Addressing my Fear of Swimming in Palawan, Philippines

In a previous post, I gave a brief overview of a boat Expedition I did through the Palawan chain of islands over Thanksgiving. Bucket flushing toilets and bucket showers were definitely a challenging part of the trip at times, but so was spending the majority of the 5 days negotiating with myself whether to get into the water to snorkel. I can’t (yet) swim and many of the stops we had on a daily basis required us to jump down from the boat into the middle of the ocean.

Luckily, one of the crew members, Juan, was like my personal life preserver – as if the life vest and buoy were not enough. On the very first stop of our trip, I really did not see myself just calmly getting off the boat but Juan swam up next to the ladder. I decided to let go, and grabbed on to his wrist. I did not let go of him the entire time – poor guy.

As the days went on, and we started stopping near beaches, I felt a little more confident. Snorkeling from the beach versus the middle of the ocean is easier to handle because I had a sense of more control over the process. At one point, I didn’t even need Juan anymore – just my life jacket. Although, as with any old fear, there were definitely random moments in the water when I could not control my thoughts and my mind started to panic irrationally. Even so, I’m proud that I made it through the Expedition with a great sense of confidence. Palawan has naturally beautiful people and places. I feel lucky to have had the experience.

Here’s a peek of what we encountered:

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This is the boat that housed 16 travelers and 6 crew for 5 days.
Locals on remote island transferring goods from one place to another.
Big, bright skies – peaceful and clean
Such a vivid sunrise – beautiful experience

 

 

 

 

Local Filipinos playing basketball sans sneakers.
I’ve seen museums around the world who have similar displays. Art lies subtly within everyday life.
Snorkel Gear
Time for some cliff jumping…well, not me. Looks like I had a drop of water on my lens.
Beach cove – go through the cove and there is a beach to the right and to the back. This is where I first tried snorkeling with just my life vest.