travel play live - amazon s3 issue 2...travel play live the heartbeat of ... most northern point of...

ISS

UE

#2

SU

MM

ER

15/

16

AU

$12

.95

A D V E N T U R E x E M P O W E R x I N S P I R E x D R E A M x C H A N G E

Travel Play LiveThe Heartbeat of Australian Women’s Adventure & Travel

TPL Summer Issue 2 MASTER.indd 1 16/11/2015 5:11 pm

Travel Play Live062


Travel Play Live063

W R I T T E N B Y : A S H L E I G H M I L L S P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y : J A M E S M I L L S

Ashleigh Mills travelled to Bacuit Bay in the Philippines to freedive and discovered a company doing things a little differently to protect this water wonderland

I f you’re smart like Giovanni, you’ll sail into El Nido. It’s a long drive in the van and we did not see another hotel for six hours. On the way the countryside flashes by; green fields, swaying

palms, water buffalos dragging logs, children playing basketball on dirt courts and rice farmers tending to their crop. On occasion, the driver brakes when a buffalo has wandered onto the road, seemingly unbothered by our approach.

It takes a little effort to reach El Nido, the most northern point of Palawan Island in the Philippines. Most travellers take the economical route – an Air Asia flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa, then a transfer by van or bus. After a long day, El Nido is reached at sunset. The streets filled with guesthouses, restaurants and tour companies are guarded closely by a group of limestone cliffs.

But the town of El Nido isn’t our end destination. It is the base used to explore Bacuit Bay; a UNESCO protected marine reserve covering an area of 465 square kilometres. The bay is home to an archipelago of 45 islands and over 800 species of fish, and, for the time being, Giovanni Scarlata, a solitary Italian, living aboard his yacht. For the time being Giovanni calls El Nido home, working with Palawan Divers to offer a different kind of experience for tourists, aboard his yacht Mescalito.

After a day of rest, we wander up the road to Palawan Divers, a well-run outfit in the centre of town. We climb aboard Mescalito after a thorough briefing, ready and excited for two days of exploring. At midday with the sun high, we set sail in the direction of Milinoc Island. After a few essential swim stops Mescalito is moored in a clear azure bay. The scenery of the sheer grey rock against the water is breathtaking, similar to Krabi in Thailand or Halong Bay in Vietnam (only without the tourists). We share the bay that afternoon with a lone eagle, swooping high above. During the evening spent telling tales

under the stars, I wonder how this talkative sailor spends so many months alone. Giovanni enjoys the solitude. “Even the sound of the generator at Corong Corong is too noisy now for me,” he says with a chuckle.

Morning is greeted by the delightful aroma of Giovanni’s espresso wafting into the cabin, a rare find in these parts. We fire up Mescalito and head to Entalula Island, one of the many dive sites in Bacuit Bay. With no tanks on board, the morning is spent mastering the art of freediving, the most sustainable way to explore the reef. Freediving relies on the person’s ability to hold their breath underwater without using compressed air. (I was initially not taken by the idea but after a long chat with Jerome Pesnel, Palawan Divers manager, I am convinced to give it a try.)

My instructor, Florent Bevalot, explains as I imagine holding my breath, “freediving is all about relaxing and remaining very calm,” he says. As we practise pranayama breathing I feel very relaxed before entering the water. This type of yogic breathing is used as a technique for freedivers to inhale and exhale in equal parts, bringing the body and mind to a relaxed state. I joke with Florent that I feel more like going to sleep after this rather than jumping in the water. He replies that this is “exactly how I want to feel” to conserve my energy.

After some initial ear trouble, I am surprised to descend to 18 metres at the end of our two days together, going a little further each time. This is all thanks to Florent and his clear calm instruction. Success with freediving is entirely dependent on the ability to relax against one’s natural instinct. I adapt quickly to love the silence and feeling of being under the water without equipment. The water in Bacuit Bay is the clearest I have ever seen. Enjoying the visibility (of up to thirty metres), we find among the coral the real nemo, turtles, and a sea snake.

As tourism expands, the future of this beautiful

bay lies in jeopardy. While practices such as dynamite fishing have long been banned, the current situation of no sewerage system, poor petrol disposal and frequent anchoring on the coral is alarming.

Tourism has brought immense opportunity and income for the locals, yet has also brought damage. This is visible during our time spent aboard Mescalito. “Secret beach,” Giovanni says, while pointing to an area where several bancas (local boats) are anchored. By arriving at the beaches and caves en masse the coral is disturbed and toxic waste spilled. In any case, this makes for a less than pleasant snorkelling experience and one is left wondering how this kind of tourism is sustainable.

Despite the area being governed by three separate laws, local enforcement and enthusiasm for marine protection is low. Jerome, the manager of Palawan Divers, is "hoping that this will change," he says. By starting a partnership with tour operators and Coral Guardian, a non-government organisation dedicated to protecting international reef ecosystems, Jerome hopes to ignite local action. His vision, “to leave El Nido in five years’ time with a coral park that is managed purely by the locals,” he says.

On my final sunset, I sit at Corong Corong, mesmerised, as I have been the nights before. I watch the red, pink and purple colours dance along the limestone cliffs. I ponder the future of El Nido and think of other destinations, which have sadly lost the balance in managing preservation with tourism. Giovanni plans to stick around a little while longer to see how things pan out. He estimates it will take him “around two years” to explore the entirety of Bacuit Bay.

And after that? “Maybe to Malaysia,” he says with a grin.

It’s not too late for El Nido. Let’s hope they get it right.

( The writer was a guest of Palawan Divers)

BACUIT BAY Exploring Paradise


Travel Play Live072

P H O T O G R A P H B Y : J A M E S M I L L S


Travel Play Live073

I mmersed in the ocean, nothing else matters. I feel my heartbeat, equalise my ears, and descend. My mind enters my happy place. In

a lush garden with tropical flowers, a fountain of crystal clear water leaps over rocks. The warm sand caresses my bare feet and my fingers brush over soft leaves. Gentle music floats through the thick summer air, and I surrender. Brought back to the present moment by my first diaphragmatic contraction, I notice the water on my face. My body undulates, working with my mono fin to glide through the water, deeper, deeper. Two. I count each contraction. Soon, I touch the bottom plate at the end of the line. Three. I look around, seeing blue with blurry shapes and sunlight streaming down from high above. Smiling, it feels liberating to be alone, deep in the sea, my buddy waiting on the surface. Four. Time to start my ascent. Removing my nose plug, I reach high above my head. I send a ripple of energy from my overlapping hands, through my arms, torso, pelvis and out through my fin. Five. Relaxing in the full understanding of my body and her inner workings, I embrace each contraction, knowing I have no choice but to wait until my head breaches the surface to breathe. Six. Rising through the water column, my body feels lighter as the air inside my suit and lungs expands. My slow

heartbeat pulses through my head, and in this moment I am so conscious of being alive. Seven. The water feels warmer as I rise, and there is more light. Eight. I pass the point of neutral buoyancy, and stop swimming, allowing my body to rise gently towards the surface. Nine. I revel in this beauty, this feeling of utter freedom. Ten. I prepare for the last few metres of ascent. As my eleventh contraction comes, my head breaks the surface and I feel the cold air rush into my airways. I fill my lungs with two sharp hook breaths and smile at my buddy, and my dive computer. A new personal best.

Freediving is the most recent addition to my aquatic journey of exploration. I began swimming before I was one year old, and was always first in and last out of the water. By three, I was jumping off the diving board, and at five, fetched a one kilo weight from three metres with clothes on to pass my level four swimming test. My teenage years brought kayaking, sailing, snorkelling and at nineteen became an Open Water scuba diver. By twenty-one, I was a diving instructor, and at twenty-two completed honours in marine biology. The ocean runs through my veins. I live it, love it, breathe it. Only one thing held me back from experiencing the ocean to its full capacity. As the tides change with the moon, so does my body, and every month my period would show up as an unwelcome

guest. I dreaded getting my period while I was teaching a dive course, as it stopped me from being truly free. Sometimes, I would have students miss a class, due to “medical reasons”. Menstruation is always a delicate topic, and can spark reactions of fear, shame and ridicule. Not long before I began freediving, I started using a menstrual cup, and found with great delight, my period was no longer something to dread. I began to integrate a short menstrual chat with each female student, and before long, menstruation became easier to talk about. Sharing this knowledge has become a new passion, opening the conversation with others and working towards a society with greater appreciation of this vital life function. I feel empowered, knowing more about my body, and assisting others to find out more about theirs.

Stepping outside of my comfort zone is something I’ve done from a tender age. Learning my body’s limits, and pushing through them, makes me feel powerful, strong and independent. Challenging preconceived ideas about what it means to be a woman, and finding ways to embrace my body as the powerful vessel it is, especially as I glide towards the bottom of the sea, comfortable in the knowledge that my body in all it’s feminine glory is being supported, just as it supports me.

W O R D S B Y R O S I E S H E B A F R O M S U S T A I N A B L E M E N S T R U A T I O N A U S T R A L I A

COMFORT ZONEDiving Through The


www.travelplaylive.com.au


travel play live - amazon s3 issue 2...travel play live the heartbeat of ... most northern point of...

Documents