How I Was Dumped into the Ocean for the Very First Time and Why I Loved Every Minute of it. by Reimond Magno ( Accounting Associate )

Arriving at Maribago Bluewaters Resort was a refreshing change of environment from the usual hustle and bustle of Cebu’s metropolitan scape. A light drizzle welcomed us and the visual feast surrounding us made me giddy with excitement.

The day began with team-building activities set at a man-made island just off the coast of the resort. It was a five to ten minute banca adventure. Everybody felt #blessed seeing the ecosystems of algae and sea animals that abounded below. Everything under the sea was evergreen! It was even too tempting to touch a starfish on the sea bed.

The banana boat experience after eating though was the cherry on top of the giant slice of cake that inDinero served us on that day. Seeing Cebu while surfing the waves was an experience unheard of for a small town boy like me. Cebu is a gem. And the blue-green waters that sparkled against the burning September sun illuminated its glory.

It was a total Perks-of-a-Wallflower moment. “I swear in that moment we felt infinite.” I felt like I a (scared) superhero. I could have just waved my hands up in the air if that won’t leave me behind. The wind crashed against us forever until our banana boat suddenly turned upside down and sent us crashing into the sea.

Adrenaline quickly fueled me. First of all, I cannot swim. And the life vest I was wearing provided little comfort. Secondly, I’ve never been in the open sea before. And thirdly, I still can’t swim even if I count to a hundred.

One thing I realized while I was half pretend-swimming, half-floating, was that you cannot trust the sea. It is a woman that lures you to dive into its blue-green jaws only to literally drown you with the very thing that makes it mysterious: its depth. Cebu’s waters was a woman: soft, like a painter’s muse brushed carefully against a blank canvas; and rough, a Gabriela Silang swirling with storms and ancient battles weaved into oblivion inside her little heart. Yes. Oblivion. Like what my destiny would be if my life vest decides to betray me in this godforsaken sea.

Thankfully, this is not a melodramatic teleserye. We cautiously (and barely) climbed back to the banana boat after turning it upside down, surfed around the sea for a few more minutes, and then went back ashore, spent and totally famished, after the entire experience.

Pizza and cocktails sounded good after being submerged into the ocean. We finished our daiquiris (mojitos and tequilas for some), and packed our bags and went home.

All in all, my Maribago experience was true to inDinero’s promise of a fun-filled and positive environment. Yes, you can get thrown into the ocean every once in a while (hopefully that was the last), but it was all for the glory and glamour of clean, company-wide bonding. I will never forget this outing.

And besides, how can anybody truly forget his first encounter with the open sea?