Another milestone! Finally, finally, finally! A major defining moment! I've learned to tread water - sea water that is. It was almost by accident. Actually, I wasn't trying to learn it yet. I just did freestyle along the beach on shallow water. But since there was no pool line, it was so easy to veer off the assumed parallel. I unknowingly veered towards my right and into deep water. For a split second I panicked. But then I was ready to attempt to tread using a modified breaststroke - and I did! I didn't sink and it was so easy to float. I also attempted to bicycle kick and scull the arms. Still good!
I discussed this with Bing while treading in deep water (shown in pic at left, I'm the one with goggles in 8ft deep water) and he showed how the slow breaststroke was more relaxing than the bicycle kick. I enjoyed this day so much that I was the one in the water the most. I also did 360 degree turns while treading. It looked like synchro swimming and it was way COOL! Tip: Be relaxed before treading in deep water. Later in the day, I deliberately went to deeper water to tread. I'm so proud of this accomplishment.
Some other stuff I tried:
Anilao is at the Southwestern part of Batangas. The pic at the right shows a fantastic view of the bay. The outing was a daytrip and we bought foodstuff in the nearby market. We grilled fish and everything was fresh and good. We had Inihaw na Tilapia, Lechong Manok (Senor San Pedro), and yellow ripe mangoes. That's Flor finishing up on the booze.
Too bad, I didn't snorkel. But there was nothing much else to see near the shoreline other than these neon colored little blue, aqua and green fishes that congregate at the bottom still water and medium-sized gray fishes. I am still happy coz I learned and experience so much of swimming today. I feel that I'm ready for:
We also rented a boat that took us to the other side of the bay for Php2000. You could actually land on the other side and pay for the entrance at the other resorts there. This boat had special viewing box right in the center and that looked like a coffin.
It was glass bottomed and you could actually view what's underneath the boat. The pic on the left is the entire group that went to Anilao.
Here's a shot of what you could see in the viewing "coffin". There were tons of different kinds of coral formations and some fish! Some parts of the bay was shallow and it was easy to see the formations but some parts were so deep and dark that you couldn't make out anything.
It was simply marvelous and all of us were in awe! To see more pictures click here. Just go to the "view pictures" then "view slideshow" options.
Here's the final swim before heading on home. See the smile on my face? That's the smile of someone who finally learned to confidently tread in deep water. We left Anilao 6:30pm. I took glutamax the day before and I didn't feel tired at all. My head ached terribly the day after and it's only because of eye strain. But who cares, I can tread water!!! I'm so happy I could die now.
Update:Almost 2 years later, I learned a much better way to tread water and that is by using the eggbeater kick. Others call it a rotary kick. To see my entries on the eggbeater kick, click here, and here. To see my videos, click here.
I discussed this with Bing while treading in deep water (shown in pic at left, I'm the one with goggles in 8ft deep water) and he showed how the slow breaststroke was more relaxing than the bicycle kick. I enjoyed this day so much that I was the one in the water the most. I also did 360 degree turns while treading. It looked like synchro swimming and it was way COOL! Tip: Be relaxed before treading in deep water. Later in the day, I deliberately went to deeper water to tread. I'm so proud of this accomplishment.Some other stuff I tried:
- Practiced navigating skills using brst after free but maybe treading is better.
- Waterpolo freestyle as shown by Bing was very slow coz the hips, butt and legs sink.
- Bilateral coz it was so easy to float and comparatively easier to do in sea water.
- Sidestroke was very good but didn't do much of it.
- Backstroke was very slow.
- Switching from free to elem without standing - just to-and-back - cool.
- Starfish float- feet out of the water.
- Table-top or "Maternity" float - my term, parang manganganak, knees out of the water.
Anilao is at the Southwestern part of Batangas. The pic at the right shows a fantastic view of the bay. The outing was a daytrip and we bought foodstuff in the nearby market. We grilled fish and everything was fresh and good. We had Inihaw na Tilapia, Lechong Manok (Senor San Pedro), and yellow ripe mangoes. That's Flor finishing up on the booze.Too bad, I didn't snorkel. But there was nothing much else to see near the shoreline other than these neon colored little blue, aqua and green fishes that congregate at the bottom still water and medium-sized gray fishes. I am still happy coz I learned and experience so much of swimming today. I feel that I'm ready for:
- open-water swims
- deep swimming pools in resorts like Jed Island's 15-ft deep pool
- any outing to any beach and have no qualms to go to deep water
- other watersports: scuba? surfing?
We also rented a boat that took us to the other side of the bay for Php2000. You could actually land on the other side and pay for the entrance at the other resorts there. This boat had special viewing box right in the center and that looked like a coffin. It was glass bottomed and you could actually view what's underneath the boat. The pic on the left is the entire group that went to Anilao.
Here's a shot of what you could see in the viewing "coffin". There were tons of different kinds of coral formations and some fish! Some parts of the bay was shallow and it was easy to see the formations but some parts were so deep and dark that you couldn't make out anything. It was simply marvelous and all of us were in awe! To see more pictures click here. Just go to the "view pictures" then "view slideshow" options.
Here's the final swim before heading on home. See the smile on my face? That's the smile of someone who finally learned to confidently tread in deep water. We left Anilao 6:30pm. I took glutamax the day before and I didn't feel tired at all. My head ached terribly the day after and it's only because of eye strain. But who cares, I can tread water!!! I'm so happy I could die now.Update:Almost 2 years later, I learned a much better way to tread water and that is by using the eggbeater kick. Others call it a rotary kick. To see my entries on the eggbeater kick, click here, and here. To see my videos, click here.
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