Batanes

Day 1 (click on the photos to enlarge)

Thanks to our Batanes contact in Manila, Myra Adalla, we were met at the airport by her brother Millard, soon to be sister-in-law Mila, and Ed. They arranged for our jeepney rental and a guide—who was supposed to be Ed, but he was unable to get out of work—fortunately Jack was available to show us around. They all had a hand in making our Batanes adventure smoother than it would have been without their help.

Following breakfast and setting up a tentative itinerary for the rest of the trip, we set off on a tour south of Basco. After imbibing the views along the zigzag road of Chawa, our first town-stop was in Mahatao, where we took photos of traditional Ivatan houses, the San Carlos Borromeo Church (built 1873), and boat building at the pier. Next was Ivana. We got off the jeepney and strolled through the town, soaking in the warmth and beauty of Ivana and its folks. We took countless photos of the houses, with some of the inhabitants, both humans and livestock. Meandering down one of the streets leading towards the shore we were approached by children who had stopped playing and came towards us. What a wonderful and refreshing surprise it was when they greeted us with “mano po” (a sign of respect where they take your hand and bring it to their forehead; mano is tagalog for hand and po is a term of respect) then went back to what they were doing prior to seeing us. Having traveled to many other parts of the Philippines, I was half expecting a hand palm up, and a “candy” or “peso” along with a “hey Joe.”

It was past lunch time and many of us were hungry so we stopped in at a sari-sari store along the main road for hardboiled eggs, instant noodles, and pretty good puto—it was tasty and not overly sweet—we finished the store’s rice cake supply. We had originally planned on returning to Ivana for sunset and dinner but were informed that there is no electricity past 6pm and that there would be nothing available for dinner (save for instant noodles and canned food). Unless you want instant food, meals must be arranged for ahead of time.

We boarded the jeepney and continued to the towns of Uyugan, Itbud, and Imnaju. In between Uyugan and Itbud we stopped for photos of the ruins at Song-Song, the town was abandoned by is residents (a handful have recently returned) after a strong typhoon destroyed most of the houses. After a brief look in Imnaju—the last town on the road, we ventured off through “Marlboro Country.” A scenic bumpy road takes you through Batan Island’s cattle pasture (this area is used as a communal pasture by Mahatao) to the fishing village of Diura where we saw dorado (dolphin fish, no relation to dolphins other than being a sea dweller) being dried and dipped our hand in to a spring purported to be a “fountain of youth.” Our knowledgeable guide, Jack, informed us that the residents, and many fishermen around Batanes, will not sell any dorado during the fishing season as they believe the sea spirits will be angered and will cut their catch short so there will not be enough dorado to dry to last through the season (June-Jan) when seas are rough, typhoons are common, when there is little or no fishing. True enough, we did not sample any dorado our entire 5 days in the Batanes.

From Diura we crossed the island and ended up in Mahatao, where we took the National Road back to Basco. Sunset drinks and dinner was at Shanedel’s in town, where we had our first (and definitely not last) taste of flying fish. 

Ivatans are not only hard working (many we met had at two sometimes three jobs) but go out of their way to please visitors. We asked what local delicacies were, what seafood people eat, and were told “flying fish, coconut crab, lobster.” Flying fish being the most abundant, and word was out that the visitors want flying fish, by the end of the trip we had it coming out of our ears. Also, after two days of having no jam to eat with “toast bread” at breakfast (the British members of our group, accustomed to having jam with their first meal of the day, were disappointed to find out that there was none), one of the resort’s staff excitedly informed us “we have jam today!” They must have ordered it from the mainland and our jam arrived on the ferryboat the day before. We had not one but two flavors to choose from.

Another admirable part of the Batanes are the pro-environment signs posted in all towns, simple yet straight to the point; something towns, and cities, throughout the Philippines should follow.

Day 2