What I remember most about the trip were:
- the plane was so small (under 20-seater)
- 2 of our tour mates lost their sunglasses – one, during a hiking trip and the other, in a beach. Hours after, both sunglasses were retrieved and the locals found a way to trace our tour group within the island and safely returned them. Amazing!
- Sabtang Island only had 1 jeepney. On the day we visited, it was being used for a wedding so they let us use the dump truck to tour around the island. How cool is that? :) I also found out that if both the jeepney and the dump truck were being used, sometimes, they would offer the island's ambulance!
- We had lobsters for lunch and by the beach! Yum!
- The flow of novelty goods and modern products to the island was very limited. If a local likes an item that you have, sometimes, they would offer to barter. A local asked one of our tour mates to barter a woven basket for her dangling earrings. And yes, both were happy with the deal. :)
- People are so friendly. I remember walking by the sea during low tide and a kid offered me fresh uni from a sea urchin he found. Yum! Here's a photo from 2005 that morning I walked by the sea.
All happy memories! :)
Because of the wonderful experience, the same friend (whom I traveled with before) and I decided to revisit Batanes this December.
- Sabtang Island only had 1 jeepney. On the day we visited, it was being used for a wedding so they let us use the dump truck to tour around the island. How cool is that? :) I also found out that if both the jeepney and the dump truck were being used, sometimes, they would offer the island's ambulance!
- We had lobsters for lunch and by the beach! Yum!
- The flow of novelty goods and modern products to the island was very limited. If a local likes an item that you have, sometimes, they would offer to barter. A local asked one of our tour mates to barter a woven basket for her dangling earrings. And yes, both were happy with the deal. :)
- People are so friendly. I remember walking by the sea during low tide and a kid offered me fresh uni from a sea urchin he found. Yum! Here's a photo from 2005 that morning I walked by the sea.
Because of the wonderful experience, the same friend (whom I traveled with before) and I decided to revisit Batanes this December.
A lot have changed – bigger planes now fly to Batanes (70+ seater for PAL), Sabtang Island has all kinds of transportation (motorcycles, trikes, vans, sedans, more jeepneys), stores are now selling novelty goods and fashionable accessories and you could spot some modern structures and houses already. But it’s still a beautiful island and the people are still kind and friendly.
We were in Batanes for a 4D3N stay but since the departure flight on the 4th day is early in the morning, our itinerary is technically for 3 full days.
Here are the top things to see and do in Batanes in 3 days (photos are in random order).
Here's the Basco Cathedral, originally built in 1783. We were lucky that it was just walking distance from our inn so we were able to hear anticipated Sunday mass here.
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| Basco Cathedral |
We visited a lot of churches in Batanes - maybe 8 - but in this small church in Uyugan is where the Catholic faith started in Batanes. It is the spot where the first Spanish friar who landed in Batan Island celebrated mass in 1682.
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| San Lorenzo Ruiz Church in Uyugan, Batan |
This is the Basco lighthouse. I remember we had our photos taken here 10 years ago but I was looking for a bench because I remember sitting in the photo but I couldn't find any.
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| Basco lighthouse |
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| Sabtang lighthouse |
When we first visited Batanes, the foreigners we met there said Batanes looks like New Zealand but I've never been to New Zealand yet so I couldn't. Haha... But the landscapes do remind me of Hawaii and Capri. Check out these breathtaking views -
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| Mahatao Fishing Port |
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| Nakabuang Beach |
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| Beautiful shells at Nakabuang beach |
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| This is in Sabtang and it's called Sleeping Beauty. Can you spot the silhouette of the face of the Sleeping Beauty? |
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| Boulder Beach. Postcard perfect! |
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| View from Naidi Hills |
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| Blue Lagoon |
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View from Tinyang |
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| Imnajbu Road Cliff - they say it's the spot where a scene from Hihintayin Kita sa Langit was filmed. But I haven't watched the movie yet though. |
Notice the ridges along the hills below? According to our guide, they are cogon grass and they serve a dual purpose - as windbreaker and property boundary.
BTW, since we were only 2, it wasn't economical to hire a van so we hired a tricycle! Haha... Check out the beautiful view inside our trike. :)
The advantage of riding a trike is you can easily stop and go down to check out a view. In fact, when I see something interesting, I just tap the shoulder of the driver and ask if we can stop and go down like when we spotted a forest nursery. The forest nursery is managed by the DENR and they supply the trees to be planted along roads and public parks. That's why if you noticed in our trike window view above, the roads are beautifully lined with trees.
Here's a photo I took at the forest nursery - they are seedlings of a plant called Arius.
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| Arius seedlings |
You'll find Arius trees all over Batanes - along roads, on the hills and in parks. In Sabtang, we saw a cogon hut at the Tinyang lookout that sells Arius wine and it tastes good like Mompo. :)
There's a Japanese tunnel in Batan Island which was used as shelter and hideout for Japanese soldiers during the war.
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| Japanese tunnel |
It's pitch dark inside but a guide with a flashlight would assist you.
I think the tunnel has 5 or 6 exits. Here's one that leads to an exit at the bottom of the hill. But this passageway is no longer open for exploration.
The walk inside the hideout is just short - you'll be out in 5 minutes. And the passageway is big - no worries of being claustrophobic.
Here's the Ivatan version of Adobo. According to our guide, meat is fried (w/o oil), then salt and garlic is added. It's cooked in palayok (claypot). And it's best eaten with vinegar and garlic.
Lobsters weren't in season during our visit because in December, the wind and waves are strong, thus it's hard to catch lobsters.
Batanes also has coconut crabs but we weren't able to taste them. Locals say they taste like gata (coconut milk) because the lobsters feed on what else - coconut! :)
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| Coconut crab |
Since Batanes is known for typhoons, what better place to visit than the PAGASA weather station. :)
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| Basco PAGASA Complex |
But guess what? I read somewhere that storms have become less frequent in Batanes. The last storm that directly hit Batanes was in 1987 (Typhoon Neneng). When typhoons were more frequent, all they could plant were root crops like ube (purple yam) and kamote (sweet potato) but due to the changing weather, they have been planting rice, corn, mangoes and bananas.
This is probably the most popular store in Batanes - the Honesty Coffee Shop.
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| Honesty Coffee Shop today |
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| Honesty Coffee shop 10 years ago! |
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| Honesty Coffee Shop's payment counter |
In Sabtang Island, they have a similar store called Conscience Cafe. :)
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| Conscience Cafe in Sabtang Island |
The House of Estrella/House of Dakay is the oldest Ivatan stone house in Batanes. It was built in 1887 - everything is original except for the cogon roof as the cogon roof needs to be replaced every 25 to 30 years (it's as thick as 1 foot!). Most stone houses today though have thinner cogon roofs which need to replaced every 1 to 2 years.
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| House of Estrella or House of Dakay |
When Ivana was hit by an earthquake (8.3 magnitude) in 1918, only 5 houses in Ivana were not damaged. The House of Estrella (Estrella is the original owner; Dakay was her nephew who inherited the house) is the only one out of the 5 which has been preserved until today.
During our trip in 2005, there was an old lady living in the house. She is one of the most-photographed Ivatans too. Not sure if she's still alive though because the house has been converted into a souvenir store today and no one was manning the store when we dropped by that's why I wasn't able to ask about her.
If you look closely at the walls of the house, the stones have been exposed due to the rain and strong winds. It's after all more than 100 years old. But the walls of a traditional Ivatan house are 2 to 3 feet thick. Whoa....
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| Stone wall of the House of Estrella/House of Dakay |
Ivatan stone houses usually are composed of 3 structures - the main house (where they sleep), the kitchen and the toilet.
Here's inside the main house - our guide in Sabtang, Ishmael, kindly let us visit his house in Savidug.
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| Inside an Ivatan house |
Check out the bamboo bench Ishmael designed for his home -
And the chopping board he made out of driftwood. Notice how the bananas and kamote are beautifully arranged? :) We told him he has an eye for design.
Here's inside the kitchen - I think this was in a house in Chavayan. They hang garlic in the ceiling so they get smoked as you cook. So if you see brown-colored garlic being sold, they are smoked inside an Ivatan kitchen.
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| Inside an Ivatan kitchen |
Stone houses are rarely built the traditional way anymore because of several reasons - harvesting corals is regulated already, extracting lime from corals by cooking using firewood is time-consuming (could take months), logging of trees is also now regulated and it takes at least a year for the limestone to be strong enough for people to move in. That's why a lot of the stone houses today are built using cement. :(
This is called a vakul or the head gear of Ivatan women to protect them from the sun, wind and rain. I asked the makers and they said it takes 1 week to complete one. I read an article though that the younger generation no longer wear vakuls. :(
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| Vakul - the Ivatan's protective head gear |
The vakul is made from the leaves of Philippine Date Palm trees or what they call "Voyavoy" - they grow abundantly in the island. Our trike driver actually stopped along the road and made us eat Voyavoy fruits - they taste like the usual dates, only smaller and they have thinner flesh.
While exploring Batanes, it's so refreshing to see kids at play and have fun - without any sign of electronic gadgets. Reminds me of my childhood. Check these out -
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| Playing Piko! |
These kids at the plaza made us laugh - pretending to read a book with Jose Rizal.
BTW, while walking around the plaza, we were able to see a wedding entourage in motorbikes! How cool!
We just shouted our congratulations to the happy couple as they passed by and they waved back at us. Haha...
All over Batanes, you'll see a lot of cows, carabaos, goats and chickens. Here's a friendly cow we spotted in one of the entrances of a lighthouse. When you start petting her, she falls asleep!
This is how I left her - deep in sleep. My friend said she looks dead. Haha...
Some useful travel tips when going to Batanes:
Is it a good time to visit Batanes in December? The wind in December is strong which means strong waves when you travel by boat to Sabtang. I really got scared during the 20-minute boat trip as the waves around us were even higher than our boat! So if you're scared of waves, I suggest you go to Batanes during summer. But what you can do to deflate your fears during the boat ride is to look at the face of the locals - if they look calm or bored or they are still texting on their mobile phones, then it means, it's just an ordinary day at sea. Haha...
What's great about visiting Batanes in December? The grass is very green. In summer, the grass is brown and dry.
What to bring - shades, bandana, hoodie (it's cold!). Caps and umbrellas are useless because the wind is really crazy. Because I am tall, I easily get carried away when climbing uphill. We had to hold on to our guide as we walked towards cliffs facing the open sea. Otherwise, we will just probably roll over the hills. Haha...
Is 3 days or 4 days enough to explore Batanes? If you're staying for 3D2N, it's technically a 2-full day tour because the departure flight on the 3rd day is early in the morning. Day 1 is the Batan Island tour and Day 2 is the Sabtang Island tour. If you're staying for 4D3N, it's technically a 3-full day tour - they split the Batan Island tour into North and South tours (2 days but the tour only takes about 5 hours/day) and another day for the tour in Sabtang Island. We took the 4D3N trip so we had a lot of time for relaxation and siesta. I had time to do a Star Wars marathon before watching The Force Awakens. Haha...
What's the best way to go around Batanes? If you're a big group, hiring a van, is ideal. It costs about Php3k/day without a tour guide. If you're only 1 or 2, you can bundle the tour package with your lodging but it costs anywhere from Php13k to Php18k for 4D3N. That plus a Php12k airfare would total to about Php30k budget at the least. If you're on a budget (like us!), you can opt to hire a tricycle. It's Php1,000 for the North Sabtang tour, Php1,500 for the South Sabtang tour, Php440 to go to the Ivana Port (though I recommend not to take a trike for this one since there are bumpy parts of the road) and Php800 for the Sabtang Island tour. The boat ride to Sabtang is Php150, 2-way. You could also rent bikes at Php50/hour. My friend and I planned to bike but every time we woke up from our afternoon siesta, it was always already dark! Haha...
If you want to hire a tricycle to go around Sabtang, I recommend Ishmael. You may contact him at +639394750654.
