Learning to Scuba Dive

A couple of weeks ago (Mar 31 - Apr 2) one of my coworkers organized a SCUBA diving trip for a number of the new expats. Philippines is known around the world as having some of the best scuba diving spots. I have always wanted to try scuba diving and since we are so close I could not pass up the opportunity. Our journey took us to Puerto Gallera. Puerto Gallera is located on the island of Mindoro which is directly south of Luzon. It is about a 2 1/2 drive south to Batangas at which point you then take a boat for about 45 mins.

Below is a shot of Sabang Beach (Puerto Gallera). The diving is great, but the beach is nothing compared to Boracay.

It was a family affair. Several Intel families joined in the fun. Of course, the Kirley family. Keogh's with their two kids, Graff's with their two kids, Beuerle's with their two kids, and Tompkin's - no kids. And, of course, all of us brought along our helpers. The Kirley's, Graff's and Ilaria Keogh had never went scuba diving before so we all took the three day crash course. We started Friday morning and did not finish until Sunday evening around 5:30 pm. We were busy each day. Amy joined our group on the discovery dive. She was not sure if wanted to do the full course. Halfway through the first day we finally got put on the wetsuit and get in the pool for our first confined water dive.

Below is a photo of Amy and I before our first confined water dive. The worst thing about a wetsuit is that it does not hind anything, i.e I need to lose some of my gut.

Halfway through the confined water dive. Amy did not feel comfortable with the underwater breathing and decided to call it day. She decided to pamper herself for the rest of the weekend.

All of us successfully passed the course. It was much more intense then I thought it would be. I had the most difficult time clearing my mask of water - while I was under water. The best part of the training is you do each task over and over. I am now completely comfortable clearing my mask under water. I plan to do more diving while Amy and the kids and back in the US in June and July.