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Batanes in my mind- Day 2

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Day 2- Sabtang Island

Today is Sabtang Island Day!

I must say, this day is certainly beyond my expectations! We left the lodge around 6:00 am. A van came and fetched us together with other tourists from other hotels. It took about 30 minutes to get to the port of Ivana to get to Sabtang Island.But to actually get to the island, one must ride a Faluwa, an Ivatan local boat. Some travellers mentioned “Sabtang is a heavenly place but the ride to it was hell.” Thank God the ride to the Island was smooth enough to doze me off to sleep. When we landed on the dock, another van took us to our first destination.

Chamantad Cove and Tinyan View Point– What can I say? This is one of the best scenic view I’ve ever seen all throughout my existence. The sun was up and the wind was chilly enough to easily trek down the viewpoint. I could stare at this exquisite view all day!

Panoramic view of the Chamantad and Tinyan Viewpoint

Breathtakingly beautiful

Where the land, seas and skies meet

Oh, happy!

Just wow!

View of the descending point

Sustainable packaging! Guess what’s inside? Pancit!

The trek uphill was kind of a challenge going back to the meeting place. Upon reaching the top, I had one of those fresh buko to which I finished devouring in less than a minute! Some of the locals also offered me to try their local sugarcane wine and it was surprisingly good!

Chavayan Village- Allow me quote the words of the late Architect and Heritage Advocate, Augusto “Toti” Villalon from his book “Lugar: “Chavayan Village is where our world ceases and pure magic takes over. The stone houses are placed closely to each other to protect them from strong typhoons. The houses are divided in small alleys. The remoteness of the village added to the authenticity of the place. No signal, no or limited modern technology.”

According to research, these houses are about three to five generations old. They are made of limestones and cogon grass as roofs. Kuya Rommel, our tour guide in Sabtang explained how limestones are made and it sounded pretty tedious! It had to be cooked in a kiln for 9 days and once it achieves a paste- like consistency, it will be stored underground for 7 to 9 months before it could be used as a building material. However, the Batanes government banned the use and quarrying of limestones, hence, retards the restoration of some of the houses.

Going around town, I noticed that there were two types of roofs used in the houses, the gable roof and the the hip roof. The former is locally known as the “Sinadumparan” and the latter is called the “Maytuab”. The roofing takes about 25 to 30 years before replacing it with a new one.

To fully feel the spirit of the place, we use their traditional head gear as protection from the intense heat and/or rain. This is made out of “Vuyavuy”, a palm tree endemic in Batanes. Had it brushed out and sun dried, woven out with strings to make out a “Vakul”.

Savidug Stone Houses- After roaming around the village, we headed to another cluster of stone houses, the Savidug Stone Houses. We just dropped by for some really quick photo ops before heading out for lunch at the Morong Beach to which the Mayahaw Arc can be seen.

We were just in time for the departure of the faluwa at 12:30 pm heading back to Basco. The waves going back were not as calm as when we sailed in the morning. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that scary as I’ve read nor seen in the net. We arrived at the lodge around 1:30 pm. Emar and I decided to take a quick rest and at 2:30 pm we hike up the Vayang Rolling Hills. Well yeah, good luck to me.

We ascended at 2:30 pm and we reached the top of the hill by 4:00. We took sometime enjoying our peace and quiet just by looking at the magnificent scenery. We began to descend at 4:30 pm just in time for dinner at Casa Napoli. Oh. My. God. The pizza was to die for as well as the Luñis Pasta- the best!

It’s was already 8:30 pm and t’was time to call it a night and I could no longer contain my sleepiness. Time to call it a day and I can’t wait for Day 3!

…. to be continued

Batanes in my mind- Day 1

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The photo above does not do Batanes any justice at all. Even the best of the best cameras out there could never capture how amazingly beautiful the island is. You can never truly appreciate its charm unless you see it for yourself- and that’s what I did. I am quite excited to share to everyone  my 4- day itinerary in Batanes though I stayed there for almost 10 days, especially this is my first time travelling solo for that long!

Day 1- North Batan Tour

I arrived at the airport around 5:00 am-ish was was quite surprised that there weren’t much of passengers at the terminal considering Christmas Day is just around the corner. I went to the usual check-in routine until the boarding gate, got myself some good coffee as I await to hop in the plane. Then they announced that it was time for boarding, all of us were already in queue, but then they had to hold entrance because of the unpredictable weather in Basco. We had to wait for not more than 30 minutes before we could actually board on the plane. The trip took about 2 hours and 10 minutes. All- in- all, the plane ride to Basco was smooth.

Upon arrival in their humble airport, a girl greeted me at the arrival area who happens to be a service crew from the hotel. I was very pleased to know that the lodge was only 5 minutes away from the airport. Walking distance! How cool is that! I was with a fellow solo traveller, Emar. We arrived at the lodge a few minutes before 10:00 am. We were asked to settle first before heading out for the tour. Our tour guide, Kuya Nelson, fetched us at the hotel around 12:30 pm. He took us at Jin Panda, a local restaurant, for a hearty lunch. We had spicy squid menudo, Binagoongan, Bulalo and the ever famous Dibang (Flying fish).

After eating lunch, we proceeded to the tour. Our first stop was at the Tukon Church followed by the Fundacion Pacita. Afterwards, we proceeded to the Valugan Boulder Beach. It was said that the boulders were thrown out by the dormant volcano nearby, the Mount Irayat. I must say I enjoyed the place. It somehow had this “healing effect” by just just enjoying the views and the waves. I was quite surprised when our tour guide can take really good photos! I know for a fact that I rarely have my photo taken on trips, but Batanes my friend, is an exemption. I remember one documentary video I saw that said: “In Batanes, there’s this curse- that wherever you point your camera to, you’ll still get good photos.” I would like to believe so because here I am trying it for myself!

We then dropped by at the Dipnaysuypayan Japanese Tunnel. History tells that the tunnel was built by the locals for the Japanese as a hideout place from the American troops.

I was surprised to know that this Chapel was completed by the Architects Joven Ignacio and Tina Turralba!

It was raining and was very windy when we reached the Vayang Rolling Hills. I was greatly captivated by the beauty of the scenery that I wanted to cry! It was surreal! Despite the blustery weather, we still managed to reach the farthest end of the rolling hills and took really great photos. Batanes, indeed, is the home of the winds. Last stop for this day’s tour was the Basco Light House. It is one of the two functioning lighthouse in the province that guides the ship at night.

We headed back to the Lodge around 5:00 pm to freshen up and have dinner at Pension Ivatan to try their famous Luñis, their version of adobo, Vunis and Uved. It did not disappoint us at all. The next day will be a long day. Call time as per Kuya Nelson is at 6:00 am and our itinerary will be exploring the island of Sabtang!

….. to be continued