Batanes: Expectation vs Reality (Part 1)
Yes, Filipinos can be found everywhere. I’m sure one can be found trekking and lingering in the outbacks of Australia or partaking a whiff of breeze in Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher while I am writing this piece. But Batanes is in the Philippines, and as Filipinos, we should all at least experience it once in our lifetime. Where else can we experience saying Hello as “Kapian capa nu dios” that translates actually to “God bless you” and random children ask for your hand to touch their forehead asking for blessings and as a sign of respect? So I write this as an open invitation for everyone to have a full sensory experience of Batanes, our very own outback and cliffs.
Batanes has always been at the back of my mind for a long time already. But one can never be too prepared for it. Imagine a laidback town, beaches to swim, hills to climb, restaurants to visit, scary boats without outriggers, and wet markets of fishes and local vegetables. Drop them all, and let me give you a bird’s eye view of Batanes and her offering to her fellow Filipinos. Here are my top Batanes’ Expectations vs Reality. But first, keep this in mind. The three inhabited Islands of Batanes are the Batan Island where the Basco Airport is located and its offering is halved into North and South Batan tour sites, the Sabtang Island where heritage villages abound and just a 30-minute faluwa ride from Batan Island, and Itbayat Island, four hours away from Batan Island by boat and just a 12-minute ride by a 5-seater plane. Dius! (what Ivatans say upon arrival in a house)
Expectation: Batanes is laidback and has no touch of metro
Reality: It has good roads, a Museum and an Ivatan artist who was a Pamana Ng Pilipino Awardee
In Basco, one must be prepared to circle the town in a motorbike or bicycle. To tour North and South Batan, one should hire the local cogon-covered tricycle or motorbike. Luckily, we were offered a van by our hometel. It is the only van of the place and we were their only guests at the time. For those who can drive a motorcycle, go ye and conquer the steep hills and sneaky snake roads. Just remember to blow your horn.
For a quiet town, to have a museum is a pride. That for me is a badge of a metro vibe. The National Museum of Batanes currently features her natural and cultural beauty. Inside, we saw many endemic fauna and flora as well as artifacts carbon dated and believed to be part of the prehistoric seaborne migration known as Austronesian Expansion that dates back as far as 3000 to 1500 BCE.
Meanwhile, we enjoyed the cogon dress and baskets for the farmers. Men wear the cogon vest matched with a nito hat because they are usually standing while tilling the land while the women wear the cogon head dress from head up to the butt which understandably protects their back while they plant or harvest rootcrops.
Of course, both work to protect them from the blazing sun and chilling rain. The bags for the men are carried as backpacks because they are usually tasked to carry firewoods while the women carry their basket at their back and secure it with a long handle resting on the forehead so it would be easy to put the rootcrops while they bend foraging on the soil.
Of course, who would leave Basco without a glimpse of the artworks of Ivatan artist Pacita Abad who conquered the world stage during her lifetime with her colorful and vibrant works. She developed her mixed-media art called “trapunto” by using quilting and mixing it with other materials like beads, mirrors and cloth. Her works are now housed in the basement of Cafe de Tukon, a cafe just a short walk from the hotel called Fundacion Pacita, and luckily, the workers were on breaktime when we arrived so that we were allowed to see Pacita’s works despite the fact that the pieces are still being installed for their presumably latest curation entitled, Fabulous Borloloy: A look into Pacita’s creative life through her fashion.
Expectation: Summer is the best time to visit Batanes
Reality: That’s debatable. October, after two typhoons, is fine.
Packing for Batanes in October with a few nice dresses for a good picture is a challenge. Instead of lots of underwear, I brought two-piece swimwears so I could swim whenever the opportunity presented itself. Because Batanes is synonymous with the seas (Read: beaches). I brought shorts and shirts that fit a summer cool look but brought a couple of leggings, foregone windbreakers for a warmer jacket, brought umbrellas and long sleeves in anticipation for some wind and rain and negative degrees. Instead of some hiking shoes or slippers, I brought aqua shoes and plain slippers.
Honestly? I don’t know how to pack for this trip! Here’s the reality: Batanes in October is a humid place despite the rain. We appreciated the hills of Basco because the sun is not blazing and the clouds are always grayish to the point that though the sun is visibly up but still it is drizzling. A good pair of hiking boots or slippers is highly recommended. And get ready to do some parkour avoiding the fresh and dried cow “cakes” and goat “chocolate balls” in the Marlboro Hills of Batan Island. It’s only in Batanes that I saw lots of cows and goats navigating the hills with ease. Our guide Cholo even boasted that “it is only in Batanes that the cogon plants are fenced and the cows are not.”
Leggings are also a must to protect one’s legs from itchy grasses. A windbreaker is recommended too and drop the warmer jacket reserved for zero degrees and below. And yes, we brought umbrellas which were useful when the sun was up and the rain dropped but not-so-useful when accompanied by a strong blow of the wind, which is almost always the case.
Bring a dress for a pretty photo but be ready to do a Marilyn Monroe anytime given the strong wind on top of the hills that either face the Pacific Ocean or the West Philippines seas or both. Forget dresses on top of Rapang Cliff in Itbayat as you will even forget your name after reaching its tip. And yes, bring a swimsuit but I promise, you won’t be needing one unless it’s only for pictorial purposes. The waves are all in barrels especially that we were in two separate occasions in Morong Beach in Sabtang Island and in the beach fronting the Rakuh-a-idi Spring a.k.a Fountain of Youth in Mahatao, Batan Island at past three in the afternoon. Aside from barrels of waves, the beaches are rocky too. To enjoy the crystal clear waters, I sat on a rock and clung to another so that I would be wet and won’t be washed away by the strong current.
I think the best time to visit Batanes is really after a typhoon has passed. No searing sun with promises of good weather from rainbows. But of course, we missed the red soil mountain in Itbayat called Axtak Payaman though we stayed for two nights because our one-day trip became two days because the rain made the path muddy.
Expectation: Batanes has wet markets
Reality: No, almost every household has entrepreneurial venture
It’s only in Batanes where I saw fuel pump machines in a space just enough to fit it and situated in an inhabited house. Each household seemed to engage in selling something like souvenirs, sports gear, dry grocery items, building materials, wet-market goods, medicines and the list goes on.
When we asked where we could buy fresh fruits, the residents would scratch their heads and quip “It’s difficult to explain where. Just walk ahead.” Our accommodations in Basco, Sabtang and Itbayat were all homestays. So, there is no wet or farmer’s market in one place in Batanes.
To be continued on next blog....
Check my Batanes ytube playlist here and visit regularly for more videos.
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