Freediving, Feasts, and Friends | Nicco's Place, Moalboal
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Freediving
A month after my Introduction to Freediving, we returned to Moalboal for our Line Training. We went to Nicco's Place, the diving center owned by Nicco, our instructor. We also booked a room in the place for an overnight stay.
My first freediving experience wasn't the smoothest. I almost backed out when we went into the water. I had a traumatic experience with snorkeling before and although I know how to swim, I don't consider myself the best swimmer, especially in the deep waters. Despite this, I was determined to go back and build my confidence being in deep waters. I was with the original gang from last month, so that reassured me a bit. I was with my girlfriend and some friend.
We didn't go through a lengthy lecture about freediving anymore. The instructor told us a few things about what we were going to do in the water before grabbed the short fins that we would borrow for the training.
We got into the car and off we went to the diving site. To be honest, I was still extremely anxious. The instructor told me that what I needed was more water time. I didn't get a chance to go swimming before this training session, so I didn't have any water time to add. I just spent a few times practicing my breath-hold. I thought that would help.
We went into the water and I made sure to hold the bouy. Last time, they had to return for me, so that I could grab the bouy and be brought to the diving spot. I was wearing a pair of short fins, and that helped me swim easier and faster. Going toward the deep water, I was growing anxious which made it difficult to breathe using the snorkel. I tried to calm myself down and continue swimming. I could see that the seafloor was getting deeper as we went further out into the sea until I could no longer see it, and everything was just black. We had arrived at our diving spot.
Line training in freediving is when you dive using a line that goes down into the deep. A rope is tied to the buoy with the other end tied to a weight. The weight is let go and allowed to sink, making a line from the surface down to a certain depth depending on the length of the rope. Using the rope, we would pull up on it, so that we would go down. We would also equalize along the way by holding our noses and blowing hard. We would continue doing this until we reached the end or ran out of breath. Then, we would pull the rope down hard, so that we would float back up or use our fins to kick and swim to the surface. After resurfacing, we would recover by taking three big breaths, before saying that we're okay.
We did this one after the other for several rounds. My companions were confident swimmers, so they were able to reach the weight after a few tries. It was lowered down to 10 meters. I, on the other hand, struggled during my turns and I think I only reached a depth of 7 meters. That was still quite okay for a beginner. After about two hours, we had to stop. Our instructor told us that the body would grow cold if we stayed much longer, which would make it difficult to equalize.
We swam back to shallower waters and enjoyed the sight of the corals along the way. I tried to hold on to the bouy in going back but I lost my grip on it. I tried my best not to panic. I know how to swim. I just needed to kick my way back to the shore. After minutes of swimming around, I found myself near the shore. I knew I could have done better, but it was still an achievement to finish my first line training, alive.
Feasts and Friends
We went back to Nicco's Place around 2 in the afternoon, and we were starving. My girlfriend whipped up a hearty lunch for us. She made mung beans with chicharon and pancit. We devoured it before taking the rest of the afternoon to rest.
In the evening, everyone who was staying in the house came together for a jamming session. Someone was playing the guitar and everyone joined in to sing. There were drinks being passed around, and the vibe was so happy and friendly. Everyone introduced themselves to the group and there was a question that each had to answer. The question was, "What is your special talent?" For introverts and people not used to social gatherings, this would be nerve-wracking. But everyone was just so friendly, you just had to join in. During my turn, I told them my special talent was that I could fall asleep in a minute. Someone chimed in that it was their special talent too.
This wasn't a talent I had long ago. I used to have trouble sleeping because I ruminated a lot. It's a good thing that I was able to overcome that phase in my life, and I could finally sleep well now.
We talked some more with our friends and finished our drinks because excusing ourselves to turn in for the night. We went into our room and slept soundly despite the loud noises from the group in the living room.
Some more feasts and freediving
The next day, my girlfriend wanted us to have sandwiches for breakfast. I helped us set up the parts of the breakfast. We had ham, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and grilled pork. It was a feast! We assembled our very filling sandwiches and ate them with our hot drinks. We still had plans for the day, so we needed to fuel up.
We borrowed the short fins from yesterday and brought our diving masks and snorkels to Panagsama Beach. This is where people swim with turtles and sardines. My three companions bravely looked for the turtles in the sea while I was comfortably racking up some water time swimming in the not-so-deep parts of the beach.
We all enjoyed our time practicing our newly-learned diving skills. I took a few duck dives to see how long I could hold my breath underwater. It was still difficult for me to breathe using my snorkel while being in the deep because I would get anxious knowing that the water was already too deep. We spent hours in the water, and I knew I got a lot of water time from it.
We returned to Nicco's Place, and my girlfriend still had some food left for us. She cooked some mixed veggies and reheated our leftover food from earlier. We enjoyed our last meal before packing up our things and leaving Moalboal back to the city.
That's it! This experience happened a few years ago, and I could say that I have become way more confident being in the deep. I also bought my own long fins, and I can dive into much deeper depths than before. I have more freediving experiences and stories that I can share here. I hope you had fun reading this post. See you in the next. Cheers!
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