Mini-vacation to Bais

On our way back to Bohol from Cebu earlier this week, Valeria and I decided to take a small side trip to the town of Bais on the island of Negros.  What were we doing there?  Going on a dolphin watching trip.  Now before you roll your eyes and ponder why we would spend a fair bit of money to watch dolphins when we do it for free all the time, let me tell you there was a purpose to our dolphin watching.  Valeria's research interest is animal behaviour, more specifically, the impact of dolphin/whale watching on the behaviour of local populations.  She is contemplating doing her PhD  field work in the Philippines and wanted to check out the industry in Bais compared to the industry here in Bohol.  (Just as an aside 'it's-a-small-world' moment, Valeria just completed here Masters using data from Rob Williams' collected at Eagle Eye in Johnstone Strait.  Another reminder that the marine mammal world is creepy small.)

Getting to Bais was half the fun- a jeepney, a trike, a ferry, and then a rollercoaster-esque  bus ride complete with very bumpy road and break-neck speed.  During the bus ride, Valeria and I held on tight to our seats and glanced at each other periodically with looks of mixed glee and terror.  The scenery on Negros was quite different from Bohol, as instead of rice, the fields were filled with sugar cane.  Upon arriving in Bais, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel (with a nice, comfy bed).  The luxury!!!!!!!!!!

So excited about a real bed

The next morning we woke at our typical 5:30 (it is weird that this is starting to feel like a normal wake up time), and grabbed a trike to the wharf to catch our arranged dolphin boat.  It was somewhat hilarious as the two of us had an enormous, 40-person capacity banca to ourselves.  Unfortunately, the actual dolphin watching was less than thrilling, but then again, I am incredibly spoiled when it comes to whale watching, as it's hard to beat the multi-species days off Northern Vancouver Island or even here in the Bohol Sea.  We did find a small-ish group of spinner dolphins, but they were evasive most of the time and the aggressive tactics of the captain were a bit hard to take.  There also wasn't much in the way of interpretation, most of my questions were answered shortly and incompletely. None the less, it was fantastic to be on the water just enjoying the scenery.  The weather was overcast, lending to dramatic light for much of the morning.

Part two of the boat trip was a stop at a nearby sand bar.  Due to the tides, the bar remained submerged, but only under approximately 60 cm of water.  The dolphin watching boats stop there, letting you swim in the lovely warm water while the boat staff grill up any food you brought.  Four cabins on stilts are located on the sand bar, which apparently you can rent.  How cool would it be to stay in a house that is marooned in the middle of a bay?

Our mini-vacation was short lived though as later that day we needed to head back to Bohol.  Another roller-coaster bus ride and then a ferry and we were back.  It was great to have a little break and feel like I was 'travelling', though as our van pulled into Jagna after a long day,  it was also really sweet to feel 'home'.