April 16, 2022. One of the highlights of my family’s vacation was a trip to Bais and the Manjuyod sand bar around the center of Negros Oriental province. The resort we stayed in gladly arranged for us a whole day trip to these destinations where we chased and watched dolphins in the sea and had amazing lunch in the middle of a submerged sand bar.
The trip to Bais City from our resort in Dauin took us almost two hours northwards from Dumaguete. The van took us directly to Canibol Wharf where a large banca was waiting for us to bring us to Tañon strait, the body of water that separates Negros Island from Cebu.
At this time of the year, with ideal current and wind conditions, visitors will encounter immaculately calm waters, almost perfectly still and glass-like at certain parts of the sea. A large section of this area is a protected marine seascape. Some Filipino lawyers and law students might be familiar with ‘Tañon Strait’ as it hosts ‘the resident marine mammals’ who were found by the Supreme Court to have legal standing to be represented and have in fact claimed protection under the laws of the country.
In the morning we first headed to a part of the Manjuyod sand bar which was still above water before it got totally submerged by the tide in minutes. Then, we proceeded to chase the renowned dolphins across Tañon Strait. Visitors are not allowed to swim with the dolphins nor to feed them in an ethical effort to maintain their natural instincts in the wild–although it seemed to me that these smart marine animals truly know that they are the center of attention as they seem to willingly perform and play around with the tour boats on their own.
A brief word about the tour. The tour arranged for us by the resort was amazing! It was like they brought the resort-level service with us. Everything was arranged for from our transportation to the food. We felt like we were eating hotel food and drinks in the middle of the sea. We had lunch at the vast Manjuyod sand bar after chasing dolphins all morning. While anchored at the sand bar, you can swim around the shallow turquoise waters like it was one gigantic swimming pool. Locals on small bancas wold vend fresh shellfish which you can ask to be grilled for you. They were huge and truly delectable!
