2 Days of Scuba Diving on Boracay Island
It’s always been a dream of mine to learn how to go scuba diving. When the opportunity presented itself while I was on Boracay Island in the Philippines, it was too good to pass up. This is the story of me getting PADI Open Water certified during my trip to the Philippines.
Calypso Beach and Dive Resort
When booking my stay at Boracay Island, I was pleasantly surprised that my hotel was also home to one of the island’s best scuba diving schools. The hotel itself was awesome. We stayed in the junior suite, a beach facing property with floor to ceiling windows on the third floor. It was marvelous, and very well maintained.
Besides being a pretty fantastic hotel, it was also like a sign from the heavens to take the opportunity to learn scuba diving. Really, what better place is there to learn than in the Philippines. One conversation with Renato who was to become my instructor, and I was sold on the idea. Searching for adventure, my attention was pointed at the clear blue sea.
Getting Acclimated
The thought of breathing under water is enough to terrify a lot of people. I am not one of those people. I was a swimmer in my youth, and as such always attracted to aquatic sports. After watching a video on the hazards of scuba diving, I was strapping on my wet suit and take ready to take the dive.
Into the swimming pool that is. Before braving the open seas, it was important to learn to use my equipment in a safer environment. Thankfully that didn’t take long and I got the hang of breathing under water pretty quickly. Buoyancy was the challenge for me. Getting the hang of floating under water rather than swimming isn’t an easy concept to master.
Braving the Seas
Over the next two days I completed 4 scuba diving sessions in the Sulu Sea. These were hands down some of the most incredible experiences I ever had. Floating weightlessly in the water in search of wonders under the water.
Forgive me for being cheesy, but the whole time while scuba diving I kept getting the thought that this is what Ariel’s life was like in the Little Mermaid (my favorite Disney movie). There are so many wildly beautiful things to discover under the water, from animals to corals, if you can brave the fear.
Underwater Life
There is no way to describe the level of excitement that ran through my body as I found schools of fish swimming around me, close enough to touch. Some of them were colors I’d never seen in my life. Some even close enough to touch. The waters were crystal clear, so visibility was amazing.
As I followed my scuba diving partner and Renato, in the distance we saw a large shadow. Later, Renato told us it was a shark. Kind of glad I didn’t know that at the time. The wonders were endless. Corals of all shapes and sizes. Fish hiding among them, and crabs scurrying across the sea floor. It’s a whole other world under the sea, and the truth is I know very little about it.
Chasing Sea Turtles
One of the marine animals I was dying to see was the sea turtle. They are majestic fascinating animals that can grow up to roughly 2.5 feet and weigh up to 100 lbs. They can live to 50 years old. Not to mention they’re absolutely adorable. So we went chasing sea turtles.
For the first 3 dives they eluded us to my utter disappointment. It even became a running joke between me and one of the other instructors, Darwin, that I would never get to see one. I can’t describe the utter excitement I felt when we finally found Mr. Turtle on our last dive. For a solid 10 minutes we floated near him, marveling at his size and grace. It was the most exciting part of my scuba diving experience at Boracay Island.
Final Thoughts
Learning the art of scuba diving was the most exhilarating part of my trip to the Philippines. It took something major off my bucket list. It also made me a junkie. Within months of my trip, I had hooked up with a local scuba diving school in Long Island, NY and was on my way to an Advanced Open Water Diving certificate.
Besides Mr. Turtle, Renato and Darwin were the highlights of this educational experience. Easy to trust and get along with, I don’t think I could have asked for better instructors. The trip happened to overlap my birthday. They even brought me cake and beer to celebrate. Who would have thought I would actually enjoy doing homework on vacation?
Photo Credit: Otaner Jr Pacumberto
Tell Me Your Thoughts
More Travel Inspiration
In all likelihood, you’ve scrolled through Instagram looking at photos in preparation for your trip. So what are the best photo spots in Barcelona? Let’s find out…
Hidden deep in the mountains, there is an ancient city that seems more like a fairy tale land than an actual live place. Machu Picchu, Peru, the old stomping grounds…
Marrakesh is a bustling and vibrant red city, and is the fourth largest in Morocco. As a former imperial city, it is both an economic and vastly cultural. There is plenty to see…
Fact! Cartagena is Colombia’s most popular destination for ringing in the new year. Rightfully so, as the city puts on quite the party. The tropical climate creates the most…
The city of San Juan, Puerto Rico is definitely a place “rich” in a large number of ways, as I rediscovered when visited back in February. There is unparalleled beauty to be found…
Ok, so lets be realistic. Smurfs are probably not real…right? Despite Colombia Pictures’ attempt to make us believable that these adorable blue mini-people could be real…
Other Destinations
More Travel Inspiration
Search hotels and more...
Who Am I?
Want to know what makes me such an expert on travel? Find out a little bit more about how I got to visit 50+ countries around the world.
NEWSLETTER SIGNUP
Sign up to get updates about my upcoming blog posts!
This Post Has One Comment
I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog.
Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to
see a great blog like this one today.