we visit the marine park ranger station located here. The rangers, a mix of nine men from the Philippine navy, coast guard and local government, spend three months at a time on the base. But they do not rush to crack open the case of beer we have brought them.

'Have you voted for Tubbataha yet?' asks Mr Romnic Molina, a smiling 20-something naval guy in a bright blue bandana and a grey Tubbataha T-shirt. 'I have. You should!' He is referring to a global Web-based campaign (www.new7wonders.com) to list the new 'seven wonders of the natural world', which is run by a Swiss-based company called New7Wonders. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who dived here in April, is pushing for Tubbataha to be included in the list...[AsiaOneTravel]