FAR AT 50 METERS, DEEP AT 10 FEET

When my big right toe touched the protruding mushroom-like head of a coral 50 meters away from the shore, I inwardly shouted victorious cries of “hurrahs” and profusely congratulated myself though no one heard. It was a literal step of faith made more significant by the fact that I have not had any previous experience in attempting suicide by way of drowning.

I have a tremendous respect for bodies of water – the kind that borders on unfounded fear that prefers to leave them be. I could go ga-ga over the shades and hues of the deep blue sea or even find refreshment beside a rippling brook or a flowing stream in a Japanese garden or be ecstatic about the noise of a raging river after an overnight storm. But to consider plumbing the depths of a 10-feet deep coral garden even in the friendliest of Puerto Galera’s diving spots, is almost twisted.

I did it.

Armed with nothing but a pair of white Mach135 rubber sandals and your basic snorkeling gear, I navigated the warm waters of what the local boatmen call Batangas Channel, wary of every floating green moss that seemed to gravitate towards my already sun-burned body. I was afraid but I was also determined. I was hesitant but I was also excited. I was terrified but I was also thrilled. Who would have thought that a short swim among the fishes could inspire such ambivalence?

And so, I trudged the clear waters, ever so cautious as to not touch any unwanted creature of the sea floor. When, with one swift maneuver of the torso, I was ushered into the intricate maze-like territory of the sea world, I held my breath both in suspense and in awe.

Fishes. Various sizes and shapes and colors. Translucent. Dotted. Striped. Green. Blue. Yellow. Orange. Black. I even saw a Nemo-like clownfish hidden in an algae-like shrubbery and a baby eel easing its black-and-gray length on the ocean floor. At a distance, the very-much avoided jellyfish lurked.

A school of green and black fishes started to circle the ground I was precariously stepping on, and I began to panic when one of these tiny babies poked my now trembling right knee. Did they sense my terror? Were they making fun of me? I wonder who rules them and sends the signal to “attack”. I dove in deeper in desperation only to be mesmerized anew. Larger fishes now teem around me and as I looked around, more confident than moments earlier, I found myself swimming among fishes!

It does not need much coaxing to be terrified in the deep especially when you have been fed by too many sinister scenes depicting the unfriendly side of the sea in Hollywood films. But it is also easy to get lost in the beauty of this seemingly exclusive world.

More importantly, it is beautiful to lose the grip of terror by conquering it with a single step of your big right toe on a mushroom-like head of a coral 50 meters away from the shore.