First stop today was the Marine Sanctuary in Dauin, a municipality south of Bacong and therefore a bit farther from Dumaguete City.
The beach was a bit isolated when we got there, with only a handful of men manning the post. Some of them are probably fishermen, as there is a fishing boat nearby. At mid-morning we saw a diving boat at a distance, and some foreigner who was previously walking on the shore was later seen in a sailboat - he must be a regular in the area as the locals called out to him as he passed by. There are a few shaded tables with benches, and a couple of structures with a "shower" and a toilet. It was only during lunch time that more people trickled into the beach - some students going home from school and a family out on a picnic by the sea.
The sand is a bit coarse and grey. The shore slopes gently into the water so that the water level rises slowly as you go farther into the sea. This is good for someone like me who has skipped half the swimming classes in school and therefore hasn't learned to swim. 
The guard reminded us not to go beyond the rope stretched out across the sanctuary, which they need not tell me by the way as I prefer to stay close to shore.
When I "snorkeled" in Boracay, I only had goggles and would just lift my head out of the water to breath in air ... I was just at the side of the boat so I didn't have to worry about swimming. This time, I had to actually do some paddling of my own while hanging onto a lifebuoy (humor me please, that's the only way Bee could get me into the water) and had a snorkeling mask with a mouthpiece. Problem is, I had trouble adjusting to breathing in and out through the mouth, so I still ended up lifting my head out of the water most of the time, expelling water that got into my nose. I did consider junking the mask altogether, but stuck to it anyway.
A dozen feet or so from the beach, one could already see colorful fishes swimming underneath. Nearer to the rope, I saw schools of fish swimming by. Bee saw some species she hadn't seen before and got excited. She actually swam across the rope where the view was more beautiful. I got out of the water early as I noticed the water getting higher and the current getting stronger. As I sat by a fishing boat waiting for Bee to get back, her "15 more minutes" got extended by another 5 I think.
One could really appreciate the efforts made to maintain the marine sanctuary, and I wouldn't mind paying the snorkeling fee. What I found a bit funny however is that they actually have different rates for snorkeling, diving, diving with a camera, and diving with a video camera.
Bee regretted not bringing her camera's underwater casing along. I was contemplating on buying my camera an underwater casing.
Note however that this isn't one of those "resort-type" beaches. The "shower" in the small square cubicle I got into was actually a faucet raised above the head. There was also another faucet just below the waist to make it easier to wash the legs and feet. The door on the opposite side of the same structure led to a small toilet that does not have a water tank - that is, you have to pour water from a bucket to flush it. If you're in Dauin to snorkel, then you wouldn't mind such basic amenities as you would spend most of your time in the water anyway.
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