My very good friend, Jayvee, has been harping about diving since 2 years ago. First, he was into this coffee percolator or a French press or something beyond my coffee interest. The second I turned, it became all about diving. Diving, diving, diving. When I see or bump into him in events or over the chat line, the first words that will come out of his mouth after “Hi” and his usual “twinkle eye” smile will be a word associated with diving.
(Left to right) Fritz, Kring, Jimmy, Jayvee, Chie, Nonie, Armin, MOI, Chris
He even got me to go to Corregidor for a “dive” ocular with Benj and his dive instructor, Jan sometime Q3 of 2009. That didn’t get me into the water. Well, it was a short trip. And yea, I forgot to mention, my fear of water.
I’m not a strong swimmer you see. I’m not even a weak swimmer. I don’t swim. I wade in water. That’s the most activity I do in water. And yea, ride a boat. But that even scares me. I’m also claustrophobic so imagine being underwater and nowhere else to go. It feels like a closed space in my mind.
Chris is eager to dive and has been telling me about his want of diving far longer than when Jayvee started his dive fervor. I’ve been trying to get myself to try it, mostly for Chris, and almost did in 2008 when Chris and I went to Malapascua Island in Cebu.
Malapascua is known for their thresher sharks. And what can be more exciting than diving with long-tailed sharks that are sometimes called fox sharks? With shivering knees, I was hesitantly game for it.
Fortunately, Malapascua diving is strict and will not allow intro divers to see the thresher sharks. But seeing Chris’ befallen face made me really rethink about diving. It motivated me to choke down my fear and give it a try when the opportune comes. It’s also an achievement to be called a licensed diver so that helps stir motivation.
It also aids me when Jayvee tells me all these wonderful stories and shows me awe-gaping underwater photos and videos. We’ve been meaning to schedule a dive since start of the year but finally able to do so last April 30. Jayvee invited me, Fritz and Kring that weekend and although I almost backed out the day before due to scaredshit-ilitis pain I was feeling in my heart, I showed up. Woody Allen once said that 80% of success is showing up.
Early Saturday, Chris and I met Gus, Nonie and Armin at the Residences and then we met with Jayvee, Chie, Kring and Jimmy at Starbucks SLEX. The gang drove to Batangas port and rode a boat to Puerto Galera.
This was my 2nd time in Puerto Galera and the first one was quite memorable for a number of things. To name one, that Puerto Galera trip in 2006 was my first out of town trip with Chris and we were only friends then.
Puerto Galera 2006
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We arrived in Puerto Galera right in front of the very focus of this weekend. Guli Diving. GULI Diving is a full service dive resort located in White Beach, Puerto Galera.
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Gus, proprietor and master diver, warmly welcomes us in the large nipa hut that has an organized space allotted for the suits, tanks, fins and the class area.
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“We are open to divers, instructors with classes, and really — anyone dying to escape the city for a Galera Getaway. Our rooms are comfy. Our beers are cold. And the fish are just waiting for you to get down here! We have our own boat that can pick you up from Batangas and as an added treat for divers, if you are EAN Certified, we can fill your tank with nitrox at NO EXTRA COST! That means longer bottom times at Alma Jane and Sabang Wrecks!
Puerto Galera is easily a diver’s wet dream: wrecks with great macro life, world class diving at The Canyons, an an hour’s boat away from San Agapito Reef in Verde Island (YES we can take you to the center of the center of the world’s marine biodiversity!) Oh and yeah, the night life is simply amazing.” – GULI Diving
DSD or Discover Scuba Diving covers chapters 1 and 2 of introductory dive.
This waiver is scaring me…
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I had a sizeable fear especially when I was half-awake for most part of the lecture (this is the darndest I’ve tried to stay awake in my life… I only had 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours and I was really spent so it was my body that heeded to my sleepiness.)
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The next thing I knew, we had to go to the shallow part of the water to test our equipment and the basics we learned from the class… but not without first Gus highlighting again the important basics to remember.
5. Clear mask if the water seeps in with this maneuver that the instructors will teach you.
4. In the circumstance that your regulator gets pulled out of your mouth, calmly retrieve it with this foolproof trick that they will also teach you.
3. Equalize, equalize, equalize. It’s the easiest formula that will help ease any pressure on your ears like during flight take-off.
2. Breathe through the regulator NORMALLY.
1. At all times, STAY CALM. Even at the sight of danger, anxiety or panic, the one true thing that will keep you SAFE is to stay CALM.
During the shallow water trial, Markus, the dive instructor assigned to me and Chris, assisted us in learning the ropes. He was considerably passionate about teaching diving and patient with me that I felt so comfortable asking questions and taking my time until I get the hang of it. He repeatedly showed me the right way to do things and put my tension at ease.
my worried look is really *worried*
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The gang hopped onto the big boat and off the boat roared to the Manila Channel diving spot. I constantly told Markus that the best I can go is probably 8ft… anything deeper than that will really freak me out.
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Guess who joined us for
The next challenge was to roll off the boat and into the water by a “back dive” into the water. I have NEVER done this in my life. It took me a few seconds and an assuring glance from Gus before I took the leap, so to speak.
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Thankfully the tank didn’t take me down to my bottomless sorrow and as soon as I hit the water, I instantaneously bobbed on the water like a buoy.
Markus assisted us during the open water dive and navigated us through the dive spot. The undercurrent wasn’t strong but I still held his arm really tight. Two things I kept remember doing is BREATHING and EQUALIZING. Markus helped with the “inflate” and “deflate” of the BCD, which was a HUGE help.
He also pointed the breathtaking spectacles under the sea. I saw something like minuscule seahorses that don’t look like seahorses but fish. I saw MASSIVE starfishes that are as big as a 32-inch LCD in beautiful pastel blue color. They were like furniture on the sea bed that just grabs the light from everything else. Before I even noticed it, Markus pointed to his watch and showed me that we were already 30ft below sea level.
Guess who joined for a swim? 😉
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Incredible. Purely unbelievable experience! Who would have thought that GULI Diving will be that safe foreground that can make a non-swimmer like me dive into the sea with a heavy equipment on my back and waist? GULI Diving knows their business and their diving equipment are top-notch, systematically checked for safety, and branded gears that you won’t find anywhere else in Puerto Galera.
Diving is really something else. The sights are really sights to behold! Sights you will never find anywhere else and rarely captured in photos. It’s all confined in that stunning moment where you appreciate nature’s beauty beneath. There are 10,000 leagues under the sea and I can’t even begin to describe just seeing a small dot of the immense spectrum. I’m definitely gunning for my diving license.
What a memorable first SCUBA adventure!
Many thanks to Jayvee, Chie and Gus!!!
Guli Diving
A Dive Resort in Puerto Galera: Warm Beds. Cold Beer. Nitrox at no extra charge.
Delgado Beach Resort, Barangay San Isidro,
White Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
+63917 576 6682
Email: guli.diving@gmail.com
Check out Kring’s blog post:
Discover Scuba Diving at GULI Diving
Photo Credit:
Guli Diving Website
Fritz Tentativa
Jayvee Fernandez
Chie Clemente -soon-to-be-Fernandez
Nonie Tobias – Azores
Jimmy Kim
Kring Elenzano
Recent Table Guest