I don’t know how to express this exasperation, this weariness I have for my life right now. I have been having some kind of anxiety attack, not because of my personal situation, but because of the problems this government has been heaping on this country. Problems upon problems. I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

To save me a trip to the shrink, I just resort to taking the occasional vitamin sea, to throw my cares away into the sea breeze, to remind myself that there is enough to love about this country.

So in September we went back to Anilao, this time we checked in Eagle Point Resort because 1) as a VIP member (been booking all my local and foreign travels with them) I had enough discounts from Agoda to make our stay there more affordable; 2) they own a private beach in Maricaban island where my girls could enjoy the beach sand because they are usually deprived of that in rocky Anilao; they have a house reef called Eagle Point (har har) just in front of the resort; and 3) better restaurant.

The water is clear and it was a bit calm on the day we arrived considering that Typhoon Onyok was just exiting the country. Just like in our past visits to Anilao, the water has floating plastic rubbish that could endanger marine life, even though it was clear. My daughter and I had to pluck them out of the water for proper disposal on land.

Late in the afternoon, my daughter and I freedived and encountered a pawikan (sea turtle) feeding among the corals. We chased it to be closer to it as much as possible because it was a surreal experience and because I want my daughter to appreciate the environment and the beautiful marine life we have here. Her twin sister is just content playing in the resort pool because she isn’t a fan of salt water.

To amplify this experience, we again took a boat ride the next day (PHP 3,000) to take us to Sepoc Beach and to Sombrero island for the coral gardens. But the winds and currents were strong due to Typhoon Onyok’s exit at West Philippine Sea, so our boatmen advised us to do our diving on the opposite side of Maricaban where the winds and currents are more forgiving.

So we had to agree because I don’t want to compromise our safety. But unfortunately, the corals are almost nil and the diving experience was better the previous day.

We were early enough to enjoy the peace and quiet all to ourselves (this time both of my girls came with me) but later on the beginner SCUBA divers came because the currents in other places where they usually have their lessons were stronger that day.

I asked our boatmen if the edible sea urchins are plenty in Anilao. He said they used to be a lot in the area, before the Koreans, Chinese, and the Japanese descended on Anilao. I knew sea urchins don’t end up traditionally on Filipinos’ dining tables because they are detritus feeders and not enough meat in them so harvesting them is more trouble than they’re worth. But now with the high demand from North Asians, they suddenly became prized delicacies.

I still haven’t warmed up to sea urchins.

We didn’t stay long in that place as expected. Not much corals, no sea turtle. To make up for it, our boatmen obliged me by stopping briefly at Arthur’s Rock, another house reef in front of (whatelse?) Arthur’s Resort, for some corals. But the currents were getting stronger as the tide comes in. We had to head back to Eagle Point.

I hope we can come back in January before the stressful life I lead comes to eat me alive.