Diving with Live Sashimi

Diving With Live Sashimi

Since I entered the University of the Philippines, I never joined an org. I don't know why, I just didn't. Perhaps I was just content with the company I had, just too shy or simply doing other matters of consequence. Last sem though, after five years in UP, I stumbled upon this exhibit at the A.S. Lobby on marine life--fish, starfishes, shrimp, you know, things that live in the sea. I guess it was just one of your typical coincidences where I just happened to be thinking about going scuba one day. I'd seen so many documentaries on the Discovery channel during that time and was just dying to see some real fish or other sea creature for a change. (Though what I really wanted to see then and up to now are whales). Anyway, the opportunity presented itself. Now on any other occasion, I would have passed this little exhibit, and go on to other stuff like eating or procrastinating, but fate just happened to have the better of me and I was lured to the bait. First of all, I had nothing to do anyway. I wanted to see fish. I happened to have the money for the application form. And most cruel of all, Leslie was at the application booth. Now don't get me wrong, Leslie is not bad. I just hate the feeling that you can't turn somebody down just because he's your friend. And even if I did turn Leslie down a few years ago (by not going through with my other application in his other org: the UP Mountaineers) this kind of situation still felt bad. Inevitably, Leslie invited me, and defying the inertia that kept me away from org life in UP, I began my trek to become a member of the UP Marine Biological Society.

Training

Before I could become a member, I had to learn skindiving. This isn't as technical as scuba-diving, but it takes a lot of physical skill. You don't carry a tank like in scuba--all you have are your snorkel, mask and your lungs. Skindiving is like imitating dolphins. You go underwater (a few feet), then you come up to the surface (just the tip of your snorkel is okay) to breathe. Now learning how to do this with poise and assurance takes practice--so for a whole sem, I practiced along with all the other applicants at the Celebrity Sports Plaza. One of the tricks I learned (and my favorite) is the displacement method. You do this is when you're underwater and about to go up for some air. Getting air in is easy, but you have to empty your snorkel of water first (it fills when you go under). So, you tilt your head up going to the surface, and blow a little in your snorkel. Now, the air bubble in your snorkel will push the water out when you reach the surface. (I really love this because it makes me feel scientific as I'm having fun in the water).

One of the most difficult stuff that I did during my training was swimming one hundred meters nonstop in the pool. Before training, the only stroke I knew was to doggie-paddle--I couldn't even breaststroke properly. In fact, I was so worried about my swimming, I had to practice in my friends' pool (the Katigbaks of 11 Bilaan) the day before the diagnostic swim. But before long, (thanks to a lot of practice and focus) I got confident with my swimming. This I learned: be patient. You can actually swim slowly and still get to your destination. I'm not training to get an Olympic gold medal, so why hurry myself? Sooner or later I might just get too tired and drown myself.

The Rocky Road to Induction

Induction comes after training, during your first dive-out into the open water. Of course I was excited--I've never been inducted before. But like many things about me, I was besieged by bad luck. I wasn't able to buy any gear for the trip (the store closed early the day went there, which was the day before the dive-out). And after being able to borrow gear, on the day of the trip, I woke thirty minutes late. They left me. After a sem of commitment to an org, which I would never have done a few years ago, the bus leaves without me. I wasn't inducted.

Anyway, there was still a chance to get inducted (thank God). And that first chance came last December, but due to circumstances beyond my control (I accidentally spent my diving money on Magic cards and had no extra money whatsoever at all so help me God), I wasn't able to go. It was okay since my friend told me that the water was too cold for comfort. But anyhow, come January, finally, a dive-out I would be going to.

The Dive... at Last!

This was the "Invite your family and friends" fun dive. True to the spirit of the dive, I invited some of my friends and family even if I myself hadn't gone to any yet. My friends thought the seven-hundred peso fee was too steep, so none of them came. My brother, Chicoy though, didn't mind (Mommy would pay for it), and he wanted to experience diving too (partly because he'd seen too many documentaries on the Discovery channel also). The dive-out was an overnight trip to Ligpo in Batangas, and we rode a bus to get there. Most of my friends at UP MBS were excited that I came, not only because I'm still wet in the ears about getting my ears wet (hurray, a pun), but also since I would be inducted--and during that time I had no idea what it was. The bus ride was pretty violent. It felt like we were on a roller coaster due to the sharp turns the driver was making at a hundred kph, along with the potholes he so eagerly tried to avoid.

(This sudden change in train of thought is due to the fact that I wrote the next paragraphs an entire day later...)

The bus ride to Ligpo would leave at five thirty in the morning, and I had to be on it this time. My housemates in the apartment were worried that I might just miss the bus again, so they set up their alarm clocks around my mattress to make sure that I do wake up. About five minutes before the alarm went off, I woke up without intervention. I was actually excited to go. I had bought my mask and snorkel (worth two thousand ninety pesos) the day before, and I was excited. Anyway, I managed to get a tricycle to the bus station, passed by 7-Eleven at Kamias to buy juice (breakfast). I happened to stumble on a WordPerfect magazine issue on one of the racks, but since I had no money, I just hid it somewhere behind some other magazines so I can get it later when I did have money (which my brother would give me). (I would eventually go back to 7-Eleven the next day after the trip, but to my surprise--somebody bought the mag. Fortunately, I found another one (?), WordPerfect for Windows magazine, and it happened to be cheaper (just fifty bucks), so I just bought that instead). Anyway, I got on the bus that morning and my brother had arrived before me. Everyone was surprised that I had brought such a small bag. I just brought the bare essentials and they happened to bring a lot more stuff in preparation for the worst. On hindsight, shit--I wouldn't have had anything to wear had we been stranded in Ligpo by a storm or something. Yikes... well at least I travelled light. And so the bus left and we had a roller coaster ride (which is where I left off yesterday.)

First Dip

When we got there, our diving wouldn't start until one thirty in the afternoon, so after eating, I slept. When the time came for our dive (you have to be in a group with a partner), I was a bit scared since I completely forgot what I had learned a sem ago. But I paid a lot of money for this thing so might as well get on with it. Besides, I brought a disposable underwater camera with me (the one I bought two months ago for the original trip which I missed) and I had at least some purpose to this thing: that is to take some pictures. Now when I went into the water, I had a bit of a problem: I couldn't see much. You see, I didn't have enough money to get corrective lenses for my mask. And though the water does help in making things "clearer", it didn't help me with my 300 and 600 grade eyesight. The other problem was: it was too damn cold! I was swimming in icewater. It took a considerable amout of willpower to withstand the temperature, not to mention the fear of being in the open water (it was pretty deep and vast). Also, I was wearing white beach shorts with no underwear, and I had a nagging feeling I was "exposed" underwater (to anyone whose interested...) Anyhow, at least I didn't have it as bad as my brother. I guess this was his first time ever to snorkel, and after about ten minutes of swimming, he had to be dragged back to shore due to fatigue. Poor guy. Anyway, it was also my first dive and it was a shock for me who was stupid enough to unlearn everything I needed to know about diving. After around thirty minutes, we went back to shore to rest. I went back into the water two more times, and surprisingly, I was pretty okay even if I didn't see much of the fish clearly. In the words of my buddy, Big Bong: "It will all come back to you."

There were some nice blue fish and yellow and black striped fish. And I also saw a lot of black fish (which could just be dark fish, but since I couldn't see clearly, they looked black). The water actually, had an interesting thing about it. Occasionally, it would be freaking cold, and then the next moment, as warm as baby pee. The cold water is actually the tide from the sea going to shore; while the warm water is the one bouncing back into the sea. Pretty interesting huh? Anyhow, come six o'clock or so, with lack of anything else better to do, I helped with the cooking. We grilled five whole chickens, and I swear I was sick with charcoal smoke. That meal was three hours in the making, and I inhaled more smoke at one time than I could imagine in the city. I also had a tan with the heat from the grill. It was a very intense experience. Anyway, at around ten o 'clock, the members grudgingly started my induction.

Induction

Now this wasn't a big deal really. They made me choose from A to Z, but basically any of the choices would boil down to one thing: expose yourself. I chose B for Bear you Butt. And just to make it clear what I went through, I'll try to list here some of the choices that I remember:

Anyway, you get the picture. So I beared my butt for a few seconds, and I was now a member of the UP Marine Biological Society. Hurray! I'm a member... That night, I was bitten by a lot of bedbugs and I was itching all over. In the morning, I was still itching, and I started to get these gross lumps on my arm and shoulder. Those bugs really suck. Anyway, after breakfast, we had our last dive. The sun was up--it was a perfect day for skindiving. More confident than the day before, I went into the water on the other side of the cove. The group was greeted by hundreds of baby jellyfish (which still couldn't sting), and fish of all sorts. Unlike the day before, this time, I could see where I was (because of the bright sun), and I saw a lot of fish and corals this time. There were so many things to see (and pictures to take), that I stayed in the water for more than an hour. I was surprised myself. And it wasn't as cold unlike the other day (maybe because of a big breakfast). This was really the best dive I've ever had, and I just could imagine what it would all be like if I could see more clearly. For that purpose alone (to see better) I would go to the next dive (which would be sometime in March). If there's anything I learned about skindiving, it's really the adventurous spirit about it. Look into another rock, see what you can find. Follow a fish, see where it will lead you. It felt much like when I was younger, when I liked to go places around town (exploring abandoned houses, etc). It's really fun, and it's a whole different world under there. Anyway, that's how the experience went, and next time, I'll write about exactly what I did see and do underwater. So after lunch, we went home and I arrived back in the apartment at around eight pm. That trip was one of the more memorable vacations I've had. And not only did I become part of an org for the first time, I actually saw live fish face to face. Those humpback whales shouldn't be too far off

Postscript

I wrote this a few months ago and one unfortunate thing happened: I have to be re-inducted. I was not able to attend the post-dive meeting. (Deja vu?) Oh well, it was a technicality (I was actually late for it--it was all over when I arrived). But I hope that MBS is still happy to have me. Besides, I took some nice pictures.

Another Postscript

November 1, 1996
It's been more than a year since I embarked on my diving with MBS, and I still haven't been re-inducted. A dive was planned last week, but it was cancelled. Hopefully, I will dive again this November. I'll tell you all about it when I do. And here's a special treat: a picture! It's not the great, but at least its evidence that I've gone underwater... til next time.

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