Scuba Diva'

So, after about a year of saying "I'm going to take scuba lessons" and not really following through with it for one reason or another, I literally took the plunge and signed up for a course. Laura, my roommate from last year had taken classes with Dive Network and seemed to like the group so I went with them. Also, I couldn't justify taking two days off just to be able to take open water courses at a resort, and these guys were really flexible with scheduling. I had to buy my own gear, which is pretty pricey but in the long run, I'd rather have my own equipment. Besides, I don't know if I could deal with trying on a new wetsuit every time.

So, one night of classes and one night of confined pool dives led to a dive weekend in Anilao for practical skills tests in Anilao, Batangas at Leisure Dive Resort.


Dive Network crew were regulars at that resort so it was a really friendly atmosphere. We had some really fantastic buffet meals too, and all the coffee i could want.


sunset from the waterside.

Diving was great though, I didn't have any major problems, aside from my fear/annoyance at having to clear my mask. Usually I open my eyes underwater, but since I have to wear contacts for diving, I panic just a little bit since I have to do everything by touch. Our first dives were at Leisure house reef, which didn't have much as far as coral or fish, but gave us practice on swimming from the beach, Koala (found angelfish & moray eel), Cathedral, ( couple lionfish, surgeons and stonefish) which had a cross placed there somehow.

So, these next pictures are from my second day of diving. I didn't want to bring my underwater camera since we were still doing skills tests and just in case I panicked underwater, I didn't want to lose it.




our assistant instructor, Ramon


our "class" me on the left, Cecile, our instructor Tom Morato, & JB.





our last dive was at Darilaut, which boasted the wreck of a floating casino. All that's left now is the structure, kind of like a hollowed out rubix cube. We saw batfish there and random soft corals.

So, as of now, I'm fully certified and just waiting for my fancy ID card in the mail. Actually, this week I'm going on my first dive vacation with some people. I'm really excited and hoping to not have to put my "in case this happens" skills to use.