My Journey to the Philippines 1999, lead me to Retirement and Scuba Diving.

in #retirement7 years ago (edited)

Bicol 2000 (7).jpg
Nipa House at the foot of the Sleeping Lion, Legazpi City Philippines (1999)

In December 1999 I found myself on an airplane heading to the Philippines to meet my new wife's family. I had no real idea what to expect I had just finished taking Spanish 101 at the Jr. College hoping the few words I learned would help me with the family. (30% of Filipino language is Spanish) But was it the right 30%. LoL
Most things that the Spanish introduced there like plato, baso, mesa, yellow, silla, kabayo, bano, and time was in Spanish, and a lot more. But the spelling and sentences are not the same.

Bicol 2000 (1).jpg
Sleeping Lion Mountain and Bay - Albay Gulf - Legazpi

IMG04.JPG
First house I bought that got me to thinking. I could live in this place and retire! 2 story 70sq meters (700 sq feet)

I left to go home December 30th, (remember the Y2K scare? planes crashing, computers crashing, life was to end) well non of that happened. January 2000 the Mayon Volcano did erupt.

Mayon V 2000 (3).JPG
That is a picture from our roof the Mayon is about 12 Kilometers away. (8 miles)

When I got back home over the next 4 years talking with my friends all of us married to American/Filipinas the plans to retire to the Philippines started to take shape. My best friend and I spent hours then days and now years planning. But what can I do there to not get bored? My friend said "you need to learn to scuba dive", I had always loved swimming and the water so in 2005 at the age of 40 I learned to dive and am loving it every chance I can get in the ocean.

PIC00020.JPG
Monterrey Bay, California getting my Naui Open Water Certification and Nitrox card.

Sort:  

Just found this post. We moved to the Philippines in 2013, spent over 4 years there traveling around the country, and finished building our home. We have since retracted to Guam and live in a condo here and will travel back and forth from now on. Scuba on Guam is much better than in the Philippines BTW! Check out my blog Retired in Samar where I documented our entire journey - from when we first made the decision to liquidate everything, and where I continue to document everyday life in the Province... One Day at a Time!

Welcome to Steem @wanabethere I have upvoted and sent you a tip

If you like this article then click here to read more about the subject.

(Keywords: family, lead, water, 1999, retire, lion, philippines, journey, diving, retirement, scuba, spanish, friend, learned, house, mayon)

Congratulations @wanabethere! You have received a personal award!

1 Year on Steemit
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
SteemitBoard World Cup Contest - Semi Finals - Day 1


Participate in the SteemitBoard World Cup Contest!
Collect World Cup badges and win free SBD
Support the Gold Sponsors of the contest: @good-karma and @lukestokes


Do you like SteemitBoard's project? Then Vote for its witness and get one more award!

Congratulations @wanabethere! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!