First Time Official

Not Too Late To Float

I had my first day of formal swimming lesson today at Saint Paul College in Pasig under Bert Lozada Swimming School. As the title goes, it's never too late to learn how to swim.

Living in archipellagic country gives an impression that people there are good swimmers. But not really. Lots of Filipinos aren't good swimmers. How many times I've heard foreigners say they were surprised to learn that many of us can't swim well. Aside from the dream of joining triathlon this also challenged me to enroll myself in a swimming class, a little bit late for my age though. I'm taking the Adult Novice Program for basic skills, basic paddling, kicking, breathing. This is a 10-hour course in a once a week session/1 hour or 1.5 hours per session. I'm doing the latter so I can gain some skills in time for my next Palawan adventure in December.

My problem in the water is that I never learned how to swim properly. I didn't grow up near any body of water. But I can do snorkeling pretty well without the vest. Just the mask and me there I go. The funny part is I can snorkel good enough if my head is under water that's why I need the mask so I can breathe. If I put my head above the water I go sink down the bottom. If you put me in a 5-foot deep pool there's no way I would float. But throw me in a 20-foot ocean then I go paddling like a dog back to the boat. I can even give you a good plunge head first like a real swimmer into the salty water. I do really need to correct it and start with the basic. High school classmate Let Guieb and wife of fellow biker Eric told me about the swimming class that she herself went into. She told me she really learned how to swim after the course. After today's session, I wanted to believe I would still be able to float well after completing the program. On my first day, I was able to do a 25-meter stretch freestyle with just two stops. My coach, Vivian told me I was a fast learner except that my legs were so stiff. I guess it's the result of too much biking.

First Official Birdwatching

Last Sunday I was able to do my first official birdwatching with Alice Villa-Real, Vice President of Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) and Dr. Rene Callado at University of the Philippines grounds. I biked my way to the campus which was 15 km away from my pad so coming back and forth gave me a good 30 km exercise. Better than no miles at all. I was able to observe the White-collared Kingfisher, Brown Shrike, Pied Thriller, Phil. Pygmy Woodpecker, Zebra Dove, White-breasted Wood swallow, Low-land White-eye and Yellow-vented Bulbul. Too much for a first timer to see eight "lifers". A lifer is what professionals refer for any bird you see first time as a birdwatcher.

Photos courtesy of Starbird