Dumaguete Adventure Series: Dolphins in Bais and The Manjuyod Sand Bar

We woke up at 4:00 in the morning on the second day of our Dumaguete adventure. We had to leave by 5:00am to reach Bais before 6:30am.

Bais City is well known for its proximity to the protected marine sanctuary, the Tañon Strait.

From the Capiñahan Wharf in the South Bay, the boat heads out to the Bais Bay and into the Tañon Strait where the dolphins frolic in the water, and the whales emerge from the deep. [Dumagueteinfo.com]

We booked two vans from the resort which costs P4,500 (11-12pax per van) round trip from Dauin to the Bais and another P6,000 for the boat going to see the dolphins and the sand bar. The boat could fit all 23 of us and had it's own toilet. 

After about 30 minutes of sailing,  we were getting a bit discouraged. We decided to pray together as a group and asked the Lord to send the dolphins.  After a few minutes, we found them. We were able to see a few big ones swimming near us.

We were already quite happy with our dolphin-sighting but prayed for more. I wanted to see them jumping out of the water while my friend, Kim, wanted to see dolphins swimming alongside our boat. With our boat already far from the site where we found the pod of dolphins, we were not very hopeful with our requests. But after about 15 minutes, God surprised us. One by one the dolphins came up to do a show for us. There were proabably around a hundred of them swimming around us. The boatman even said 'libo (thousands) na yan, ma'am!' though I don't think it reached that figure. And guess what? They jumped out of the water and swam alongside our boat. We prayed for dolphins but we got more than that. We experienced God's power and His wonderful presence.  That morning in Bais, we searched for dolphins, but we found the Lord.

Watch this short clip to see the dolphins swimming near us.

We have watched the videos over and over again. And as I watch it, I thank God over and over again. It was such an unforgettable experience. My 8-year old son said "They look like cartoons!". It was surreal.

 

After our dolphin encounter, we headed to the Manjuyod Sand Bar, also known as the 'Maldives of the Philippines'. It was not low-tide enough when we went but the kids still enjoyed swimming in what look to them like a natural kiddie pool.

We reached the sand bar around 10am and stayed until around 12nn. We brought packed lunches with us and ate inside our boat while docked in Manjuyod.

After lunch we headed back to the resort and arrived at around 1:30pm.  The kids spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the pool while the adults did intro-diving. It was a very fruitful day to say the least.

 

Next stop: Oslob Whale Sharks