May 21, 2007

Puerto Galera (PHILIPPINES)

My First Diving Experience

I had to meet my English dive instructor, Mike, for diving lessons at 6:30am this morning. His wife, a stunning Filipino woman, made us a full breakfast while we went over the schedule for the diving lessons. Rather than pay USD$300, Mike would allow me to do an "introduction to diving" for only USD $50, but which included an actual 18 meter dive later in the day.

There was an Irish man, Steven, who was also doing this course and we watched videos for a couple hours before heading off in the boat to learn the basics of diving. I caught on very quickly once we were in the water, and never needed to resurface through all the trials (clearing my mask, losing my oxygen supply, and so on). I was beginning to understand the thrill people talk about when they describe the wonders of breathing underwater!

After Mike felt sufficiently confident in our abilities (Steven was having a tough time breathing underwater), we climbed aboard the boat and headed to a dive site. The water was becoming choppy, so we found a small inlet along the coast. I was eager to get back in the water and complete the 18 meter dive, so I leaned back over the side of the boat and confidently immersed myself in a watery paradise.

I have seen plenty of videos and heard endless accounts about how "it is a whole other world below the ocean's surface", but I never appreciated what this meant until I experienced it for myself. More importantly, I have always been terrified of sharks, but now I wanted nothing more than to swim with one!

After adjusting my air tanks so I was neutrally buoyant I began slowly descending down the buoy chain. Mike started leading me toward the reef, but I was having a hard time clearing my left ear. The ear has always caused me problems when flying, and I was suffering from a small cold that only exasperated matters. I have been warned many times about the dangers of "forcing it", so I used my better judgment and took my time in descending. Eventually, I made it to the ocean floor and followed Mike through the reef. It was only he and I diving because Steven was having a tough time with the mental aspect of breathing underwater. I saw plenty of colorful fish, sublime reef formations, a sea turtle (which doesn't seem amazing until you actually see one in the water), and enormous pink clams. One of them snapped at me when I swam for a close look, but I pulled away just before it jerked shut.

My oxygen supply surprised Mike as I was consciously maintaining normal breathing habits, so I had roughly 50 minutes of underwater diving. When we climbed back aboard the boat I couldn't stop raving about what a great time diving is. I imagine Mike hears this all the time, but he wouldn't be teaching if the thrill ever got old.

We began heading back to White Beach, but the ocean waters were choppy. We were forced to dock in another small inlet because the danger of flipping was becoming quite serious (I had video but I lost everything when my computer crashed). Rather than wait around all day in the boat, I waded ashore and went into the town center to find an ATM. As always, all ATMs were "out of service" and I was forced to use a Western Union service that charged me 6% on the money I withdrew. It was highway robbery, but I had to pay Mike and was left with little choice.

Between my ear problems and the high cost of diving I decided to discontinue the course until I have more money.

But take it from me: diving is worth every penny!