April 20, 2004
Down Under
This past week has definitely been one to put my immune system to the test. I won’t divulge just how late we stayed out dancing on the lawn (with a makeshift soundsystem) after our swearing in ceremony. Fortunately, we had Tuesday free, until 6pm, when our supervisors’ conference began with a nice dinner. And wouldn’t you know it, everyone was eager beaver to hit the fine town of Tagbilaran once again.
It has been hard to find time to put any of it down on “paper.” Suffice to say, since thirty-seven of the forty-one 263ers sallied forth from Bohol to their appointed rounds in the past five days, there were many a despidida to attend. And since nagpuyo ko sa Bohol sa sulod sa duha ka tuig, (I am happily stuck on Bohol for the next two years) I hit nearly all of them. Still doesn’t feel like “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Have.” (The toughest job I ever had was computerizing the patient records of a dentist office…I memorized all the zip codes of Long Island that summer, but I’ve since purged that info to make room for Cebuano.)
Alright, I’ll try to just focus on one activity which occurred in the midst of despidida season. Bohol has some of the best diving in The Philippines or maybe even the world. Some 263ers just got their open water certifications, having spent many Sundays in a pool, pretending to dive. Finally they finished, and Friday was an official vacation day, so at 8am, a dozen of us met in front of the Bohol Quality Mall (not really a mall, but if you call it a mall, teenagers will want to hang out there) and hired a big jeepney to deliver us across the bridge to Bohol Divers on Panglao Island.
The dive site was off Balicasag, an even smaller island of the Bohol Marine Triangle, 6km southwest of Panglao. The area has been designated a marine sanctuary (meaning no more funny business) and the results are stupendous. The infamous Holger Horn – the revered German instructor for the 263 certification -- was our divemaster, and briefed us on the situation. The current was strong, and for many of us it would be our first current dive, but he felt we could handle it. Suited up and flipped off the side of the boat into the water.
Then it was time to submerge. Down down down everyone went, except me. I was stuck at the top. I couldn’t figure out how to get the BCG to function. The last time I dove was when I got my own open water certification, in Thailand, two summers ago. I could see Holger signaling to me to get my butt down there, but I was stranded, and freaking out. Holger is the type who has no patience for stupidity or unpreparedness.
Thankfully, Holgar’s assistant, a nice Swiss guy called Olivier resurfaced to help me get down. One meter, two meters, three meters down, my ears feeling more and more ready to explode. So back up to sea level with Olivier, who reminded me that to equalize I needed to clamp my nose and breathe out. OK, all set and back down. Oh, man, was the current rough. We were hugging the reef, without coming too close. (A little damage can take decades for nature to repair.) Felt like being at conveyor belt sushi, all sorts of fish going by, make your choice quick or it’s gone. Kinda nice not having to worry about exerting energy swimming, but ain’t no time to process, look closer, make funny faces at the fish. At one point, heard weird noises emanating from Olivier, turned around to see a school of about sixty barracuda, including an albino towards the rear, all perfectly aligned, gliding by. One was albino. For those of you keeping track, our max. depth was 24m, with a visibility of 10-15m. The water was 28 Celsius, and we were down for 46 minutes (minus my time at the top.)
So back up to the surface, where I thought Holger would be waiting for me, to twist my neck, rip out all but three of my teeth, and send me back into the water, where I could wash up on the shores of Jones Beach, and maybe my mother could identify me through dental records. But he didn’t say a word.
Back down, this time with a little more weight on my weight belt (buoyancy was an added pain in the ____ the first time around.) This time the current was gone, and I was back with my appointed dive buddy, Tommy Schultz, who was having all sorts of fun with his new underwater Canon Elph digital. He was trying to get close-ups of funky coral life. I have no idea what most were called, but there were definitely many vibrant, photogenic nudibranches (sea slugs) and funny-looking batfishes enjoying the sanctuary. Also, some yellow-tailed tuna came to say hi. Unfortunately, our 45-minute dive ran out
Cuz my lungs were eating up the air, and my tank just about ran out after 31 minutes. This time I thought it was Tommy who’d destroy me. But he’s a good guy who wouldn’t do that, and it was kind of his fault anyway. He was the one who wanted to stay down at 21 meters for so long, and the lungs work harder the deeper you go.
Tommy came over on Saturday night, for a nice farewll dinner, and to show us some of his dive pix. Papa became nostalgic. Back in his youth, he was a fisherman, going down as far as five or six meters (without amenities such as ogxyen and wetsuit.) He showed us the googles he used to use. Imagine kids goggles, but with a piece of string instead of elastic, and cracked lenses. He knows now that scouting for the dynamite fisherman was a bad thing to do, and it breaks his heart to know that some fishermen are still using destructive techniques to bring home a few fish.
Just today, I received a text message (yes, we all have cell phones here, for which Peace Corps gives us an allowance…they are vital for communication as landlines are scarce) from a fellow diver and 263er: “So im at this YEC (youth environmental camp) and so far i have head ten dynamite fishing explosions and they have a sea turtle in a pound. Yeah environment”
So despite the partying, the diving, and the mall, The Philippines has many challenges that I am excited to help the locals tackle. It’s will be a challenge for me to keep it all in perspecitive, trying to live amongst the locals at the local level while still enjoying myself and treating myself to some of the many spectacular sights to see here in The Philippines.
Tomorrow, I will join mama’s deaf students and other deaf from all over the Visayan region of the Philippines for a four-night camping/hiking/sightseeing trip through Bohol. I’m sure some good stories will come out of it.
Posted by dbs at April 20, 2004 11:01 PM