At last, after waiting for several months, my Batanes trip finally came true! I was at the old domestic airport much earlier than the 2 hour check in time requirement as I wanted to get a copy of the updated ticket. My excitement built up as I boarded the SEAir flight bound to Basco. It was a smooth flight that made me enjoy the spectacular view of Sabtang Island as we draw closer to Batanes just before the plane landed.

Upon arrival, I was enticed to take some photos of the airport; it was simple but very beautiful. Most of the passengers left the terminal and there were only four of us left in the vicinity as we do not have ay means of transportation to go to our lodging house until we were assisted by Emmanuel, a SEAir personnel, he used his vehicle and brought us to Ivatan Lodge (0928.2451337). We were very surprised that Emmanuel did not charge us a single centavo for bringing us to the lodging house. We were very thankful and began to like the place even more. There’s this common impression that people in Batanes are truly very warm and honest people – I am happy to say that this is not an impression at all but rather a fact. We then checked in and we were billeted in a very simple room.

When we were about to explore the place, it was already raining so we opted to wait for the rain to stop. The lodging house personnel offered her umbrella and so we went to the nearby store to buy umbrellas amounting to Php100. We then walk going to the lighthouse. It took almost 30 minutes of non-stop walk. Upon seeing the place and spectacular view of the ocean, it was worth all the effort. The beauty of the place called for a photo op and it was even nice to see how the cow appeared to be all too willing to pose for photos. From there, we went to SDCBI Canteen and Store Department for lunch.

Transportation in Batanes is really scarce so we had to ask around where we could rent for any type of vehicle to help us in exploring the area. We were advised to go to the tricycle parking area to arrange for a special trip. We rented two tricycles and our 1st stop was the chapel and Fundacion Pacita. The latter has high-end accommodations but we thought it is impractical as it is very isolated although the view is indeed magnificent.

As we proceeded to the beach, the huge boulders were just auspicious. The beach offers a unique experience where one can climb or walk over the huge rocks and have a better appreciation of the scenery’s splendor.

We also went to see the famous Honesty Store where we saw some tourists who bought items, paid the amount due, and got the change for themselves without any assistance from the store owner.

During the entire tour, we stopped at practically seven (7) beautiful churches.

In the afternoon, my other companions transferred to another government-managed resort and I opted to stay in the Ivatan Lodge. I rested for a while since we agreed to have dinner at 6pm at Pension Ivatan Restaurant. Before 6pm, I decided to just take a walk going to the restaurant, which is just near the airport. While walking, a Starex van stopped and the driver offered me a ride going to the restaurant for free!

At the restaurant, we ordered the local delicacies but unfortunately, the famous coconut crab was not available at that time. It rained when we were about to finish our dinner so we had no choice but be drenched in the rain on our way back to the lodge. I stopped for a while in a clothing store that sells products from Manila. I had the chance to talk to the owners who allowed me to stay while it was raining. When I finally reached the lodge, I arranged for the tricycle driver to pick me up at 4am the next day. It was really dark that night because of the power interruption so I had to contend with my flashlight as I went to sleep.

Early morning of my second day in Batanes, there was no tricycle to pick me up so I went to the tricycle waiting station. Carrying all my belongings, I patiently waited for the only tricycle driver in the area to show up but only to be informed later on that he cannot bring me to Batanes resort since he had to pick up another person and that he was already late for the said appointment. Frustrated at the turn out of my transportation arrangement on a drizzling day, I had no choice but to walk for 20 minutes with an umbrella on one hand and my bags behind my back going to the resort.

When I arrived at the resort, I had breakfast with my companions who were already waiting for me. After that, it was only then that the rain stopped and so we left for the Sabtang tour by riding a van with our tour guide Mario (0907.3010012). Before we boarded the boat called faluwa, we were asked to put our life vest on. The waves were tolerable for first timers and I got fascinated with their wooden boat where we rode in for 30 minutes. Then, we were fetched by another guide with his vehicle.

We registered at their tourism office for PhP100 per person before going to the island where we visited a lot of traditional villages. I was literally awed with the cove surrounded by the green mountains and white sand. The seemingly far distance from the road did not stop me from walking towards the cove just to take photos. It was a very hot day that when I finally came back to the vehicle, I was catching my breath as if it was my last.

In another village, I wanted to take a photo of the kid by the window but whenever I aimed my camera at her, she hid. We even tried to bribe her with food but she was clever and did not take it for she knew that I would ask her to smile in front of the camera in exchange.

We then went to the next village to visit the weavers of the vakul (native hat). I bought one for Php450. The funny thing was when I was about to enter the house, the guide told me that it was the window. It was really big that I thought it was the door. There, we had coconut water for Php15 since at that time we were so thirsty and it was the only alternative drink that we could find. While traveling on the road, we asked the driver about the local palm trees and out of curiosity, we stopped to pick up the seeds to have a taste – they were like prunes! I instantly thought that it would be another good product of the island if the local entrepreneurs could properly market it.

Our last stop was the Nakabuang Beach and we had a sumptuous lunch served with veggies, meat, and lobsters. We only paid Php250 per person. The beach has fine white sand and scenic surroundings. We finished early so we opted to proceed to the port and wait for the boat to depart. I bought an extra shirt in the nearby store while waiting and took some more photos of the nearby lighthouse. The boat did not leave immediately as it was low tide. Upon boarding, everyone hurriedly got on the boat and I was left with a sit in the area with no roof while facing the other passengers. The heat was unbearable and my skin became darker due to the sun exposure.

When we arrived at Basco, we had a tour of the island near the Marlboro Country. It was a perfect place to unwind and to commune with nature. From the place, one can view the sea and the highest mountain in Basco. At night, we had our dinner at Hiro’s Café where we finally had a taste of the coconut crab – delectable! We even bought some more souvenirs at Jawsen Handicrafts afterwards. I also bought the shirt with the design, “Blow Ur Horn,” which by the way the word ‘YOUR’ is reduced to just two syllables ‘UR’ similar to the one we used for text messaging. They claim that even before the advent of short message service (sms) language in the country, they were already using ‘UR’ in the island.

Our last day in Batanes was spent on buying more souvenirs and products. I even went to see our guide, Mario for my eight Arius seedlings, which I asked him to buy for me. It actually became a gift since he did not charge me a single centavo for them. I also brought home some native garlic worth Php100 and a paper weight made out of painted rocks. I also bade farewell to the staff of Ivatan Lodge.

As we waited for the resort service vehicle to start (which was having engine problem at that time), we cannot stop ourselves from buying souvenirs. It was almost an hour before our required check-in time and yet we were still along the main street. Our driver left us and immediately looked for another vehicle that we can use. I felt my panic starting to escalate as there was no transportation within sight and more so, we have no way of carrying all our bags for a walk going to the airport. Luckily, my friend approached a policeman and he graciously offered to bring us to the airport. We arrived at the airport on board a police car. We were very thankful to him as it is very seldom to meet a police officer as kind and helpful as him in Manila. We arrived just in time at the check-in counter and I paid Php65 for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) permits for my seedlings. While on board the plane, we just waited in peace for it to take its flight.

The only downside I can mention about the trip was SEAir’s erratic flight schedule – our return flight to Manila was rescheduled thrice! But overall, I had an enjoyable trip because of the warmth shown to us by the people in Batanes and of course, the breath-taking sceneries in the island.

One thing is for sure – I will definitely go back to Batanes…

Visited last: May 26, 2010

 

Our group left EDSA to begin our Ilocos trip at 1 in the morning. We intentionally left the city that early to save on the rental cost of the van which was P3,500.00 a day.
 
We arrived in San Fernando, La Union around 6:30 in  the morning, just in time for us to have breakfast.  We chose to dine in at one of the local restaurants named Oasis. 

Not long afterwards, or at past 11 that morning, we reached Vigan.  We went straight to the Heritage Village. There were a lot of old Spanish houses (which were considered as UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Ilocos products were sold along the streets.

We had lunch at the Cordillera Inn which served local cuisines.  We tried its “poqui-poqui”, which is made with eggs, mashed eggplant, tomatoes and onions (tortang talong). Generally, our lunch was good, not only for the Inn’s accommodating staff and good food, but also for the laughter we had making “pun” of the word “poqui-poqui”, which could have a different meaning for the Tagalogs.

Later, we began our tour of Vigan, while riding a “calesa”.  Our first stop was the (St. Paul Cathedral, followed by the Bell Tower. It was extremely hot that day and it was a soothing experience to go inside the Bell Tower for our photo opportunities.  The view from the top was magnificent and a bit scary because of the old planks that we were standing on.

Then, we went to the Crisologo Museum, which was an old Spanish house converted into a museum.  The house itself was historical since the Crisologo family was very influential in the region during their time.  There were a lot of things inside the house that tell about the era. 

We then proceeded to the earth clay pot makers.  As expected, the pot makers showed us how earth clay was transformed into beautiful pots.  The finished product, though, was expensive.

The Baluarte was our next stop.  The Baluarte is the Governor’s palace where he keeps his tigers, snakes and deers etc.  Entrance was free and open to the public.

Our last stop was the Hidden Garden.  There was nothing fancy about the place except for the plants and flowers being sold.  This would have been an interesting place, nonetheless, for plant lovers or for those who love gardening.

At the end of the trip, we paid the calesa driver P500 since our trip lasted for more than 2 hours.  We stopped at a sidewalk “carinderia” for a sumptuous merienda of its tasty “empanadas”.

We arrived late in Laoag and still, we decided to go to Paoay Church.  But then, when we got to the church, evening has set in. It was too dark inside the church and it was very difficult to take photos; and so we just decided to go back the following day.

We checked in at Hotel Tiffany (tel. no. 077-7703550) in Laoag for an overnight stay.  I believe this hotel has the cheapest rates among the hotels in the area.   We took our dinner at one of the side street eateries.

Since the St. William’s Church and the Sinking Bell Tower were a few meters away from our hotel, we walked to both the church and the tower. The church was a bit modern but the bell tower considered as historical landmark.  We did not get the chance to enter the tower as it was off limits to visitors.  In the evening, the tower was well-lighted and can be seen from afar.

Early morning the next day, we hurriedly left the hotel to move to other destinations within Ilocos Norte.  Our first stop was the Burgos Lighthouse, which was filled with visitors that day; so we only got a very short tour of the lighthouse. The good thing though about this attraction is that entrance is free so long as the caretaker is around.  Next stop was the Bangui Windmills.  Unfortunately, we stayed only in one of the windmills.  Nonetheless, we had so many photo jump shots taken.   We then drove to Kabigan Falls for our 30-minute trek.  The area was also filled with tourists and so, we did not have the chance to swim. 

We then set off set off to the Patapat Bridge for another picture-taking.  The view from the bridge was perfect.  It was surrounded by mountains and the gushing sea water.  People must be cautioned though about the buses driving by the area.  Then, we decided to take our lunch at Hannah Resort.  The food was expensive and each serving was limited to only a few persons. It also took 30 minutes before food was served.

Before back to our hotel, we went to the Blue Lagoon and Bantay Abot Cave.   The heat was so intense, that it prevented us from taking a dip into the lagoon’s turquoise clear water.  At the resort, everyone in the group (but me) swam the waters of Saud Beach.  I went around the place to look for lobsters but all were sold as early as 9:00 that morning.  I was disappointed not being able to buy the lobsters since it only cost P500 a kilo.

At 3:00am the next day, the group left the hotel to see more of Laoag and to go to the market to buy longganisa and Basi wine.  We went to Sarrat for its beautiful and historic Sta. Monica Church, which was made of bricks.  Then, we passed by Fort Ilocandia , the sand dunes and Paoay Lake .  Unfortunately, the group did not see Malacañang of the North because it only opens to the public at 9am everyday. We were there at 7:30am.  We returned to Paoay Church, where we took photographs of the façade and the altar.

Lastly, we went to the Marcos Mausoleum in Batac, which was my buddies’ much-awaited destination.  We came to the Mausoleum an hour earlier than its scheduled 9am opening. While waiting for the opening, some of us saw the former First Lady Imelda Marcos on her way out of their Batac Residence for her Elections campaign. After a long wait, we finally entered the mausoleum.  The room was dark and the lights were directed to the former President Marcos.  It was only about a minute walk to take a glimpse of the former President; while it was more than an hour of waiting.  Nevertheless, it was worth it seeing the remains of the former president.

We hurriedly rode our vehicle for another 10-hour ride back to Manila.  As we journeyed back to Manila, we told ourselves that the whole Ilocos trip was long, tiring, exciting and interesting--truly a memorable one.

Visited last April 9, 2010