I guess we’ve all dreamed of it. The freedom to work anywhere we want, anytime we want and doing the thing we love the most. We’ve also heard those inspirational stories of countless brave souls leaving everything behind to pursue this kind of lifestyle.
Before it was just coined as a pursuit of passion. After all, technology wasn’t as vast then as it is now. We’d hear stories of people leaving what was supposed to be the norm – stable corporate job in a liveable city.
By the weekend, people suddenly turn into weekend warriors, trying to get as much adventure into their souls before the clock forces them back to their reality of concrete jungles and four-walled kingdoms.
But again, I beg the question… Is it really possible to live this kind of life, the digital nomad life? Bringing everything you need to work and survive in a backpack (or two) and work from wherever you are in the world, as long as you’ve got an internet connection. *wink*
Check these awesome digital nomads out:
Carolin of Breathing Travel – I think she must be my role model in the digital nomad world. She writes so lovely and her personality reflects in her messaging and blog.
Sharon of Digital Nomad Quest – Another inspiring story that I’ve gratefully come across while searching for inspiration. On a quest to become a financially independent digital nomad through building passive income, her blog is landmine of information that she generously shares.
If these nomads’ lives aren’t burning your wanderlust to shame, then you should see this extremely helpful infographic to get the lowdown and facts straight.
You can click on the infographic to learn more about being a digital nomad. Now, if this enchantingly inviting for you, let’s go do it!
How excited I am to finally shake the shackles off being location dependent and surf the world! While working in between and sharing my stories of course.
It’s been quite awhile, I know. Things have been going really crazy, I wonder if this is a nightmare or a dream I’ll wake up from. Nevertheless, to update you all on a special project that is close to my heart, my baby – Millennial Mermaid.
While I still cannot let go of this blog because it holds so much memories and I’m sentimental, I will still be updating this and linking this to my current website. I hope you guys will check my new baby out. Here is the reason why I created the Millennial Mermaid in the first place. Enjoy!
It all started with a deep unquenchable desire to be with the ocean. As a little girl, it didn’t matter how as I could be with the ocean that was enough for me. At first, it was venturing beyond the platonic admiration of what was on its surface.
After all, that’s almost what we always see – the endless expanse of the ocean’s surface. Next, I allowed myself to play with the waves on the shore. It was during these hours that I knew how dynamic the ocean could be. Chasing after fish, diving in after waves and jumping off my father’s back to the deeper waters – these were warm memories of the ocean for me.
Fast forward to the present days, I find myself still continuously drawn to the sea. Only realizing later in life, my love for the sea has earned me the moniker that probably embodies best the ocean’s daughter, a mermaid.
Using a monofin, now popularly known as a mermaid fin, this free diving enthusiast explores the edge of the 45 feet drop, which Mansud Wall is known for.
Using a monofin, now popularly known as a mermaid fin, this free diving enthusiast explores the edge of the 45 feet drop, which Mansud Wall is known for.
Using a monofin, now popularly known as a mermaid fin, this free diving enthusiast explores the edge of the 45-meter drop, which Mansud Wall is known for.
Saying yes to almost all forms of water-related activities, there were some that I stood by; I couldn’t get enough of being in the water.
My friend, Anne invited me to join her crew of free diving enthusiasts, Dive Ta Bai, for a day tour around Davao Gulf. Being around real free divers for the first time was intimidating. Never been one to shy away, we arrived bright and early at Sta. Ana Wharf. After the headcount, the boat took off for Talicud Island’s Mansud Wall.
While traveling, the organizers gave a short orientation and free diving tips that encouraged us to try and have fun. Traveling for an hour, we wasted no time, got our masks on, jumped out of the boat and started exploring the spot.
The clear waters surrounding Talicud Island make it one of the best places to go snorkeling. Here, an enthusiast is surfacing for air atop the shallow part of the reef after diving to a depth of around 10 feet.
Starting from the shallower end, we opted to snorkel the whole length of the area first. I was surprised that Mansud Wall had wonderful reef and coral formations that stretched further than two Olympic-sized pools. I didn’t see any corals or reef damaged by anchors. There were still quite a lot of fish swimming all over the reef, mostly juvenile but they were still so breathtaking to swim with.
It felt like swimming in between the colors of the rainbow. There was so much color around blending perfectly. Even the fish seemed welcoming and didn’t try to attack us as we poked our masks among the corals.
After chasing fish around the reef, we decided to head deeper. There was a little crevice among the reefs. In the middle was like a road made of sand, with equally towering reef to either side.
It was fun playing with the sand – scooping it at the bottom and trying to hold as much while surfacing for air. Up and down we went, swimming beside corals so much bigger than myself.
The day was ending and with heavy hearts and burnt skin, we had to head back to Sta. Ana wharf before 5pm because the boats weren’t allowed to go beyond that point out in the sea.
Another free diving enthusiast, on one single breath, carefully dives above some of the coral formations that can be found on Mansud Wall.
Looking back on my first free dive, I thought I already knew a lot of fish, seeing them in pet shops and in the market. After exploring Mansud Wall for a whole afternoon, I realized I barely knew fish at all. I barely even know the names of corals and even our dive spots nearby.
Realizing this, I think I need to explore our backyard more often. Guilty of focusing too much on other places, I missed the equally wonderful underwater sights here in Davao Gulf.
Go on and explore responsibly what Davao Gulf has to offer. There are a lot of dive shops around Sta. Ana Wharf that offer tours at affordable rates. Also, don’t forget to bring extra eco-bags to place trash in and keep our oceans clean. ♥♥♥
For more saltwater adventures check out @ferinasantos on Instagram and Mermaids Do Surf on Facebook. This article was originally published in the EdgeDavao last July 26, 2016.
I had a short burst of adventure last Sunday that may have probably prompted the sleeping wanderess in me. I yearned for more. It felt so good to be alive.
To swim against the waves. To dive as deep as my breath would allow. To see the beauty of a world lesser known to our human eyes.
Days later, I find myself feeling trapped.
Trapped in a four-walled room. Trapped with imaginary rules on how responsible adults should behave. The world somehow has made me believe that being happy, too happy is being irresponsible.
That to feel alive too much is not good for me. But isn’t this the purpose of life?
To feel free. To feel alive.
To be excited of the prospect of a next adventure.
To be alive. To live.
I don’t exactly know why I feel a slight unhappiness inside me. Im not sure if this is boredom or perhaps the haunting existential crisis has again arrived.
I don’t even know if this crisis comes to you through waves, one at a different time but all I know is that something feels different. I feel different.
Today was one of those days where I just didn’t know what to do. I feel like doing something that shake whatever negativity was hounding me but I don’t know what to do aside from write.
Writing my heart out, as they would say. I try, I try. I write and I would write. A little and then some more.
And when I do not know what else to write, I see four walls closing up on me again.
I guess this how the wandering starts. It doesn’t happen in an airplane up in the clouds or in a rackety bus on a dirt road.
The wandering begins when the familiar four walls of blankness stares right into your soul.
You find yourself uncomfortable because, those eerie walls, they never leave and you never asked why, and never tried to make sense out of them.
And this is the perfect time to allow yourself the freedom to wander and wonder.
As the saying goes, if not now, then when? If not me, then who? ♡♡♡
I woke up earlier than usual. The sunburn on my back was the first thing I felt. Checking the time on my phone, the blisters on my feet greeted me good morning.
I missed waking up to mornings like this. The ‘mornings after’ – after being out in the sun all day. Still never learning that sunblock is a good thing (as long as it’s ocean-friendly).
Last Sunday, my sister and I joined a regular fun freedive session organized by Dive Ta Bai in Davao. I finally got the chance to take my mermaid fins out again.
Freediving or mermaiding for the first time with real freedivers, it was freedom unlike any other. This mermaid was free to dive as deep as she could, for as long as she liked.
This photo was taken on the first stop of the day in Sabang, Kaputian. It was my first time to see what was underneath the water. Amazingly, there were still corals in the area.
Sabang is a small nook composed of limestone cliffs that have been a frequent hangout of the locals living in Samal Island. If you’re familiar with this place, it’s the one with the grotto on top of one of its cliffs.
Throughout the years, it’s fame for cliff diving spread to tourists, nearby Davaeños and mermaids.
Now, people can rent a boat and visit the place to dive one of its three cliffs aptly labeled according to its height – Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.
I haven’t seen Level 3 but locals who have jumped it say you have to be almost drunk to do it.
I have jumped Level 2 in Sabang. Four times already actually. No, I was not drunk and did not need to be. Adrenaline and pride was enough to keep me going.
The first two jumps were way back in 2011. The next was in 2012. Each time, I almost didn’t jump. And each landing always hurt. But I didn’t want to be the girl that didn’t jump. So I did.
It was great visiting this place again. Good times. Good memories.
Somehow, I felt bittersweet seeing how the place looked like now. It’s a story for another time though. ♡♡♡
Special thanks to Anne Dods for inviting us and the Davao crew of Dive Ta Bai for being fun and passionate about allowing others to safely enjoy freediving our seas.a
I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get out of this rut I’m in. Some people say it’s quarter-life crisis hitting me hard. Others say that I’m getting to know myself better. That I’m finding who I really am.
After two years of searching outside and within, I finally know what I want to do. It’s just that, I don’t know how I’ll ever break out with probably a million others who have the same dreams as I do. Out of so many fish in the sea, how do I stand out? How do I be different from all the rest?
I never realized how much I loved writing until I almost forgot that I enjoyed doing it so much. I almost forgot about something I loved to do because I stopped doing it. I stopped doing it for myself. I just stopped.
I overheard this in the office sometime last week.
“I feel empty. It’s not that I don’t like the job I have now, I actually enjoy it. I just feel like there’s something missing inside me and I don’t know what it is.”
As a child, playing along the ocean’s shores never gave the same joy when swimming beneath the waves. Imagining with my entire little child mind that a mermaid would want to swim up and invite me to live in their castle under the sea.
Without a moment of hesitation, I’d grab her hand and go. Fishes swim before my eyes and I quickly chase them. After all, they could lead me to their mermaid friends.
I know you what you might be thinking. This writer doesn’t know a thing about tales! That’s what she should have written in her title. Sorry but this is really a tale about my tail.
Anatomically speaking, mermaids have tails. It’s the end of a beautiful womanlike creature that is supposed to have legs instead of a fish tail. Mysterious, elusive and captivating…
Yes, they do exist! Please do not give me a lecture that just like Santa Claus, mermaids are our parents’ figment of imagination.
Mermaids are real and they are here. They live amongst us. Trying hard to blend in with the land-loving two legged creatures called humans, these mermaids have albeit slowly found their voices back.
Poor broken things, they lost their tails and could not swim. Forced to adapt to unfamiliar land, they had to survive or else lose their species entirely.
The tail is what propels these mermaids down to great depths. They seemed to have forgotten how to breathe underwater but some of them can reach up to a minute beneath the sea!
I guess like learning how to sing, practice makes you reach notes you haven’t reached before. Now these modern mermaids need to keep singing the song of the ocean, this time only louder. Bolder than before, even if they only have the tips of their tails to start the ocean song.
So first, you find your voice. Then you find your tail. Afterwards, all you need is a big ocean of salty freedom and the song is all yours to swim – err sing.
Mermaids Do Surf 