Batanes 2006 Adventure

Funny that it took me 2 years to finally put this up on a blog – I guess its because I was sure that I will never forget it. I’m also going back in a few weeks, so might as well get this out first. Here we go…

Batanes is located on the northenmost tip of the Philippines – you can actually see Taiwan from one of the islands – Itbayat. That’s also the reason why they have towering lighthouses spread across the islands. Its a place frozen in time where true Filipino culture like Bayanihan still exists.

The picture on top is a lighthouse located on Sabtang Island where we camped out for 2 nights – must try. At night, you can see all the stars clearly like a blanket of crystals scattered across a black velvet sheet.

First stop is Batan Island where the airport is located. Here’s where you can check out the famous Marlboro country.

You’ll be amazed with the stone houses where most of the locals still live. Batanes is frequently hit by typhoons – tip: open up your schedule, you will never know when you’ll be stranded. As soon as the winds start to pick up – all trips are cancelled.

You should also check out the Mahatao fishing village – a place truly frozen in time. Here you can trek to the fountain of youth – with natural spring water flowing endlessly. Take a sip – its all good.

Sabtang Island is a boat trip away, here you will be mesmerized by what I dubbed “Toilet Duck” blue water. My father told me that the sea reflected a rich blue color because of its depth. You will also notice that when the water hits the islands it creates what I could only describe as “Frosted Glass” color. Pardon me for the descriptions – as much as possible I’d like to describe these things with objects/colors that we, city folks, can relate to or imagine. Just like in the Photo below:

Sabtang hosts a secluded beach front where you can safely take a dip without risking getting pulled out to sea. We camped under a lighthouse where we had access to an enclosed secret beach accessed by carefully desccending down a steep hill. With a little effort you can venture to the right of it and find sort of small ponds where you can sit down and relax as if you were in a jacuzzi with a front seat view to the splashing waves – just be careful not to get too close.

Word of caution – the locals will always tell you that the next town is just a few minutes away – NOT! We tried to trek around the island under the assumption that the towns are just a few minutes away from each other – without water, it took us 4 hours just to get to the next town. The spectacular views kept us going, but its not an easy thing to do.

When we reached the very last town, after 4 hours of walking – we had no idea how we were going to get back to the town proper where we left our bags and setup camp under a lighthouse. We also lost communication with our host and couldn’t even imagine trekking back. So we gathered what’s left of our sanity and decided to make the bold move of riding a small fishing boat back. I kid you not – this boat is so small, you can probably just fit 5 people in it. There were 3 of us and 2 boatmen, they have a buddy system – WHY? The question we didn’t really bother to think about BUT its because its dangerous and you can easily get lost at sea – that’s why they travel in pairs.

One more thing, it was already dark so twice as risky – I recall seeing huge rounded waves hurrying towards us. They use the moon for navigation, we were always facing the moon. My hands were hurting because I had a hard sturdy grip on the bottom of my seat and no plans of letting go. Water was splashing everywhere – I started thinking, what if the boat cap sized? Hmm.. we were always close to the shore I could probably swim to safety, then it dawned on me – the loud splashing sound actually came from the waves hitting the sharp edges of the side of the island. Hey, but we survived – back from the trip when I told my Dad (retired Captain) about it, I saw a disturbing change in his face… That’s when I realized that the risk we took during that trip was real. Eeeks.

On a lighter note, the locals are proud of how they run things, no corruption – zero crime rate. Even if there are only a few vehicles on the Island -all the streets were paved.

Itbayat Island is a small plane ride away. Its fun to listen to the stories of the pilot, in one occasion, he had to skip through the airstrip to avoid the cows.

For accomodations, just ask the locals – they are always willing to be your hosts. They won’t even charge you for it.

The best way to go around this island is by renting a motorcycle, unfortunately, they come with wacko drivers that apparently have mastered their way around the island.

My driver was obviously drinking before we went on our way – he smelled like gin. When we were going down a steep road to the port (if you miss the turn, you fly out to sea) he said: “Wala yata tayong brakes (I think we don’t have brakes.).” We were really going fast and at the very last moment we took a really sharp turn to avoid going over. Whew! Then he turned to me and said: “Mahina lang pala and preno (Weak brakes? – not sure how to translate that). Anyway, cool adventure.

We were on this island on a Sunday and exactly 6-7pm, all the houses were empty, everyone was at church.