Baring the Beauteous Batan

 "The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it."

                                                                                          Ps 24(23):1

Third day in Batanes. Guess where were going? A Batan tour. I was just having fun on my own. BATAN tour in BATANes? How ironic?

Batanes weather is really unpredictable. The other day was gloomy and almost rainy. Today, it was sunny! How I wished to myself that I knew it would be sunny so that I could've waited for sunrise. So anyway, our first destination was at Chawa View Deck.

This is not Chawa View Deck.
When our van turned to a curve on the way to Chawa, I saw this scenery, and so I thought it would be a great photo opportunity.

This is what I saw everyday while driving in and out of Basco.
Today was much more beautiful because of the presence of the sun. Every curve on the road took my breath away.

Chawa View Deck.
I knew it should be from above. But hey, the best thing was down stairs.

Even though my knees would hurt, I still went down for some of these shots.
You guess what happened? Yes! My camera got its first baptism of sea water.

I am sorry.
A friend forgot to lend me his circular polarizer. You know who you are, IDOL?

Marlboro Country.
Come to where the flavor is.

Cliff at Marlboro Country.
The wind would make your heart pound as it felt like it's pushing you.

On the road again.
I just can't get over having scenes like this while driving.

Stairs.
It leads to the view deck where you can see the waves rolled in on the rocky beach.

An Abandoned American Naval Base.
Tita said that the Americans left because one of their divers got lost at sea, and they were afraid that it might happen again. Talk about diving in an island where waves are unpredictably big and strong!

Town of Songsong.
The town folks deserted Songsong when a gigantic tidal wave came during 50's. Until now, the remains of the houses still stand up but no one is living there anymore.

Pink Chapel.
No. This ain't a chapel by the Pink sisters. It was just painted pink and I don't know why.

House of Dakay.
This is the oldest Ivatan house where the oldest Ivatan also lives.

Spanish Bridge.
Funny, they call this Old Spanish Bridge. Then I asked myself, would there be a New Spanish Bridge?

San Carlos Borromeo Church, Mahatao.
One of the big churches in Batanes.

An accidental shot.

Ten Commandsments - Ivatan.
It was a surprise when Tita told me they are the original Jejemons.

Oldest Lighthouse.
This light house is just outside Mahatao Church. This light house used to be lit by a sulu to guide and protect the people of Mahatao.

Nakayama Burial Site.
This was our only destination on our 4th day. We have to hike a very steep ground to reach this place. It was the burial site near the sea of the Ivatan ancestors. 

At the end of my Batanes tour, I was sad.

Not because I was leaving Batanes, but because I don't want to be stuck in Batanes for another day. I had no more budget.

Kidding aside, there was one family who was stuck for a day or two because their flight was cancelled. One of the tourists (a German) was charged by a travelling agency for Php 35,000.00 for his 6D/5N stay at Batanes Seaside Lodge that is just for one person only. An airline would charge you more than you would spend if you buy a package from them.

The Philippines is an exceedingly beautiful country. Majority of Filipinos are very kind and hospitable. You will never see anyone who would take care of you like Filipinos would do. But with this kind of situation I just shared, it's quite disheartening. One would think twice of going back or going to our country.

Luckily, the German tourist was satisfied with what our country has to offer, but I heard he would get back to the agency and complain. The family who was stuck in Batanes for a day or two finally had their flight back to Manila with us.

Me, I went about my routines. This time though, I have another thing to thank for and to pray for.






Dios Mamajes Batanes!