Rediscovering Freediving

For three weeks now, I have been based out of Panglao Island, Bohol as I expand my comfort levels in freediving. It so far remains extremely terrifying and surreal, with each dive a battle against underwater pressure and self-doubt. However, I have happily made strong progress both in skill and in enjoyment. And although my motivation for pursuing freediving continues to be vague, the path towards it is now clearer than when I first discovered it.

Freediving is both a competitive and a recreational sport wherein participants hold their breath and dive underwater to depths of up to 200m (656ft). Of course, not all freedivers dive that deep and most enjoy freediving as simply holding their breath for a few seconds and diving down to 10m (33ft). In any case, the activity is best enjoyed at a personal level, with athletes competing against themselves than against each other.

Taken during the Asian Freediving Cup at Panglao, Bohol by Kohei Ueno. My first exposure to a freediving competition, I immerse in the water with only a mask and a snorkel amidst expert freedivers with wetsuits and long fins.

It was back in 2015 when I first discovered freediving in Moalboal, Cebu. I knew very little about it but the idea of diving with no attached equipment and at my own pace and will convinced me that it was how I want to explore the underwater world. So after a 2.5-day AIDA 2-star course, which culminated in a 17m (56ft) dive and a sea turtle sighting, I saw a whole new world open up for me.

Taken by Nicolas Foubert in Moalboal, Cebu. Ascending from a 10-meter (33-feet) dive on a single breath, I felt contented and didn't imagine daring to go deeper.

However, just like graduating from university, the next step after finishing the course was unclear. I wanted to use my new-found underwater exploration skills but I had no one to freedive with.

Nevertheless, I held on to my budding interest and started designing my travels around freediving schools. This made it easier to decide where my next destination will be and also safer to practice freediving. Still, doing coached dives with freedive instructors in and out of the Philippines, although enjoyable, didn't really match my initial idea of what freediving is for. It felt like I wasn't getting the most out of it.

*****

It wasn't until a fun dive session in Napaling, Panglao that I rediscovered joy in freediving. I was with a more experienced freediver, which made me feel safe as I know he can rescue me in case something happens, and challenged as I didn't want to appear sloppy and incapable. We dived through swim-through's, up and down a reef wall, over colorful corals, and through a small school of sardines. I felt graceful, relaxed, and amazed. I remembered every skill I learned and used them to move effortlessly and enjoyably underwater. It was pure joy. After that, I started dreaming of becoming better, of staying underwater longer, and of doing more fun dives like this.

Taken by Gert Leroy in Napaling, Panglao. I stay a couple of seconds underwater, letting the water push my body upwards as I examine the different sensations occurring inside.

I thought then that that was the goal: freediving for underwater exploration. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt incomplete -- like it was just one side of the coin. More so, I realized how I am not really looking at marine life underwater but looking at myself inwardly.

Unexpectedly, opportunities for training and for more freediving came up. I suddenly found myself along this path that demanded so much discomfort yet imparted so much amazement. I was doing something I have never imagined I could and it was slowly becoming part of my comfort zone.

Taken by Gert Leroy in Napaling, Panglao. I head towards the surface as my legs start to burn and my lungs crave for fresh oxygen after achieving a new 25-meter (82-feet) PB*.

So I trudged on. And from looking at freediving as a means of exploring the underwater, I look at it now as a means of discovering myself. Further, from being an impressionable audience at the most-awaited freediving competition in Asia, I am now a hopeful participant at the last depth competition this year in Panglao.

I may still be considered a beginner freediver who takes pleasure in the idea of looking more bad-ass than scuba divers, but I am also now a competitive freediver who finds so much joy in reaching new depths. Nonetheless, freediving will always equate to exploration, be it of underwater seascapes or of my innermost tendencies.

Taken by Gert Leroy on a fun dive session in Barracuda Lake, Coron. I dive down to 12m to check out what limestone formations are hiding beneath. If this video takes too long to load, check this out instead ;)

A post shared by Gert Leroy (@gertleroy) on Aug 1, 2017 at 3:58am PDT

*Personal Best: In depth disciplines, this refers to the deepest that a freediver has gone to without blacking out or losing motor control.

Anticipations and Disruptions

It has already been a 3-month wait that was spent on actually attempting to build a stable life in Manila -- consistent friends, a regular work schedule and workplace, and a bi-weekly gym appointment. I have packed my bags, arrived at the airport on time, and made accommodation bookings, but I can't seem to leave just yet. Not that I am unready, but that the airport isn't.

At 4:30am, NAIA T3 was brimming with lines of people trying to get inside. Past the x-ray machine, there's barely walking space across the departure hall. Overhead, check-in counters didn't have the instructive route displays. Uniformed airline representatives were out of sight. And, queues to anywhere weren't progressing. Needless to say, the fragile airport system broke down.

As if confirming the hopeless situation, at 4:45am, electricity went out and airport operations froze.

However, even after Cebu Pacific announced cancellation of several flights, passengers remained hopeful -- staying in line, awaiting further information, queuing at the booking office, and considering other airline operators. I was one of them.

Completely set on departing for and arriving at Butuan on this exact day, I held on to the fact that my flight number wasn't proclaimed cancelled. So I patiently and calmly stayed in line at the drop-bag counter. After a couple of hours observing other passengers, I finally decided to do something and checked with an airline representative. She admitted that although my flight hasn't taken off, it is unlikely that it will and re-booking my flight would be the recommended course of action.

This left me stuck and unproductive. I didn't want to leave only to make the trip to the airport again. I didn't want to wait another day to start my long-awaited trip. And I didn't want to arrive at Butuan late during the day. Regrettably. all alternatives inevitably lead to one of the above.

Now I'm at a coffee shop inside the airport, trying to both wait out the line and to make a decision. It's unfortunate that my trip isn't going as planned and will likely be postponed to another day but it is also an experience that I can draw from and have managed to write something about.

Oh well. Here's to breaking out of Manila eventually.

A snapshot of the lines that extended from the previous night to the afternoon the following day.

PS: News articles have been mentioning a 5-hour outage and I am not sure whether this already refers to the two instances that power went out (one at around 9pm on Saturday and another at around 5am on Sunday). I pity the airlines who had to absorb lost sales, additional costs, and customer rage as well as my fellow passengers who have been unnecessarily inconvenienced and frustrated.

T minus Thursday

It's already one hour into Thursday, which means I technically only have one day to go before my adventure begins and I am so not yet ready.

Although I have long decided to pursue this trip, I have also always had mixed emotions about it. My feelings would cycle from fear to excitement to indifference and back to fear again. And it is because of this that I keep on procrastinating on planning for the trip. I still don't have a return ticket (which I might need for immigration control). I still don't know how to get to Penang (which is the most significant point of this trip). I still am not decided whether to get trekking sandals or not (which I now have the funds to but maybe not the time to). And I still haven't printed out my travel documents (which I definitely cannot leave without).

One day to go and still so many to take care of. I know everything will work out before my 5am flight on Friday but I need to also decide on a mindset for this trip. I need to get that fear out and completely replace it with enthusiasm or else I may have just wasted 2 months worth of salary and the opportunity to uncover my dream. I don't know exactly what I'm fearful of so I guess I tend to ignore it and be indifferent instead.

Anyway, I WILL push through and I WILL overcome this cautious heart. So please stay tuned for my awesome account of my awesome adventures!

Cheers!

PS: A heaping thanks to my senior colleague for inviting me to her wedding in Singapore. If not for her invite, I wouldn't have a legit reason to go out of the country, or anywhere for that matter, thus lowering the possibility of travelling.