A FEW weeks ago, I had guests from Manila who arrived at the Bacolod-Silay airport. My blogs and social media posts on my travels around the province piqued their interest that they decided to spend a few days in Negros Occidental. And so, many months ago, they planned to visit me and have a summer escapade here in the province.
After going around Silay, Talisay, and Bacolod, enjoying their delectable and sweet delights, we headed north to Cadiz City and spent a night at Sagay City's Balay Kauswagan.
At the first hour in the morning, we headed to the Old Sagay port to the Tourism office just beside the Museo sang Bata sa Negros.
Since Sagay City enforces a No Slip, No Entry policy, in support of its Sustainable and Responsible Tourism, we booked our trip way ahead of time. Thus, only 70 persons are allowed at Carbin Reef at a given time.
Each person has to pay a general admission, environmental fee and port fee at a total of a hundred pesos. When you book your trip to Carbin Reef and Suyac Island, you can reserve a boat and a tent. The seven tents and a tower that is not yet finished loomed from the horizon. Excitement built up as the white mound of sand became more visible.
As we arrived at Carbin Reef, a 200-hectare marine sanctuary with its creamy sandbar like an icing on a cake, one of the Bantay Dagat gave us a briefing on the rules that need to be observed while at the sandbar. The first thing to remember is to keep the area garbage-free. So whatever you bring there, you have to bring when you leave Carbin Reef.
The white sand stood out in contrast with the blue-green water. The sea was as calm as ever. Visitors can go snorkeling a few meters from the shore but have to be with Bantay Dagat because the current is often too strong. If you decide to go snorkeling or diving, take note that there is a no-touch policy of any life underwater.
Before noon, we took the boat to the next stop, which is Suyac Island Mangrove Eco Park. What I like about this place is that it is run by the community themselves, the Suyac Island Eco-Tourism Association. We also booked our cottage and ordered our lunch way in advance since there are limited cottages at Suyac Island.
Both Carbin Reef and Suyac Island have their charm. While Carbin Reef is like a pearl, Suyac Island is an emerald. The greens are just breathtaking, and they are also providing shade while we swim beside our cottage. It was like a giant pool with all the trees around us.
There were small fishes swimming around the mangrove forest. They were schools of them, going in different directions. Around the area, there were century-old trees, new ones, and average trees. Some of my friends also enjoyed their time at Suyac Island.
Lunch came. We had oysters, grilled fish, stuffed squid and fish soup. The sun shone, the wind blew, and the waters lulled us gently. It was a beautiful day. Most of all, I got to spend it with friends I consider as family. I'm glad to be back in Sagay's Carbin Reef and Suyac Island, and I'm happy I did this trip with them because I was able to share with them one of the beauties of our province.
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All photos are by this author. Claire Marie Algarme blogs at http://firsttimetravels.com. Follow her as @firsttimetravel on Twitter and Instagram and like her Facebook page First-time Travels blog.