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 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.
*This is a contribution by a good friend who did not want to be named. This friend of mine could really write well. I hope this friend would continue to write. 🙂
The thing about vacations is that at the end of it, you’ll start to hate why you even bothered to go on one in the first place. It’s that post-vacation depression that starts to consume you the moment you start packing your things up, saying goodbye to the new friends you’ve found and getting in that vehicle that will transport you away from the happy place you’ve called home for the past four days.
It’s only been one night since I arrived back in the city and every time I think of the mornings I spent watching the sun rise and set for the past four days, I get teary-eyed. I start to wonder why I can’t just spend the rest of my life living on the beach where everything seems to slow down and all you have to care about is the here and now. Will the surf be up tomorrow? If not, should we be doing yoga while the sun rises or should we sleep in longer to catch up on the lost sleep from the night’s stargazing session on the sand?
It all starts from the moment I arrive, You know, the all-too-familiar feeling of being all too excited to do every single thing you dreamed about doing for months? Yes, that’s what I felt since I decided to schedule this vacation. From the moment you take off your slippers and feel the velvety soft sand warm your toes as you run across the shore, to the rejuvenating splash as you dive into the unusually clear waters of the ocean – every single nerve in my body was tingling with life.
What was most exhilarating was the good news of surf. When your surf buddies release the words “Naay balod” (surf’s up!) the adrenaline starts pumping real bad. I run towards the hut grabbing the wax and doing a superhero move to change from land clothes to my surf costume. Every ounce of my body was shaking from excitement. I didn’t mind the 9-foot plus longboard I was carrying. I had to rush to the spot, the quicker I get there the more waves I can catch. After all, the waves don’t wait for anyone.
Carefully traipsing across the reef rocks, making sure I don’t cut myself, I get the leash on quick and jump on. Paddling out, I can’t help the looking at the bottom getting deeper. It is a bit scary not knowing what really lies underneath and what could probably jump out of the water any moment but those thoughts die a natural death when I see the waves breaking towards me. Paddling faster to avoid getting caught by the incoming wave, the excitement just grows ever stronger.
You know the lulls in between waiting for the sets to arrive? This has to be one of my favorites aside from actually riding the waves. That lull means I can catch my breath and watch my buddies paddle hard to catch the wave like nothing else mattered. That lull also means I can cheer for them when they finish that long ride. It also means I can sit on my board and look back to see a potential wave I can catch.
Lulls give me time to just thank God for the moment I am in. For the moment of being tossed by the waves and pulled under to the moment of breaking through the surface to breathe, pure gratitude and bliss was all I felt.
These brief escapes from reality tend to leave my heart longing for more of these escapes, which I probably won’t be having for a long time given the current circumstances that hound my professional life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my corporate life. It’s exciting and makes me feel like a legit adult. Although there’s always that part of me that longs to be part of the world that I loved ever since and that’s being one with the ocean, be it surfing or snorkeling or diving ever deeper until my breath stops me.
*Article originally appeared on my old blog, A Pink Banana, last Nov. 1, 2014.