A New Addiction

A weekend report a week late? Well that's what happens when work gets in the way. Stupid work. But, last weekend was so awesome that I couldn't not write about it. We did our first open water dive ever, and it was SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!! Did I emphasize that enough? I was a little nervous beforehand because obviously diving in the ocean is way different than practice dives in a pool, but the reality wasn't scary at all. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

We left early Sat morning for Anilao, which is an area known for diving in Batangas about 3 hours south of Manila (we learned from our last fiasco trip to Batangas that nothing on earth could ever compel me to face Manila traffic on a Friday night again). We met up with a bunch of friends who were accompanying us on the trip and caravanned our way down to the dive resort. We took all the kids and our yaya with us for this trip as kind of a test run, and it seemed to work out pretty well. Our yaya is not very good with making decisions on her own, but she seems to work pretty well as a mother's helper. It was a little nerve wracking leaving the kids behind at the resort as we went off on the boat to dive, but it worked out okay.

We did five dives altogether. Two on the first day and three on Sunday. The first two dives were familiarization and skill test dives so we could prove that we could do our safety skills out in the ocean. There were four of us getting certified: Husband and I and our friend I&S. Most of our other friends were already certified and went on a separate dive with a different dive master so they could go out deeper, except for our friend T who was just along to snorkel since she has decided scuba is definitely not for her! It was both good and bad that I and I are at about the same skill level and comfort level in the water, while our spouses are not quite there yet. The four of us have already planned a dive trip for Sep, so it was good that there wasn't just one outlier! I think the concept of scuba is much more difficult for people who are not comfortable in the water in the first place. Overcoming that fear is the biggest block to being able to accomplish the safety skills necessary for basic certification. As someone who has a great fear of heights, I can definitely relate. Water is not an issue for me, but I don't know that I could ever bungee jump or sky dive for any reason. Hell, I can barely fly on an enclosed airplane without having a panic attack. In the end only the two of us ended up getting certified, but I think everyone came away happy and proud of what they had achieved. Our dive master totally rocked (and if anyone coming to the Phils wants a recommendation, I'm more than happy to hand out his info). He took some pictures on our 4th and 5th dives when we were just swimming around for fun. We went to a maximum of 60 feet and our longest dive was about an hour.

As for me, I think I've developed a habit for life. My scuba experience was everything I hoped it would be. It took that little moment of awe I felt when we did the whale shark trip and extended it out for the length of the dive. It is so peaceful and quiet and awe-inspiring. I'm already trying to figure out when I con go out again! What am going to do when we leave the Philippines??

 The Guys

 The Girls

 The Gear

 The Boat

Gorgeous Sunset 

 Action Shot!

 I spotted this one - pretty good for a rookie! ;)

 Flounder

Night Dive! no rookies allowed :(

Newly Certified Diver!!!