Freediving in the Philippines. Day 8

There isn't much to write about that day – we didn't dive. Our team divided into two groups: the majority went to watch cockfights, while the four of us, including myself, returned to the waterfall. Cockfighting is one of the main attractions in the Philippines. It is a horrible, bloody spectacle; and I will let somebody else tell about it. I didn't even want to look at it.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 7

On that day Julia planned filming her TV project. On the reef near Pescador Island, where we dived a few days earlier, was an arch in the reef under the water – "The Cathedral". The arch's entry was at 18 meters depth, and the exit at 28. Julia wanted to film herself and few other freedivers swimming through the arch.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 6

Having arrived, as usual, at 10 a.m. after breakfast at Club Serena, I found that almost everyone was so exhausted after the previous day's march, that even the morning yoga hadn't happened. A bit later the people slowly began to crawl together to the pool area, complaining of pain in various limbs.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 5

The story of this day will not be as long as the previous ones. We didn't dive on Day 5. Instead, we went canyoning.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 4, part 2

After the "static" we all went fin-swimming. The proper swimming technique is very important for a freediver because it allows him to push himself through the water column most optimally. I decided to try to swim in long freediving fins and borrowed a pair from a guy who had the same foot size as I have.

This is what I saw waking up every morning

He was learning to swim in a monofin at that time and didn't need them. The fins were too large for me and felt loose on my feet, so I attached them to my feet with rubber bands. That helped and I was not afraid to lose the fins, but the friction of the loose rubber foot pockets on my feet was still pretty uncomfortable. Of our group of beginners, nobody could swim properly in fins because nobody had ever been taught. So, instructor Oksana set off on a task of teaching us.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 4, part 1

The day was long, so I broke it into 2 parts.

My room at "Blue Orchid" was in this cottage

In the morning two experienced guys went spearfishing with local instructor Wolfgang. And for the rest of us a training on "static", i.e., static breath-hold was scheduled. It is clear that the breath-hold abilities are of first-rate importance for freedivers: the longer you can hold your breath, the longer you can stay under water and the greater depth you can reach. Besides, the "static" in itself is one of the competitive disciplines in freediving.

Freediving in the Philippines. Day 3

The next day, having arrived at Club Serena at 8 am, I discovered that the yoga had already started. I asked, and it turned out it started at 6:15. Oops! We agreed that I would come at 10 and I went "home" for breakfast.

Sea view from "Blue Orchid"

On that day we had a boat trip planned. Since I got cold on the previous day without a wetsuit, I finally decided to suit up. However, I reasoned that my open cell wetsuit would be too thick for the tropical water. I asked Mark, the manager of my hotel, if there was an appropriate wetsuit I could borrow. He nodded and answered that I could choose from the suits for hire in the dive shop. I chose the ordinary 3mm steamer that seemed just right.