I was cleaning my hard drive and found this MS word document that I think I wrote more than a year ago. Im not a writer but I hope you find it entertaining hehehe...
I sat at the edge of starboard side of the wooden outrigger and prepared for the backroll entry from the manta ray bang-ka that we were on. 1 2 3 Clear! I heard the splash then saw the water cave in on me as I plunge into the crystal clear water of Caban Cove. I felt a slight panic as I felt the heaviness of the tank and the weights pull me down. I then kicked a little and pulled my head up the water. Jojo, my instructor, was giving me the ok sign, I signaled back, Im ok.
My decision to take up scuba diving was a quick one. I clearly remembered that perfect afternoon in Boracay while standing on the powdery white sand in front of Jonys, I said to myself this is what life is all about for me. The freedom of open space. But what will I do in open space as far stretch as the ocean?
As I stood there in the sand thinking of the different things that I could possibly do on a beach, silhouettes of 4 people emerge from the pristine blue waters. The sun was almost down and everything seemed to be golden brown, the figures looked like aliens carrying frog like feet and dressed in fitted clothing that looked like thick tights. Scuba Divers. It then hit me, thats something I could do. Live on the beach and go where no man has gone before, well at least a place where only few have gone.
I took my openwater course May of 2004. After my check out dive on the 22nd of the same month, I was diving every weekend. I hooked up with every diving instructor I could and every dive group I could find. For the next 4 months or so, diving brought to me a whole new world full of the most intriguing people from all walks of life. I soon then realized that diving was not just a sport. It was a lifestyle that is lived more than just underwater.
Puerto Galera was one of the most interesting places that I went to during my months of diving adventures. After diving in the waters of Anilao for more than 2 months, I decided I wanted to try another place. So, on September of 2004, I packed my diving bag and headed of to Batangas Pier. Batangas Pier is the jump of point to Puerto Galera. An island paradise with one of the Asias most interesting marine biodiversity. The island itself is big and the beaches are divided into at least 5 different locations around the island. I stayed with Action Divers, a diving outfit located in Big Lalaguna beach and have been there for more than 10 years. The place is owned by Roscoe Thompson, a British sailor who decided to make Puerto Galera his permanent home.
The 3 days that I stayed with Puerto Galera was one of the most enriching experiences that I have had in my entire life. More than the fantastic high voltage dives around the island, the conversations with Huw James and Klaus Rachow was very interesting in a different kind of way. Dives with Action Divers are scheduled everyday at 9 am, 12 nn and 3 pm. In between this times, I would catch the two sitting on the dive shop staring into the ocean or reading a book. Hugh James was the person I got to talk to most. He is a quiet bloke who has been in the island for more than 5 years. An engineer by profession, Huw went to the Philippines on a Solar panel project in Cebu. I could not quite remember where he started his diving but Im quite certain that he took his IDC in Puerto Galera. He fell in love with the island and just like most of the foreigners living there, decided to make it home. I was so intrigued with how Hugh lives his life in the island everyday. Everyday at around 8 in the morning you would see him walking down the beach in shorts, sandals, book and towel in hand. Mawnin mate, he would greet me. He would then stand in front of the shop and catch a short glimpse of the ocean, as if saying the same greeting to it. At around 9 pm we would prepare for the mornings dive. Hugh had a very simple set of equipment. He wore a worn out tattered pair of booties that clearly showed how much diving this guy has done. The boat trip to the sites was always quiet, compared to the laughing and singing that is usually experienced on my dives in Anilao. Huw was not the type of person who would strike a conversation with you but would always be enthusiastic to answer when ask about diving and his life.
Klaus on the other hand is a German national who has been with Action Divers since the time the shop opened. I was not able to ask Klaus how he ended up in Puerto Galera but had a nice conversation with him about life. He would go back to Germany every few years and would shiver upon arriving at the airport not being accustomed to the cold anymore and owning summer clothes only. His trips back to Germany would always be a realization for him of how lucky he is being in a place like Puerto Galera. doing what he loves the most. Everyone back home was always busy looking for money and more of it. I asked him what the peak season was in Puerto Galera and he said that it was so varied. He even believed that Philippines was a single season country. I was there during what was suppose to be the rainy months but the sun was out like it was mid April.
Klaus and Huw represents majority of the people who have come to Puerto Galera to make it their home. The simplicity of the lives they live made a great impact on me. Looking back at it now, I realized that I had that chance to live that simple life. On the 3 days that I stayed there I cooked my own food and seldom went out to eat. Not that I wanted to live on canned meat and sardines, but because of the cost of food on that part of the island it was wise to shop for food in the nearby wet market and cook it in the room. I stayed in a P500 room which had cable TV, bathroom and kitchen. I waked up at six thirty every morning, had breakfast and hang out at the dive shop the whole day. At night I would stroll around the different bars and have a few beers with more interesting people, divers and non-divers alike. On my short stay there I realized something. I think that Scuba Diving shops offer not just Scuba Diving as a product but the shop, the instructors and the people around offer a glimpse of life. To people who head down to places like Puerto Galera, most only get to wish and dream that they can live in a place like such, and meeting people like Huw and Klaus makes them realize that yes there are really people who go out there and live their dreams.
I sat at the edge of starboard side of the wooden outrigger and prepared for the backroll entry from the manta ray bang-ka that we were on. 1 2 3 Clear! I heard the splash then saw the water cave in on me as I plunge into the crystal clear water of Caban Cove. I felt a slight panic as I felt the heaviness of the tank and the weights pull me down. I then kicked a little and pulled my head up the water. Jojo, my instructor, was giving me the ok sign, I signaled back, Im ok.
My decision to take up scuba diving was a quick one. I clearly remembered that perfect afternoon in Boracay while standing on the powdery white sand in front of Jonys, I said to myself this is what life is all about for me. The freedom of open space. But what will I do in open space as far stretch as the ocean?
As I stood there in the sand thinking of the different things that I could possibly do on a beach, silhouettes of 4 people emerge from the pristine blue waters. The sun was almost down and everything seemed to be golden brown, the figures looked like aliens carrying frog like feet and dressed in fitted clothing that looked like thick tights. Scuba Divers. It then hit me, thats something I could do. Live on the beach and go where no man has gone before, well at least a place where only few have gone.
I took my openwater course May of 2004. After my check out dive on the 22nd of the same month, I was diving every weekend. I hooked up with every diving instructor I could and every dive group I could find. For the next 4 months or so, diving brought to me a whole new world full of the most intriguing people from all walks of life. I soon then realized that diving was not just a sport. It was a lifestyle that is lived more than just underwater.
Puerto Galera was one of the most interesting places that I went to during my months of diving adventures. After diving in the waters of Anilao for more than 2 months, I decided I wanted to try another place. So, on September of 2004, I packed my diving bag and headed of to Batangas Pier. Batangas Pier is the jump of point to Puerto Galera. An island paradise with one of the Asias most interesting marine biodiversity. The island itself is big and the beaches are divided into at least 5 different locations around the island. I stayed with Action Divers, a diving outfit located in Big Lalaguna beach and have been there for more than 10 years. The place is owned by Roscoe Thompson, a British sailor who decided to make Puerto Galera his permanent home.
The 3 days that I stayed with Puerto Galera was one of the most enriching experiences that I have had in my entire life. More than the fantastic high voltage dives around the island, the conversations with Huw James and Klaus Rachow was very interesting in a different kind of way. Dives with Action Divers are scheduled everyday at 9 am, 12 nn and 3 pm. In between this times, I would catch the two sitting on the dive shop staring into the ocean or reading a book. Hugh James was the person I got to talk to most. He is a quiet bloke who has been in the island for more than 5 years. An engineer by profession, Huw went to the Philippines on a Solar panel project in Cebu. I could not quite remember where he started his diving but Im quite certain that he took his IDC in Puerto Galera. He fell in love with the island and just like most of the foreigners living there, decided to make it home. I was so intrigued with how Hugh lives his life in the island everyday. Everyday at around 8 in the morning you would see him walking down the beach in shorts, sandals, book and towel in hand. Mawnin mate, he would greet me. He would then stand in front of the shop and catch a short glimpse of the ocean, as if saying the same greeting to it. At around 9 pm we would prepare for the mornings dive. Hugh had a very simple set of equipment. He wore a worn out tattered pair of booties that clearly showed how much diving this guy has done. The boat trip to the sites was always quiet, compared to the laughing and singing that is usually experienced on my dives in Anilao. Huw was not the type of person who would strike a conversation with you but would always be enthusiastic to answer when ask about diving and his life.
Klaus on the other hand is a German national who has been with Action Divers since the time the shop opened. I was not able to ask Klaus how he ended up in Puerto Galera but had a nice conversation with him about life. He would go back to Germany every few years and would shiver upon arriving at the airport not being accustomed to the cold anymore and owning summer clothes only. His trips back to Germany would always be a realization for him of how lucky he is being in a place like Puerto Galera. doing what he loves the most. Everyone back home was always busy looking for money and more of it. I asked him what the peak season was in Puerto Galera and he said that it was so varied. He even believed that Philippines was a single season country. I was there during what was suppose to be the rainy months but the sun was out like it was mid April.
Klaus and Huw represents majority of the people who have come to Puerto Galera to make it their home. The simplicity of the lives they live made a great impact on me. Looking back at it now, I realized that I had that chance to live that simple life. On the 3 days that I stayed there I cooked my own food and seldom went out to eat. Not that I wanted to live on canned meat and sardines, but because of the cost of food on that part of the island it was wise to shop for food in the nearby wet market and cook it in the room. I stayed in a P500 room which had cable TV, bathroom and kitchen. I waked up at six thirty every morning, had breakfast and hang out at the dive shop the whole day. At night I would stroll around the different bars and have a few beers with more interesting people, divers and non-divers alike. On my short stay there I realized something. I think that Scuba Diving shops offer not just Scuba Diving as a product but the shop, the instructors and the people around offer a glimpse of life. To people who head down to places like Puerto Galera, most only get to wish and dream that they can live in a place like such, and meeting people like Huw and Klaus makes them realize that yes there are really people who go out there and live their dreams.
