SiDive

Friday was the first day of my scuba license program and it consisted of 6 hours of theory... So I won't bore you with that, but it did turn out that most almost everyone in my class were danish students doing internships. Except James a local Philippine guy that ended up as my diving buddy!

I passed the written test and was ready for next days confined and open water exercises. So we started the day in the pool training how to clear your mask under water, procedures for decent and ascent and how to control your buoyancy using only your breathing. Then in the afternoon we were off to our first real dive, starting from the shore of Kontiki on the island Mactan.

Everything went fine, we got to feed fish at the bottom and were now ready for the final 3 dives the next day. 

We again headed out to Mactan but this time to our proud vessel Mayabang that would take us out to the island Oblang

We performed a lot of the exercises from the pool, now just much deeper and in current. Again everything went fine and fast so there was lots of time to make dives along the bottom. Here I noticed one of our local instructors Ed, were picking up big mussels, clamps and snails. I thought they were just pretty things, but when we submerged and the crew started up the barbeque I noticed they were thrown on the grill. 

Ed and the crew in his SiDive t-shirt cocking big clamps on the BBQ

So I asked if I could have a taste and I was more than welcome, so I ended up having lunch with the crew eating mussels cooked in their own salt water and sea snails, that had to have their shell cracked open. A bit chewy but delicious and very very fresh! In addtion there was also the usual meat on sticks and rice in banana leaves buso. 

  

My buddy James and I were flying through the course and while almost everyone else were using the lunch break for a nap we were snorkeling and I was doing flips and swan dives from the ramp at the front of the boat, the worlds best playground :)

Me, James and Simon

James brought his lovely wife Cherry, daughter Cee and cousin Cherise 

Certified PADI open water buddies!

My instructor friend "Longfinger" Ed

A big thank you to Simon! I had a very nice course, living at Simons house was a treat and his family was wonderfull! I can highly recommend him to anybody considering taking a course near Cebu City. Check out his homepage at www.SiDive.com or google him to find his blog with pictures of all the people he has tought the last 10 years. 

Now to celebrate my succesfull completion of the course I had been invited to visit my friend Jessie and his family in the town of Lapu Lapu out on Mactan. I met up with Jessie at Ayala mall and we took a taxi out to Lapu Lapu.  The taxi driver was an engineer and diver himself working an extra taxi shift to earn extra money for his coming son. He gave me some good tips on diving equipment and we talked about his dream to visit LEGO land with his son sometime in the future. I wish him all the best and he was another example of how open, friendly and very well english speaking the Philipines are. If I was impressed with the taxi driver then I was about to be blown away when I met Jessies family! Jessie has a big family, his parents, 5 brothers and sisters, sons and daughter inlaws and tons of little kids! So I was almost overwhelmed meeting them all and I apologize sincerely for those of you who I can't remember the name of. I was instantly treated as family, I was served a  very nice dinner, we chatted about diving, shipyards and world economy. In the beginning the little fellas and gals were a tiny bit shy if this strange person coming their home as you can see in the pictures. But this would all soon change..

 Jessies sister Jenelyn and one of the shy little boys 

Jenelyns daughter, not so happy being passed into strangers hands 

Fresh fish, prawns, seaweed/fishegg salat Lato and course mango. 

After dinner we went to Jessies sister Janes house for mandatory kareoke, guests go first of course :) Philipinos love music and dancing and you could see the change in everybody going from happy to party mode! Once the music started all brakes were released and within seconds there were kids and adults dancing everywhere! This was truly one big happy family and I found myself fortunate to be carried away in the festivities!

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 Kids are warming up to me. Look at the little shy boy now doing V signs as I tought him :) Dancing Queen Jane sitting on the right

This quickly evolved into a mad photo session!

I cannot thank you guys enough for a wonderfull evening and I'm sure I will have to make another stop in Lapu Lapu before I leave the Philipines!

For now I leave the area around Cebu City and head down south. First stop is Moalboal, a little diving community, where I will try my fins for the first time outside school!