into the deep
over the weekend, i got dragged to anilao, where i had two intro dives. it wasn't my first time to go down depths below 10 feet from the surface, the last one being in balicasag island in 2004. i insisted that i needed to get instructions before i plunged into the water, noting that i'm not exactly a good swimmer, nor am i most confident around water. but andrew (arcellana, who is a nephew of the late national artist for literature franz arcellana, and uncle of my UP diliman batch 1997 class valedictorian ian nuqui, and erstwhile AMCI B2k7 trainee) told me that he had no problems with me. we crashed andrew's surf hut in anilao, past arthur's and crystal blue: a small but cozy two-level house a few meters from the beach. everyone encouraged me to finally get my C-card, and it is part of my plans for the year, and i've thumbed a date after the kota trip. even the DM henry had no problems with me at all, noting my confidence underwater, which was really faux i'd have to confess. my throat was dry for the entire 20 minutes, and i would have been very scared if i hadn't seen anyone ahead of me.
but i am slowly conquering this fear of deep water. jason and i swam from the boat all the way to sombrero island about 100 meters away, which is a feat for me, considering i had no vest to keep me aloft. i should've done this when i went to donsol!
on another note, anilao is fantastic underwater. there is hardly any beach, but just a few meters from the shore, there are clumps of corals teeming with an array of fish more colorful than terrestrial birds. of course anilao pales in comparison to pandan island and apo reef, but the latter two aren't as convenient to go to! i mentioned my plans to do diving to my editor and she already has an assignment for me! an all-expense paid trip to verde island! how cool is that! haha. and he said the lifestyle editor of MB was wowed by my article on dinagyang! how come all this talent is so belatedly recognized?! haha. and it comes at a time when the philippines has been chosen as diving destination of the year. great!
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i had a really weird dream last night. i think i went to a theme park with a large pool that had both dolphins and elephants swimming in its waters. strangely, there was a prehistoric mammoth in the pool as well. and i also dreamed i had gotten lost in a series of stairs trying to find the toilet. strange.