All my bags are packed and ready to go!: Puerto Princesa : Honda Bay and my first SCUBA Dive

To get to experience the beach life in Palawan, we headed to HONDA BAY - a group of tiny islands 12 kilometers from the heart of Puerto Princesa.

Going to Honda Bay, we traveled going to the wharf where the boats for rent are located. Each boat cost 1,500 that you can use to hop over the different islands. On the way, we passed by on a SCUBA shop along the road for snorkeling gear rentals. June and Venus went down and checked on the gears while I stayed on the van since I have my own snorkeling gears with me.

Little did I know that they were offered of SCUBA Diving by the shop owner. They were so excited about the SCUBA thing. They went back and asked if I also wanted to try. I told them "No, not this time". Im not prepared to try SCUBA that time, besides it wasnt in the plan to go diving in Palawan.

I suddenly thought of the underwater camera I borrowed from my travel buddy Hanna ( thanks Han for the cam) the she bought when I had finally decided to own a DSLR way back May 2011.I think that it would be great if I can capture my first SCUBA dive and take pictures underwater. But then again, its no use for it is only waterproof up to 5 feet. That's what I thought.

Everyone else was at the shop except me. So I also went down and checked on what's keeping them so long. It seemed that they were very busy filing up some information sheets and waivers.

Out of blue, the guide said that it would be awesome if we have an underwater cam. Upon hearing the word " underwater cam" I turned my back and told them " I have one". The guide was pleased and told me that it would be perfect for they can use it to take pictures underwater. Venus and June were excited upon hearing it.

I asked the guide how deep will they be going?. "Around 15 feet" he replied. But I said that my cam is only waterproof up to 5 feet. The guide wouldn't believe me so he asked if i can show him the cam. Ok so I went up and took the underwater cam from my bag. I didnt bother to check if it is really 5 feet and I'm too lazy to take it out from its camera case.

So I went back to the shop and handed it over to the guide. He opened the case and looked at the cam. I saw a smile in his face and said " Sir, waterproof ito up to to 5 meters not 5 feet. Pwede sya up to 16 feet". I was dumbfounded " Huh?".. I took the camera and its true, its waterproof up to 5 meters.

I was so delighted that time that I just said " Asan na po ang fi-fill upan na forms at mag SCUBA na din ako". So there it goes. That's the story of how I was convinced to try SCUBA- the unexpected way.

The Cam that started it all!

After choosing the gears and the wet-suits we will be using, we went back to the car and headed to the wharf. After paying the fees for the Island Tours, we were instructed to take the boat named " MARRIONNE 2". Kuya Nards assisted us going to the boat and told me to text him an hour before our desired pick up time.

Once everything's ready, the boat started its engine and brought us to the first island destination - Pandan Island. This is we had our SCUBA Dive. Four of us will be going under and before the dive we were given instructions by our Dive Master Kuya Nap - a PADI certified diving instructor.

Some things a first time SCUBA diver should know:

SCUBA is an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus ( memorize ko to promise!)
A basic set of scuba diving equipment includes a mask, a fin, a snorkel, an air cylinder, a regulator, a weight belt and a buoyancy compensator.
There are two ways of entering the water - sea entry and land entry.
Learn the hand signals
Don't Panic underwater.
Learn to "EQUALIZE"

Kuya Nap told us that the dive will be one by one and each session will be 20 - 30 minutes of bottom time. Venus volunteered to be the first one to dive. I handed them the camera and taught them how to use the photo and video functions of it. By the way, for this dive we entered via land entry.

While Venus and Kuya Nap are diving. We were doing silly things on the shore. Did some pictorial wearing the wetsuits and was preparing ourselves for our dive. I am both nervous and excited.

After 3o minutes, we saw Kuya Nap and Venus walking towards us. Their done. I asked Venus how did it go? she said " it was amazing". I asked for the cam and she even took videos of her dive. It was really amazing. June was the second to dive.

Again, after half an hour they went back and June is soo happy for her underwater pictorial. I checked on the cam and its "MEMORY FULL". Oh No!! Tita Evelyn was next in line. I told them that I have to delete some pictures first so they can use it again. Tita didn't bother to use the cam anyway so they just went on for the dive.

So there I was busy, deleting pics. I managed to allocate just 20 pictures for my dive. That's already enough for me aslong as I could take pictures of my first SCUBA dive.

After 10 minutes or so. I saw Tita and Kuya Nap going towards us. Tita did'nt managed to stay long underwater so they decided to go back.

So it was my turn. Kuya Nap even told me that for going last, he will give me extra minutes of bottom time. June and Venus were envious. Okay, so everything were put on me. The tanks ( which is so heavy I must say), the fins, the snorkels. the weight belt and everything else. I practiced breathing using the regulator and it seemed ok. I was ready.

We were walking towards the deepest part of the sea and all of a sudden I find myself completely submerged in saltwater. I started to see some fishes and corals as we move further. I took out the cam,tried to turn it on but it wouldnt. Oh no! What's wrong with the cam? We all know I only did say yes to go SCUBA diving provided I can document my first dive isnt it? I signaled the " problem" hand signal to Kuya Nap and he thought that there was something wrong with me.

He pulled me upwards and upon reaching the top I told him the cam wouldnt turn on. He was worried. I tried everything but to no avail. This is it, I wont have any picture of my first SCUBA dive. Kuya Nap asked me if we shall continue with the dive. With a heavy heart we continued to SCUBA dive.

So there it goes, I saw schools of fish, corals and some amazing underwater creatures. I was breathing underwater! How cool is that! It made me feel scuba diving more like flying than swimming. The SCUBA was really awesome although the pressure almost made me quit. It was such a great experience going down deep the ocean.

Here are some of the underwater pictures they took:

"Everyone did a great job!" as what our dive master said. We were all happy - including me of course. Though I have no underwater pictures of my dive, the memories of my first SCUBA will forever be reminisced.

A pose after the dive with Kuya Nap ( our dive master)

Off to the next island. The SNAKE Island is a snake shaped sandbar located within the Honda Bay. The island is a paradise. It was kinda crowded though. Maybe it's because they don't charge for an entrance fee for locals and even tourist.

We did have lunch here and had so much fun under the sun. I was busy taking pictures while the others are snorkeling. There are many fishes even along the shallow part of the beach and starfishes are everywhere. We also did some fun shots at the beach. Got nothing to do but to enjoy!

We were supposed to visit more islands but because we were so tired from all the activities we had. We decided to just pass by some of them as we go back to the wharf.

We waited for Kuya Nards to arrive while we change clothes. He arrived minutes later and brought us back to the hotel. We rested and had a nap (our afternoon habit). Later during that afternoon, Mary Joy and Ex arrived and we are now complete.

Being the ones from Palawan, they treated us for dinner at Badjao Seafront Restaurant.

We had a gastronomical feast here. We were so full and all of the foods were really yummy. And as we thought that our night would end there. Mary Joy and Ex said " wait till you try the tamilok''.

Kinabuchs, home of the "tamilok'' is a popular joint among tourist in Palawan. It's not just an ordinary hang out place and many are looking forward to try the "exotic menu" they have. I was never a fan of exotic foods but Puerto Princesa made me try many unusual foods that I never thought I can eat.

( speaking of the crocodile sisig! Mmmm).

The tamilok, a wood worm which tastes like your familiar oyster, is a famous delicacy found in Palawan. Although it looks like a worm, it is actually a mollusk found inside rotting mangroves. We ordered a serve of the " tamilok ceviche" and everyone was dared to try it.

Swallowing the tamilok was a challenge. I picked the shortest and smelled it first, closed my eyes and swallowed it. It tasted like wood. I cant believe I'm eating such thing. It was slimy, salty and fishy. I was about to throw up but they said "You cant leave Palawan without trying it"

Okay here it goes....