Photo c/o Trish Lim (trishintransit.com)
It was an uneventful ride from the throngs of the metro to Anilao, Batangas. The resort is nestled cozily along the beach. We rested and ate breakfast before beginning our crash course for discover scuba diving.Discover Scuba Diving with Aiyanar
Honestly, I've only glanced at dive shops, haven't really taken time to look at the facilities of the dive shops I've passed by whenever I travel to tropical countries, but the dive shop in Aiyanar is quite impressive.
The diving facility was replete with oxygen tanks, masks, hot showers, BCDs, wet suits, clean towels, cleaning areas, a camera room, and everything you will need for a fun diving session. Everything was kept clean and orderly for divers, even for first timers like myself.
The resort has its own boat to take divers to various dive spots in the area.
Just before lunch, we were briefed about diving and the things we need to do while underwater. Our dive instructor, Marco, discussed the dos and don'ts of diving. I realized that it takes a lot of preparation before one gets in the water. But before we tried our sea legs in the ocean, we were taken to the resort's pool to prepare.
Photo c/o Trish Lim (trishintransit.com)
I liked how our dive instructor was very thorough. Unless you're Aquaman, speaking and breathing underwater is out of the question. We were taught different hand signals, what to do in the event that you lose the respirator underwater, why one should always breathe even if you suddenly lose the respirator underwater, always check your oxygen levels, why equalizing before and every time one goes deeper is important, and why it is important to use your mind to call upon the creatures of the ocean in the event that you run out of oxygen, aside from the last one, Marco taught us all we needed to know for diving.I know how to swim, but diving is a different kind of animal. One of the exercises took us to the bottom of the pool. If I'm not mistaken it was around 15 ft. I felt like I was in an airplane taking off or landing, but only underwater; equalizing even before you start feeling pressure in your ears is important, lesson learned.
Photo c/o Trish Lim (trishintransit.com)
The Dive: Exploring the Deep Blue SeaAs unlicensed divers, my partner Trish and I were not allowed to take photos or videos of our dive. The only people allowed to take photos or videos was our instructor Marco, the dive master with us, and the other licensed divers (our other travel blogger companions) that came with us.
We dove in two different locations around Anilao, for around 30 minutes each. I only managed to snorkel in the tropical destinations I've visited, but diving is a completely different world. You get to see more of the action up close and personal. We got to see all sorts of table corals, hard corals, and soft corals that covered the spectrum of a rainbow. There were also all sorts of fish that swam around us as we got deeper. Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, Poseidon, Aquaman, and the cast of Little Mermaid were all there. Kidding aside, I couldn't exactly tell the different types of fauna swimming in the depths of Anilao. My knowledge of underwater sea life is limited to names of fictional characters in cartoons, comics, and pop culture.
Our dive instructor, Marco, was with us throughout our 2 discover scuba diving sessions. He taught us the ropes and frequently asked us if we were alright during the dives.
To succinctly describe how I felt during the dive here is a link to a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC_mV1IpjWA.
Aiyanar Resort
Address: Sitio Looc, Barangay Bagalangit, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines.
Email: [email protected]
Contact Details: (+63)917-594-0056, (+63)917-866-6332,(+63)999-999-7452, (+63)917-883-1439
For more information you can visit their website www.aiyanar.com.
*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but all views and opinions are my own.
