Remembering Batanes - travel notes

Travel dates: 24-27 July 2010

Companions: joined a Backpack Photography workshop organized by Ferdz Decena (ironwulf.net) and Oggie Ramos (lagalog.com)

Budget: P22,500 ALL IN (this includes airfare, inn, food, tours and photo lessons/tutorials) ; or P12,500 without airfare.

Travel mode: Plane - SEAIR

Travel Tips

• Places to visit: Fundacion Pacita (if you're not staying there), Radar Tukon, Viang rolling hills, Ivana church, House of Dakay, Honesty Coffee shop, Basco lighthouse, Valugan Bay, Marlborough hills, Mahatao Lighthouse, Imnajbu, Diura fishing village, Song-song ruins and Sabtang (Savidug village, Chavayan village, Tinan and Nakabuang beach).
• Fundacion Pacita still remains the nicest place to stay but for  other alternatives check out: http://www.ironwulf.net/2009/05/13/batanes-accommodations-and-places-to-stay-in-basco/
• It would be good if you can find an air-conditioned vehicle for your tours. There's very little shade in the places to visit in Batanes. Summer in Batanes is quite severe. I normally don't sweat even after 2 hours of exercise (I just get red and oily) but Batanes woke up my dormant sweat glands. On the third day, sweat kept pouring out of my legs. We went around on a jeep and every time I stood up, I'd see pools of sweat on the area where I sat. So bring a hat, hand towels and lots of sunblock. Or ride on top of the jeep (which I did!). Or choose to go there in December or January, when the weather is much cooler.
• This year, Seair's lean season started mid-June and ends mid-October. You can get roundtrip airfares for 6T. You can still go to Batanes in June and July. According to our tour guide, there aren't much typhoons during these months. Or wait for the promos around the time of Seair's anniversary (end-March). Better still, click on the Like button on Seair's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/flyseair) to get notified of their promos. (Note: I don't work for Seair.)
• Wear hiking sandals specially if you want to explore Marlborough and Viang rolling hills and Tinan. I survived even if I just wore flipflops but it would have been a lot easier if I wore hiking sandals.
• Eat lobsters and coconut crabs! They're cheap in Batanes.
• Eat at Pension Ivatan - they serve native dishes. And their lobsters and coconut crabs are cheap. (But don't go there with an empty stomach. Service is terribly slow.) We also had delicious lunches at the Diura fishing village and at Nakabuang beach.
• Avoid going there during the fiesta - they have rotating brownouts.
• Bottled water is a precious commodity - probably because locals are used to drinking tap or spring water. I did, and I didn't have tummy problems.
• If you plan to visit Sabtang, bring a wet bag - there are times when the waves are so huge, you can really get drenched. We were lucky when we went there in July, the boatmen said that the waters were relatively calm.

Rate the trip: 9.99 out of 10

It would have been perfect if we didn't go there during the town fiesta. The rotating brownouts were so irritating since the generator of the inn we stayed at (DDD Habitat) couldn't power their air-conditioning units. I understand that Pension Ivatan has a more powerful generator. I guess it would have been better if we stayed at an inn or resort by the sea, at least we would have the sea breeze. Another participant liked Shanedel's Inn better.

Batanes is really beautiful. The views are so awesome, looking at them becomes a religious experience. We were joking that even blind people can take beautiful pictures of Batanes. The people are also so nice and helpful (I don't believe in the guide's zero crime rate spiel, though. We got to visit a small courtroom and there were a few hearings on the calendar, one of which involved serious physical injuries. But still, the list of hearings is so much shorter than the lists in Manila courts.)

And a free-plug for Backpack Photography (http://www.backpackphotography.net/) - I like joining their tours. Aside from Batanes, I've joined their Banaue and Lake Sebu Backpack Photography sessions. The tours are far from luxurious (but still far from roughing it out) and we're always up before sunrise but the trips were always so much fun! Ferdz and Oggie plan the itineraries so that the views are seen in their best light (sunrise in Valugan Bay, sunset at the Viang rolling hills, etc.) and we always have lots of opportunities to interact with the residents of the places we visit (the Ifugaos in Banaue and the T'bolis in Lake Sebu). Both of them are also very generous with their travel and photography knowledge. And since the participants are all photo-enthusiasts, we always have enough time to explore and take pictures, and we always have nice portraits as we also take pictures of each other. I'm just thankful that I have a nerd of a husband who doesn't mind that I travel with friends once in a while.

My Batanes album is in: http://www.artscow.com/share/Batanes-Batanes-Philippines-travel-Ivatan-landcapes-Basco-Sabtang-Abie-Co-tn58np9m5tuu?Ref=FB879828

More photos are posted here.