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Hello everyone!

I'm feeling a little bit nostalgic today. I don't know why, but I love the peace I have had with myself lately. I don't know if it's the end of those turbulent emotions or if this is just the trough of the cycle. One thing is for sure, I have this kind of peace when I'm freediving. As the nostalgia kicks in, I decided to review all my freediving posts and I'm amazed by how many spots I've freedived in the two years since I had my first freediving experience in Moalboal.

I'm amazed by how Hive is able to perfectly have it stored for me to review later on. I started on April 9, 2021, with Introduction to Freediving at Nico's Place, Moalboal and I had my best moments while exploring the underwater world since then. I haven't done any freediving since December 11, 2022, in Siquijor. I will definitely go back to freediving one of these days.

I still have quite a few videos to upload like the one in Kayangan and Barracuda Lakes and the one in Siquijor, but I've uploaded 19 freediving videos and 2 underwater photoshoots. If you're curious, I've included all the links at the end of this post.

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While I already posted a lot of freediving videos, I haven't really talked about how I started with this hobby. Glebert already made a post about his introduction to freediving, so I'm still a winner when it comes to procrastination. We started our introduction to freediving together. It's a 2-day course that will immerse, literally and figuratively, you in this expensive hobby.

I already said this in one of my posts before, but I will say this again: "I'll always be thankful to Hive for making such a huge change in my life". Thanks to Hive, I was able to do these things. The moment I finished the course in Moalboal, I immediately decided to buy long fins, goggles, and then later on, Go Pro. I even planned to buy a buoy, but eventually ditched it because of how bulky it was. I still haven't bought a wet suit because we were planning, with @indayclara, to have it before our Molchanovs Wave 1 and 2 Certification. Since life get ahead of us, we decided to postpone it indefinitely. But I'm not giving up on that life goal.

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Back to the first freediving experience, it was one of those moments where I didn't regret changing my trajectory in life. I felt that I belong to the sea as much as I claim to be a mountain person. I had always been jealous of those guides in our snorkeling before who can dive and explore the corals below. While I already have my Open Water Scuba Diver certification, freediving is a different beast. You're literally relying on your single breath every single time you dive. You don't have any underwater breathing apparatus with you. While GB's experience, as he noted in his post that he had an inherent fear of open water, was not too pleasant, mine's the opposite. Nico, our instructor, always told me that I can dive deeper and stay longer underwater, but it was just me holding myself back. I didn't want to blackout. It's still the same now. I don't want to blackout, so I'll resurface even if I still have some reserved air.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ybanezkim26/EoCXxDDYvQ8jxi7NZqAH1fSeU19nakz2YUS3uYWZCSz9ZgxcXVcLNhLETyteMyqp2G3.jpg

On the third day, we joined a group for a drift dive and it was one of the best moments of my life. The moment I was able to interact with a turtle and one of the guides was able to take a photo of it (see the thumbnail photo), that was when I decided to pursue this madness. It was too tiring because we had to just follow the current for 3 hours. But it was an epic experience.

Overall, my first freediving experience set the tone and direction in that aspect of my life. Freediving even became my escape if I feel like the world has become too noisy or I'm overwhelmed by my own thoughts. Shout out to Pat (@patsitivity), GB (@glecerioberto), Jelo, and Ivana for joining with me (or letting me join) in that awesome experience.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ybanezkim26/Ep5pceHaFKgQZJSMmqmrCwwGLPSnsY4TGUSqMWroM1848q5AzQYJbtTP6Xx2UjCwtwh.jpg

Shout out to @indayclara for being my constant freediving companion! When are we going to freedive again, girl?

I guess that's all for this post! See you at the next one! And as noted above, here's the list of my freediving posts so far:

[1] Panagsama Freedive [Part 1] [2] Underwater Photoshoot? [3] Sneak Peek from Our Catmon Freedive [4] Moalboal Birthday Freedive [5] Moalboal Line Dive [New Personal Best] [6] Alegria Dive Resort [Getting Goofy with the Statues] [7] Last Day at Alegria Dive Resort [Ending My Birthday Celebration Dive] [8] The Category Is... Underwater Realness [9] Freediving at Tuble Marine Sanctuary in Moalboal [10] Freediving with the Sardines in Panagsama, Moalboal [11] Freediving with the Whale Sharks in Oslob [12] Fun Dive in Oslob, Cebu [13] Freediving at Kuya Jom's Crib in Catmon [Not Too Well] [14] Playing with Bubbles in Pescador Island [15] Another Sardine Run at Panagsama, Moalboal [16] Freediving in Pescador Island [Heart-Shaped Coral] [17] The Semi Caves of Turtle Bay, Moalboal, Cebu [18] Freediving with the Sardines in Moalboal [Post Odette] [19] Exploring the Japanese Shipwreck of Malapascua Island [20] Freediving at Malapascua's Coral Garden [21] Battling with the Waves at Lapus-Lapus Island, Malapascua -----

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ybanezkim26/AKR6ryf1A4g3gyKgUzJiAN1vRm8UMmun9HLxgFMsK3gtqXAQjoHFUYEKMwtaje2.png

Kim Ybañez _{Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.} _{If you like his content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow him to be updated with his latest posts.}

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