SCUBA DIVING!!! :)

It was my first time to go scuba diving today! Grabe ang saya at ang sarap ng feeling! It was like being in another world under the sea. The corals were magnificent, the fishes were marvelous, the life under the sea was throbbing with such diversity and beauty!

It all started when the diving group, Ed Garcia, sisters Ava and Pam Mercado, Patricke Rivera, Mike Ajero, Edeline Ang, and me met up at Shell Magallanes at 6am. Ingua unfortunately woke up late and was not able to join the trip. Iniwan na lang namin siya tuloy, ehehe...(sorry Ingua...) We then sped off to Anilao, but dropped by Cuenca market to eat and meet up with my good friend Jwan Solis, then proceeded to the parking lot of Portulano Dive Resort where we chartered a bangka and sailed to the resort. Below is an attached pic of us girls waiting at Cuenca market, at the bangka, and at Portulano jump-off:






Well, as you can see on the look of our faces that we were all excited! Tagal ko na rin kasi hindi nakapag-beach kaya talagang excited ako! When we reached Portulano dive resort, it was very nice and cozy. It was perfect for small diving groups to come and converge at the place. It was homey, relaxing, and beautiful at the same time. If you wish to virtually check out the place, visit their website at www.portulano.com. After arriving, we put our bags in our rooms and put on our bathing suits. The group was lectured by Dr. Eric and sir Ed. Below are the pics attached during our lecture. As you see, the second photo is Dr. Eric Punzalan showing us his underwater pressure and air supply gauge in hot pink, hehe:

Syempre pagkatapos ng lecture, edi excited na kaming mag-dive! Sino ba naman hindi mas maeexcite sa actual kesa sa mga theoretical? Anyway, tinuro na samin yung basic, mga equipment, diving techniques, state of mind mo dapat when underwater, and of course, yung pinakaimportant na nantutunan ko, "what you can do on the surface, you can also do underwater." and, "the only way that you can breathe, is through your regulator and your mouth. Never through your nose." Edi syempre handang handa na kami! We gathered the equipment, and started assembling them. Then everyone went into the water with full gear: Wet suit, booties, and diving mask, mamya yung flippers na kay sakit sa paa. Below were the pictures:

We trained in the saltwater pool provided by the resort. It was only 9ft. deep but when I reached the bottom and knelt, the pressure on my ears were great. It was painful in the beginning but then the instructors taught us how to equalize the pressure by closing your nose and exhaling through it so that the pressure on you eustachian tube would equalize with the pressure under water. Next was of course, after eating lunch and resting a bit, was the open water dive. Eto talaga, e the real thing na. I realized it was a whole lot different than training in the pool! Bukod sa mas malalim therefore masakit sa tenga, e yung merong current kaya sa ilalim medyo magssway ka. Also, I was strapped with 12lbs. of lead weight! Floater kasi ako kaya kelangan talaga mabigat. Ang hirap lumubog ha! Ako, si Ava, Pam, and Pat were all floaters! Kaya by the time na paubos na yung air sa tank, e malapit na lang kami lahat sa surface! Ano ba yan, para san pa yung scuba gear namin, edi sana nagsnorkel nalang kami, haha! :) Kahit naka-deflate na yung Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) namin, e wala, nasa surface pa rin kami. We dived to a depth of 15ft. Bagay para sa beginners kasi even if you go up and down the surface, okay lang, wala masyadong pressure on the body. Below are the underwater pictures taken by our master photographer (charing!) Mike Ajero (he uses Casio Exilim and Canon EOS DSLR):

Parang octopus ako dun sa first pic! Haha! Ang dami kasing tubes e! Next picture was a Christmas tree worm. When you touch it, it zooms back in its hole. Yung picture ng maraming fishy, e feeding frenzy yan, haha! I don't know if the last pic is a blue-lipped clam. I think the color comes from algae present on the lip which feeds on the passing organisms found in the sea. I forget the name of those small creatures... it's not plankton e... or is it? Next pictures are from the re-surfacing stage:

First pic was me and and Eds, second is Ava in her neon pink mala-bioman pink5 wet suit, her sister Pam, and me. Sayang, wala pa yung pic na naka-wet suit kaming lahat e, astig yun. Mukha kaming mga power rangers! Haha. Ang saya talaga, sobrang ibang klase yung fulfillment and yung feeling... I hope I can go back and do this again... Below is my midnight pic by the pool:

Well, eto na ang katapusan ng aking scuba blog, hehe. But I do hope makapag-scuba pa uli ako... Until next time...

p.s. visit mikeajero.blogspot.com for more scuba pics