Friday 22 July 2005 - Scuba Babe!!

Hmmm - well, I'm not doing as well with this as I hoped. Partly this is due to the fact that I only have internet access at work and at the moment, as I feel compelled to get home to Bob and Judi's at a civilised hour, I can't really stay late to update my blog. Also it could just well be that I am well versed in procrastinating. Anyway - seeing as I have now sent this link to everybody at work, I figured I should give them something to read!!
So last weekend I went off back down to the island of Mindoro (loved the reference Pip!) to breath the clean air, partake of the good food and try to pretend I wouldn't have to go back to Manila at the end of the weekend! I had Monday off work so we had three days (yipee) and went with Ange, one of the other AYADs and Debs, who I work with. Achelle, another girl from work, was supposed to come to, but had to cancel at the last minute, which was very sad.

We had a lovely start to the weekend as Bob and Judi's driver drove us down to Batangas (the town where you catch the boat to get to Mindoro) in their car - it was so much nicer than the bus! We felt very decadent and very unlike volunteers!! To get to Mindoro, you catch a bus (or your hosts car and driver!) to Batangas, which is anywhere from two to three and a half hours south of Manila (depending on traffic) and then a bangka over to the town you want to get to. A bangka is a Philippino boat, which comes in a variety of sizes ranging from big enough for two Phl boys to the biggest I have seen, which supposedly takes 60 people, but the actual number limit is 'room for one more'! They are just your basic boat but with those things sticking out the side that balance them (have NO idea what they are called!) that are made just of bamboo and always look to me like they should be really flimsy, but in actually fact are very sturdy (I mean, children jump off them and stuff). We had a slightly rough crossing over (monsoon season and all) and eventually got to Puerta Galera.

This is another thing about the Philippines. We wanted to catch a boat to Sabang. So we go into the boat terminus at Batangas and go to the counter that has a sign for boats to Sabang and ask for three tickets to Sabang. However, you always get these guys who latch on to you and appoint themselves your guides in the notoriously difficult task of buying a ticket for a boat, walking towards that boat and getting on to that boat (don't know how on earth I managed this before having their assistance). And with the assistance of these guys (who, by some massive coincidence worked for the company that was running this boat!!), we somehow wound up with tickets to Puerta Galera, instead of Sabang. (Quick geography lesson - Sabang is about ten minutes away from Coral Cove - the resort where we were staying. Puerta Galera (hereafter PG) is about twenty minutes away, although in a different direction. So going to PG is not the biggest disaster in the world, but we had arranged to a Coral Cove jeep to meet us in Sabang and weren't sure they would come to PG). Of course, when we said we wanted to go to Sabang, that is where we were told we were going (did they think we wouldn't eventually notice!) and it wasn't until we were walking towards a boat that wasn't a bangka and had a honking great big sign on the front of it saying Puerta Galera that I stopped and asked point blank, "Is this boat going to Sabang or Puerta Galera?" at which point the guy finally fessed up that they had sold us tickets to PG. The PG boat was leaving at 9.00 and the Sabang one we had been aiming for was meant to leave at 9.30 but he said there wasn't a Sabang boat until 10.30. We asked him about the one at 9.30 and he said, 'no boat until 10.30' and then that he didn't know about earlier ones because it was a different company. Of course - that is in his best interests anyway so we took it with a grain of salt. However, it is not at all uncommon for boats to be cancelled, if there aren't enough people or they want to paint the boat or they just don't feel like sailing right then because there is some diverting new reality TV show on. The first time we tried to come home from Sabang (about six weeks ago) we went for the nine o'clock boat only to find that it wasn't running until ten o'clock and they had cancelled every service since five that morning (hourly service - so we had six boats worth of people on ours - was very cozy!) And due to the plausability of the 9.30 cancellation and the fact that I had seen the names of our Aussie friends on the passenger list for the PG boat we ultimately decided to just get on this one. It all ended well as the Coral Cove jeep came to PG to meet us and dropped our friends in Sabang.

I have basically told you this story to try to illustrate some of the daily situations in the Philippines. What is funny is that this whole thing didn't seem remotely strange to us at all - it is pretty run of the mill. But I occasionally get frustrated that the most simple things can become complicated, and that we can't go anywhere without people trying to sell us things/services/their sob stories (I have had exactly the same story twice now from this guy near my home - I should have let him finish and allowed myself the time to come up with the perfect comeback but instead just cut him off in the middle with "I have heard your speech before and gave you 150 pesos last time." I am kind of hoping he does try me at least once more as he is instantly memorable with his speech - it was identical both times "I am not a bad guy. I am a foreigner like you" (despite that fact that he is actually a Philippino and goes on to tell you that he lives in Los Banos which is about two hours south?!?!) and then he starts crying about the sibling that he has lost and was meant to meet at a building near here. Next time, I am going to ask him lots of questions and try to get him to cry more and more and see how long I can draw it out... I know that is really mean but I have started giving way too much money away to beggars (sorry Mum - I seem to have regressed) and hate being conned - especially when on a volunteer allowance. Am becoming a little harder again in recent weeks.

Anyway - I have gotten away from the weekend (there's another great story about our trip home to come - just wait!) So we got to PG and eventually Coral Cove and had to spend a while getting the message across that we really did want a bed to ourselves and then settled in. Due to CC being run by Brits, it has toasted sandwhiches on the menu which we always find very exciting (I didn't realise that I missed them until I saw them on a menu and then I was like "I have to have that!" and then Debs went off diving, Ange went snorkelling and I...well...I went and had a nap!! Bob and Judi have ABC Asia on their cable service and I had managed to come home the previous night just as the Essendon/Collingwood game was starting and managed to be tuning in for the one game all season (I think!) that Essendon has actually won, so only got about four hours sleep, by the time we left Manila at 6.30 the next morning (footy is on pretty late here!) I should probably clarify that previous sentence for the many non-Aussies out there. ABC Asia is a service that the Australian Broadcasting Center runs into Asian countries - it has a lot of ABC shows so documentaries and news (and Denton!) plus some commercial shows (plenty of All Saints and Blue Heelers - PJ seems so incongruous in Manila!) and is greatly beloved by all Aussie expats (who can afford it. Volunteers cannot, hence my delight at having it whilst staying with Bob and Judi!). I was referring to Australian Rules Football and my team, the Essendon Bombers, who are having a very sad season (to my father's eternal dismay as he reports in his emails!) but struck in lucky in a game they were supposed to lose!)

So now that I have indulged in another, rather pointless, aside, I will get back to Coral Cove. Many of you have heard me rave about this place from the last time I went there, but it is so tranquil (the cement mixer that greeted us on Saturday notwithstanding!), secluded and beautiful. It is on its own little cove and you have it to yourself - shared with the little fishing village a few hundred metres away. You basically go out of your room, walk ten steps to the water, get in and the coral is RIGHT THERE! You can just snorkel (or dive a bit further out) or swim or laze about. It is primarily a diving resort (as most are around there) but it is quite possible to just laze around reading and partaking of their excellent bar/kitchen and the fun company. So I got up from my nap and had a lovely swim (jellyfish notwithstanding!) and then the heavens opened so we hunkered down in our room for a while. Debs had been off scuba diving (she is moving to Singapore in two weeks so was getting in her last diving trip before leaving the Philippines - the catalyst for this whole adventure). Then we went into Sabang to have dinner with two other AYADs who were spending the weekend there. It was a lot of fun to catch up with Naomi (who came in our intake and is working at the University of the Philippines on sweet potatoes) and Leharne (who came in September last year and is working at the International Rice Institute, along with about 1000 other expats...and yes, I may be slightly exxagerating). Leharne is a very keen diver who got her open water licence earlier this year and can't be stopped - is not going for her navigation licence (I think!) They both live in Los Banos - a couple of hours south of Manila - and were supposed to have come to Sabang with us all the previous weekend, but were sick and had to cancel. So that was really fun to play with them.

Sunday was the big day - Ange and I went scuba diving!!! We did this discover scuba where you can try it out - they show you all the equipment and teach you a few basics and then you are off. So while Debs went off to do her fancy-pants WWII Japanses ship wreck shark dive (or something!) Ange and I sat at the floating bar off Sabang (which is exactly that) and got into our gear. We looked so professional in those wetsuits (all that lycra really does something for one's self esteem...not!) and these absolutely massive tanks on our backs that you had to be sitting down to put on (and they ask you your weight and give you a weight belt...reminded me of flying to northern Uganda and having to stand on the scales myself before being allowed onto the plane!) and then the big moment where we had to jump in to the water. I think we looked at each other and thought "what are we doing?" before ultimately taking the plunge (small pun intended!) and jumping in!

So we did a few exercises (I was probably the worst person ever at clearing my mask after it filled with water, as it kept going up my nose and I kept coughing and spluttering and pulling off my mask...which of course is not going to work if one is under water. Actually come to think of it - we never practiced that under water...hmmm... in the end I just thought 'well, hopefully that won't happen, so let's just get on with this'!) and then our instructor, Ricky, said "okay - we will go under now?" and I thought we would go down and have a few breathes and then come back up. But no - we went down and kept going until we were 20,000 leagues under the sea (or, about four metres!) and sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor! It was pretty cool - I was just thinking "I am scuba diving"..."and I sound like Darth Vadar" (that is all I could think, breathing in and out of the regulator - that is exactly what you sound like - I kept expecting to hear dum da dum music!) So we equalised our ears a bit and kind of got used to being there and then Ricky gestured that we should head of and explore...so we did! It all seemed to be missing some steps to me (I actually never saw my guage or learned about anything technical - just totally trusting in Ricky!!) but we pushed off, and I sadly cut my hand on the coral (it is still sore and not pretty, although it is healing - but everyone who tells you how sharp coral is, is NOT lying!) You don't actually swim much when scuba diving - you are wearing this inflatable vest and you inflate and deflate it to go up and down, which takes a bit of getting used to, and then you just kind of kick yourself forward. It is a bit hard to manoeuvre with the big tank and your peripheral vision is not great due to the mask. So it takes a bit of getting used to. But we were swimming around for a while and then felt a tap behind us and there was Debs and her dive master, Christian. It was a lot of fun having her there with us for our first dives, although she had started long before us and so had to go up before we were finished. But Ange was having trouble equalising so Christian was assigned to go up to a shallower depth with her and equalise and Debs was reassigned to Ricky (although she was essentially independent) and he just grabbed my hand and started towing me around under the water. Which was great - I really didn't have to think at all...could just sit back (figuratively speaking) and enjoy the scenery. It wasn't the most spectacular coral that we were diving in (Debs was a little disappointed that they hadn't taken us anywhere better for our first dive) but it was still amazing to be floating along on the bottom of the sea.

We saw an eel, which was really ugly and a little scary - we only saw its head as it was under a rock and you basically had to lie on the ocean floor to see it. We also saw some sea snakes, which are very venomous but have these tiny little mouths, so find it quite hard to actually bit anything, so that is fine. We also saw a puffer fish - all puffed up and extremely ugly! And lots of Nemos! They are apparently a bit agressive and will protect their anemones quite vociferously, but it is hard to be wary of something that small! All they are going to do is try to bite you with teeth the size of a grain of sand! So we toodled around there for forty minues (time just had no concept - we really didn't know how long we had been down there) and went down to nine metres (the deepest they can take an unlicenced diver is twelve metres) and eventually we came back up and were just grinning at each other with these very stupid 'can you believe how cool that was' grins!! As I said to Mum on the phone a few days later, "I think we've got the bug - we want to get our Open Water licences now." She was suitably thrilled and responded with a sarcastic "That was exactly the news I was hoping to hear" and obviously wishing I would gravitate towards less high-risk sports, like knitting and croquet!! (although apparently scuba diving has about the same injury rate as bowling - not sure if that is lawn or ten pin!!LOL)

Getting out of the water is not a terribly elegant proposition. Whilst still in the water you have to divest yourself of, first, the weight belt and then the tank (you don't realise how much that thing is weighing on your back until you take it off) and then your flippers - all this may sound easy, but I am here to tell you...it is NOT! And then you get to mount the half-broken steps up to the floating bar and try to stagger over to the chairs. And Debs was just sprawled there with a coke looking like she was doing a Visa card commercial or something - not a care in the world!!! So then Debs went off for her second dive and Ange and I sat with Ricky at the floating bar and just talked about diving for an hour or so. All in all, the experience was most satisfactory and we can't wait to get back in to it.

I have stayed at work much too late finishing this, so may tell you about our adventures getting home (basically, a trip that could potentially take as little as three to four hours took ten!) another occasion.

Hope you are all well. Thank you to the many people who have emailed me in response to reading my blog entries - obviously the way to stuff an inbox!! I will eventually get around to replying to everybody (I hope!) but have limited hotmail access so often take a while.

Have a great weekend everybody. In true Philippino fashion they announced today (Friday) that Monday will be a public holiday here. The president is giving her State of the Nation address and there are going to be a lot of protests and rallies so just to keep things a bit safer, they are keeping everyone at home. We have had three Mondays as public holidays since I got here, and each time, they only announced it on the previous Friday. So we are always frantically trying to make plans at the last weekend. I think I will actually stay in Manila this time - I have a lot on this weekend. Bit of a waste though...Funny though - apparently all these other politicians are going to give their own individual States of the Nation as well, in opposition to GMA. So there will be, like, ten States of the Nation - maybe you can just pick the one you like best!!LOL
See you around the bend
Toodlepip
Kate