BELOW THE SARDINES – Freediving in Moalboal 🐠Philippines, Cebu

The reason we wanted to learn freediving is, that freedivers usually have the best encounters with marine life and additionally are able to take great pictures and videos of it. You move freely and peacefully under water, without any heavy equipment or producing bubbles. That’s why fish react positively and without fear – you become a part of the ocean somehow. And since we’ve already planned some very special marine life encounters for this year, we’re certain, that our freediving adventures have only just begun.

To learn Freediving as our new skill we found out about Freediving Planet and their diveshop in Moalboal. As we were completely new to the topic, we enrolled for the AIDA 2 Beginner Course, a 3 day programme packed with theory knowledge and loads of praxis. At the end we were able to hold our breath for more than 2 minutes, swim 60 meters in the pool and dive 18 meters deep. The small team of instructors around Co-Founders Suzanne Lim and Jean-Pol Francois (aka JP) is very enthusiastic and we felt absolutely relaxed and safe at all times.

While snorkelling or diving in Moalboal, it can suddenly get really dark in the water. That's because the house reef is home to a huge school of sardines 🐟. It's fascinating to swim through them, witness how their formation is changing all the time. And the best part is, that they live so close to the beach, it only takes you 2 minutes to reach them equipped with mask and snorkel. Additionally, there are numerous reef fish with you in the water, and if you're lucky, you're suddenly swimming next to a relaxed turtle 🐢. For underwater enthusiasts Moalboal is very much recommended 😊.

We'd love to hear your feedback in the comments section.

** FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY **
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🦈 http://bugsandbears.com

** CAMERA & EDIT **
📷 Matthias Jungwirth & Doris Wimmer
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** MUSIC **
Muted – Altitude (Artlist)
Kevin MacLeod – Experimental Test Subject (FreePD)

** EQUIPMENT **
📷 Sony A7 RIII: http://bit.ly/2Dzy65I (Main Camera)
📷 Sony FE 24–105 mm F4 G: http://amzn.to/2pl2lbr (Main Lens)
📷 Sony FE 16–35mm F4: http://amzn.to/2IxYMaE (Wide Angle Lens)
📷 Sony FE 70–300mm F4.5-5.6 G: http://amzn.to/2pjssQO (Tele Lens)
🚁 DJI Mavic Air: http://amzn.to/2DzLh6K (Drone)
💦 GoPro Hero 6 Black: http://amzn.to/2pji6R3 (Underwater Camera)
💦 GoPro Super Suit Dive Housing: http://amzn.to/2DyN781 (Underwater Housing)
🔭 Rollei Compact Traveler 1 Carbon: http://amzn.to/2G4Gf7L (Tripod)
🎥 Zhiyun Crane V2: http://amzn.to/2GCD4C3 (Gimbal)
💾 Lacie 4 TB Hard Drive: http://amzn.to/2FYtvzd (for Backups)
🎙 Rode VideoMicro: http://amzn.to/2DzDUvZ (Microphone)

When you are convinced by any of the above-mentioned camera gear, feel free to use one of the links. You get the regular Amazon price and we receive a small percentage from that – this helps to support and continue our work. Thank you!