Learn to Dive in the Philippines' Puerto Galera

I’ve been making some progress on my Hong Kong bucket list. Permanent resident card? Check. Sailing lessons? Check plus. Next up: scuba diving. Living in Hong Kong, you are only a weekend trip away from some of the world’s best dive sites. This was the next easy check on the list.

There were two types of responses when I told friends about my scuba plans. Type 1: “Awesome!” Type 2: “WHY?!” It turns out everyone in my Type 2 sample set “learned” to scuba in the Caribbean. In the best case scenario, they paddled above a barren sandbar searching for anything cool at all until they finally caught sight of an octopus, which actually turned out to be their instructor’s dreadlocks. In the worst case, they ended up having a panic attack underwater owing to terrible instruction—or none at all.

These two problems—nothing to see and bad instruction—were two things I wanted to avoid. I wanted to be in the Type 1 “awesome” group. According to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), scuba’s largest certifying body, learning to dive properly takes a minimum of four days. For such a time commitment, I wanted to see the bounty of the deep, not vast stretches of empty sand.
 

Learning in Paradise

All my research pointed toward Puerto Galera, in the Oriental Mindoro region of the central Philippines. It boasts a beautiful and diverse coral reef which attracts iconic species such as angelfish, wrasse and butterfly fish. Only 15 years ago it was a sleepy fishing village: now the main beaches of Sabang and the La Lagunas are bustling with international resorts. There’s even the classic telltale of tourist-friendly creep: a steakhouse run by a German (Papa Fred’s, Sabang Beach, 5203 Puerto Galera, (+63) 43-287-3361)—and it ain’t bad. The area is also only three hours from Manila, meaning the whole thing was doable on a four-day excursion from Hong Kong.

Apparently, poor teachers and a toss into the deep end are all too common in schools and dive shops around the world, so I wanted to find a reputable dive school on the beach. Action Divers had rave reviews and a long-standing reputation. The company also operates a package with the nearby Out of the Blue Resort, which is a friendly well-managed resort on the higher end of the spectrum, right on the beach. So that was the package: now for the diving.

There are several levels and types of PADI certification, which can be a bit confusing for a neophyte. Most beginners will want the “Open Water Diver” course, which teaches all of the basics of scuba and certifies you for diving… well, in the open water. The course is divided into book learning (which you can also do online), equipment tests in a confined environment such as a pool, and then finally the open water portion—the fun part.

The good thing about taking this course in Puerto Galera is you can swap the pool part for a beautiful shallow coral reef. “We’re very lucky in Puerto Galera because the dive sites are so close,” Simon explains. “Some places, you have to travel all day to get to a dive site.” Plus, doing your homework poolside at the resort next door sure beats doing it in a darkened Hong Kong apartment after work.
 

Dive Time

After getting familiar with the equipment, Simon hooked us up for a shallow water dive to get a feel for it—and even the waters right off the dive shop are teeming with coral. Here we were, on the first day of the trip and we were already spotting clownfish. Scuba!

As training continued we went further afield and farther under water. Our second and third dives took us down to depths of 10 and then 18 meters. We crawled shipwrecks, swam with surgeonfish and practiced navigating with our underwater consoles. This was getting pretty boss. Was that a sea turtle that just whizzed by? Why, yes it was. Scuba!!

But make no mistake, the training did get more difficult as the days progressed. Crucial lessons included how to replace your mask underwater, in case you lose it on a dive—just think how harrowing this would be if some two-bit non-instructor just tossed you in the literal deep end. “When underwater, always be breathing,” says Simon. “This is not a joke. If you hold your breath, your lungs may collapse from the pressure.” …Scuba??
 

Another World

I used to imagine that diving must feel so free and natural. I was quickly disavowed of that notion. There is nothing “natural” about a human being submerged for prolonged amounts of time. Aside from the whole breathing thing, you also frequently need to re-pressurize your body underwater as your sinus cavities shrink and expand. It doesn’t stop once you are on land. Wearing a wetsuit and underwater pressure keep nitrogen from escaping your body as it ordinarily would. After every dive, you need to allow a rest period for your nitrogen levels to return to normal. Following a long day of diving you may feel groggy and headachy, as your body reaches equilibrium.

Plainly, we humans are not meant to exist undersea. To do so for even a brief period of time requires a mixture of technology, careful planning and education. But this is also why diving is so beautiful. The world under the sea is a land truly alien to us, and visiting it is akin to walking in space (I assume). It’s an experience like no other, and well worth ticking off your list.  Do it with a careful and thoughtful instructor who cares about your education (and your well-being!) and you’ll appreciate it all the more.  Yes, dive, my friends, and see the other side of the world. Scuba!