Armed with my scuba book and my laptop, I'm determined to cram the last few chapters of diving knowledge into my head before I arrive in the philippines to get my PADI open water diving license. Gerrica, my diving buddy from Subic, meets me at the Manila airport and we head to the Mandarin hotel. at the bar, the back wall opens up, revealing a hidden room where a jazz band and bottle of champagne are waiting for us. Knowing that we have a big day ahead of us, we keep it civilized, and make it an early night.
The first day of our scuba class is out of the water. This part is classroom based and we have to take a test to prove that we, at least in theory, have the basic knowledge of diving. These are things like how pressure, volume change under-water creating a dangerous environment if you don't adjust accordingly, but opens up a whole new world as well. Of course we pass with flying colors and go out to Cyma, a wonderful Greek restaurant in Greenbelt to celebrate.
Day 2 was all in the pool, and it was time to apply the theories we learned in class and apply them underwater. Tests like regulator recovery where you have to rip out your breathing tube and find it again, and mask clearing when your mask comes off your face are a bit unnerving even in a pool environment. This helps build up your confidence though and helps with the natural tendency to panic when it happens to you in the ocean. Another factor that helped with the panic issue was that I knew we were in good hands. Our diving instructor Louie was the brother in law of Gerrica's boss Joey. At about 280 pounds this big guy had a gentle way about him that put you at ease immediately.
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