I had always wanted to complete a scuba diving course but as the course takes 4 days, being in one place for more than that length of time and being willing to dedicate 4 out of my 7 day holiday had been difficult, but now was the perfect time! I had researched Philippines Fun Divers online and the company had great reviews with a 5 star resort rating from PADI also. Matthew was keen to complete the course but had developed an ear infection so wasn't able to. He decided to rent a moped for a couple of days and explore the island of Bohol a little more!

I met with my instructor for the course, Rex. He was friendly and smiley Filipino who had been an instructor for 7 years. I couldn't wait to get started! The first day consisted of being in a classroom for 8 hours straight watching a PADI learning video. A couple from Hong Kong were also completing the course with me. We sat together in the same room and tested each other. It was a long old day with lots of information to take in. With that done, I couldn't wait to get into the pool the next day to start practising the skills.

That night, Matt and I ventured out and decided to have dinner along the Alona beach front. It was very pricey but the food and view was great! We had also decided to stay in Bohemian Hostel for the rest of our stay in Panglao island but they accidentally double booked us. This meant Matt and I had to share a single bunk bed for 4 nights which wasn't actually too bad as we only had to pay half the price... happy days!

The day of 5 confined pool dives! In the morning, we had exams on all the learning from the day before and we all passed with flying colours! Then, we spent the most part of the rest of the day in the pool learning different dive techniques and skills. I got the hang of most of it pretty quickly and Rex told me I was a natural...I was beaming with pride! That afternoon after a late lunch, we headed out to sea to complete our first open water dive, I was so excited! The dive went really well and I felt fairly confident at the skills we had been taught so far. I think my hundreds of hours of swimming lessons as a little girl definitely helped! I just loved being under the water, listening to all the different sounds you can easily pick up but it also feels so silent and calm at the same time.

The next morning, we completed a few more skills in the pool before heading out for our second and third open water dives. The sea had got very choppy and actually extremely difficult to swim in at the surface. At one stage, all three of us really struggled to even get back onto the boat, we were being thrown all over the place! The Chinese couple weren't the best of swimmers either so they were both pretty petrified once we got back onto the boat! Unfortunately for them, they had to go back out that evening for their fourth and final dive due to their flight time, you can only fly a minimum of 18 hours after your final dive. I wasn't too keen to rush my last dive so Rex said I could come back the next morning!

That night, Matt and I headed back to our favourite restaurant, Valemore's, for dinner. Back at the hostel, the girls put on a DVD- Slumdog Millionaire, which I really wish I had seen before going to India, I definitely would have been more prepared!

The morning of my final dive! The weather forecast was not good so the coastguard had stated no one was allowed to use a vessel, this messed up our situation but Rex had an idea. As I was pretty good at swimming, he suggested we swam to the coral drop off point to complete my final dive. Now this sounded relatively easy until I realised I had to swim on the surface with all my Scuba gear on. This was going to be a challenge! Half an hour of swimming into the strong current using a compass on my wrist to tell me the way, we reached the drop off point. We dived to 18 meters deep, it was incredible! I saw lots of Lionfish, Stonefish, Montreal eel and other tropical fish! Although that was amazing, in all honesty, I didn't really even need to see anything, I just loved being under the water!

It felt amazing when Rex told me I had passed, a certified Open Water Diver! I couldn't wait for my next opportunity to dive again! I was absolutely exhausted once I got back to the hostel and I was feeling a little under the weather with a blocked nose and sore ear so I slept for a few hours. That night, Matt and I went for dinner- yet again at Valemore's and after, walked into the town. We bought tiramisu cake as desert and headed back to the hostel to watch another film. I had really enjoyed my stay at Alona beach but I was ready to move on tomorrow and so was Matt. I felt bad he had to wait for me to finish my course but he didn't seem to mind... too much!