Scuba Diving

The primary reason we went to the Philippines was to learn to scuba dive. We took lessons at Pacific Divers in White Beach, and I would recommend them to anyone! We had spent about 4 hours before the lesson watching Padi videos on diving and answering quizzes. It was really nice we got to do this on our own time and at our own pace, so no sun time was wasted. They were also very good about remembering who was using what equipment. Nobody's ever got switched, and we didn't have to remember a thing. 

This was the kind of conditions we were diving in. Water clear as could be, not a cloud in the sky, warm water, and white sand. Stunning! This is the famous White Beach. 

The first day was spent getting familiar with the gear and then practicing various techniques (mainly breathing under water :)) in the pool. This was a really nice, safe space to practice, without having to worry about boats, currents, visibility etc. There is a lot of gear with scuba, and it feels a bit like everything is going wrong at first: nothing fits right, my mask is fogging up, my weights are too heavy so I'm scraping the bottom, I just finned Drew in the face.... Oh yeah I have to breathe down here! It can be a bit much at first. But, eventually everything starts to feel more comfortable, and you learn the skills to take care of fogging masks, etc. The best feeling is when you are diving and everything is working right, and you actually focus on the fish and coral instead of your gear. As our teacher said "Scuba diving isn't a sport like surfing, it's an activity. An activity of floating and contemplating." He was right! 

The second day we did two open water dives. The first dive was right in the Sabang harbor. It had a flat sandy bottom, good for learning to manage your buoyancy without worrying about stepping on corals. This picture was taken just before out first dive! No one looks panicky! We also got to do the cool "do a back flip off the boat" thing to get into the water. Already pros!

On our second open water dive, we actually got to see real corals! I have never seen such beautiful, healthy corals in my life, and Karen and Brian, who have snorkeled a fair bit in the Caribbean agreed. We saw all sorts of fish, including Clownfish in their anemones. They were cheeky little buggers. If you got too close, they'd come out and give you a nip! All of the underwater pics I took from our dive shop's Facebook page. 

Schools of fish would also swim by, often times encircling you in a sort of fish tornado. It was really amazing. They were so coordinated! 

Our third day consisted of two more open water dives. The first dive that day was more practice for techniques, including getting used to a strong current and navigation. 

The second dive that day was at the giant clams. If you gave them a little poke just on the inside of their shells, they would snap shut. Of course, when I go try to touch one it shuts just before I actually touch it, startling me. Yikes!  

After three days of diving we were officially certified. The fourth day, Drew and I decided to do 2 more dives while we had the chance. The dive boat came right to the house where we were staying to pick us up for the dives. That's us in the water swimming to the boat. Pretty cool!

On both of those dives we saw a sea turtle. One was just a baby, but the other was a large one with filter fish swimming under it's belly. So cool! Luckily, Brian and Karen had also seen a turtle while snorkeling the very first day in Sabang, so they didn't miss out. 

This picture was taken on our last day, just before we left for Hong Kong. We don't want to leave! Fine, one more mango smoothy for the road...

Also, I have to say thanks to Brian and Karen for helping out with Trig so much while they were visiting. They took him out for more pee breaks than either Drew or I during that period! Thanks! He already misses you guys!