Up North in Batanes

I'm about to take a trip to another beautiful part of our country with the same cast of characters and I still haven't finished my Batanes posts.  So here is one last one--only because these photos are so gorgeous.

and so are we (hee hee)

Batanes has a variety of rolling hills, steep cliffs, and dramatic shorelines. Now and then, they are punctuated by a rustic abandoned structure or  makeshift shed like this one below.

local men playing cards

It would be hard to take a bad picture in Batanes. All these pictures are just snapped by a regular point-and-shoot camera and my phone.

Batanes is a photographer's paradise.

For city kids who are usually staring into a computer screen or looking down at some gadget, this is also paradise.

Okay, I spoke too soon. When you are overwhelmed with your surroundings, a selfie is excusable.

When people see these pictures, they can't believe landscapes like these exists in the Philippines.  

Mind you, this lying down business in not prompted.

It seems to be a natural reaction to beautiful wide open space, clear skies and clean air. Our country has many of these places (just need to discover them), but I think Batanes is in a class of its own

Our guide told us that Batanes was also very popular with couples who like taking engagement photos. The guy above was in a light-colored linen suit and they were taking turns riding the bike, while their guide/photographer took their photos.

(Btw, our guide also provides that service--he can take you around, and document your trip with his own camera too)

The photos will look like they went to some romantic far away place when actually they are only up north in Batanes. But okay, Batanes is still a bit remote.

I hope the people in charge of Batanes preserve the beauty of the province and not let it get run down by commercialism.

From my last visit twenty years ago, more areas of the island are accessible by vehicle, like this spot that looks so much like Hawaii.

Go visit Batanes while you can. It's not cheap, but it's totally worth the trip.

Meanwhile, we're off on another adventure...

Batanes, Beautiful Island

Long ago, flying to Batanes would be such an ordeal because only Philippine Airlines flew there--once a week! If you chanced upon bad weather while were there, you could get stranded for a week, maybe two.  Now, PAL and Skyjet both fly two flights a day, making the island more accessible.

It's not cheap though at about P15,000 roundtrip--and that's just the flight. You will need a local tourguide to show you the sights, arrange a vehicle, and also some meals.

Batanes is very different from any other province or island in the Philippines and it's worth seeing and experiencing at least once in your life.

I thought the kids would get bored just sightseeing and looking at beautiful vistas, but they were actually taken in by the scenery and would spontaneously plop down on the grass and not want to get up.

The good thing nice about the tourism in Batanes is that they've created a few days' worth of "must-sees".  Any google search will bring up the "standard tour" that tourguides follow, and would go something like this on the first day:

A visit to Mount Carmel church is usually the first stop on the first day. This is the Chapel built by the Fundacion Pacita (Abad family) people. It's perched on a hill with a commanding view of what else, Fundacion Pacita!

The interiors of the chapel are painted by a scholars of the Pacita Abad foundation.  Read the details of the chapel here.

From Mt. Carmel chapel, we headed to Fundacion Pacita. We wanted to have coffee and also check out the accommodations. One of the guests enthusiastically showed us her room. She told us she just got back from visiting Basco town, where we were staying--and here we were doing the opposite: visiting Fundacion!

From Fundacion, we were shown an old tunnel which we were told was an old Japanese hideout. I didn't even know such a tunnel existed when I visited Batanes in 1995.

Any kind of digging underground holds so much mystery, but no other information was offered except that it was used during world war II.

From the tunnel, we headed to Valugan Bay. This boulder beach looks exactly as it did twenty years ago. 

We bumped into the photography tour group of Mandy Navasero here. She has been taking groups to Batanes for many years now--and from just the gorgeous Batanes shots from my point-and-shoot, it's no wonder why!

Then we were off to Vayang hills which has one of the best views of the islands. It was beautiful all around.

This was getting to be a habit

And finally after Vayang, we ended up at the lighthouse on Naidi hills.  Right in front of the lighthouse are three structures, one of which is Bunker Cafe, where we had dinner on our first night.

We had fish with mango, a chicken dish and something else, I forget now. We were more captivated with the view. Comparing again almost 20 years ago, when the only thing people ate was flying fish and vegetables, this was pretty good. 

It's unrealistic to expect spectacular food in Batanes when life here is not easy. The weather can be unpredictable, and many basic things need to be shipped or flown in from the mainland. Food and fuel are not cheap, and even tour services cost much more than tours in other parts of the country.

But things are still authentic and simple, with hardly any commercialism around. 

I hope with the influx of tourists because of the regular flights, Batanes will still manage to stay true to itself.

Whitewater Rafting in Tubuk, Kalinga

Success! We finally rode the wild waters of the Chico river.  This much anticipated river run almost didn't happen because of yesterday's weather and events so we were all happy campers when it did.

Our host Anton was proud to show us his part of the country, and the reason for making his permanent home up here.

Just like the day before, Anton knocked on all our doors bright and early--  "Wake up everyone, it's a PERFECT day to go down the river!"  It had finally stopped raining the night before. 

After a quick breakfast, we were on our way from Tuguegarao to Tubuk, where we were going to start the run.

The ride to Tubuk was long but with countryside as beautiful as this, it was an adventure in itself.

We're now at the start of the trail and it's time to get suited up.

Gloves, to protect our hands..

 

Water shoes, so we can walk on the rocky-bottom of the water.

And rashguards for better SPF.

 

Do we look like pro-rafters? Or over-geared, eager tourists?  We used our diving/snorkeling gear.

 

Actually, you can wear almost anything, even Hawaiian shorts.

It's not advisable to wear your glasses though...

Life vests and helmets were provided. 

At the 15-minute briefing, we were told where and how to sit on the raft, where we needed to anchor our feet and what sort of instructions we were going to hear  from the guides. I was getting a bit nervous for the kids, but they didn't look scared or even concerned.

After all that preparation, we were finally off!
 

There were two guides on each raft, one of them shouting directions "left-right-left-right- right- RIGHT" over the roar of the rapids.

Anticipating the first rapids was the scariest part, but after riding through a couple of them, we knew what to expect and began to relax during less turbulent intervals between rapids.

Anton went solo in a separate raft always ahead of us so he could take pictures of us in action.

I never felt that we were in danger of flipping over but there was a real chance of falling into the water. The kids were instructed to sit on the floor of the raft if it got really rough.

After riding through the rapids, we'd "high-five" the oars. The first time I did it, my oar fell and almost hit the head of the person next to me! Good thing we had helmets on!

The whole ride down the river took about two and a half hours including a little break in between to catch our breaths and have a little snack.

Someone liked Tito Anton's tuna sandwiches!

 

And we're off again for the second half of the ride.

 

In between rapids, our guides were also on the look out for anything unusual on the rocks and by the sides of the river. The local couple who had been swept away two days ago,  hadn't been found yet and no one else would be passing through this long stretch of river except for tourists like us.

With the Chico river as his backyard,  it's no wonder Anton loves it up here.

Towards the end of our trail where the river is calm, we were allowed to get into the water and drift alongside the raft.  Adrenalin was still pumping in our veins as we peacefully floated on our backs looking up at the clear blue sky and surrounded by majestic green mountains.

We were told that the Chico river offers world-class whitewater rafting. Rapids are classified based on difficulty level: class 1-easy,  class 2- average, class 3- intermediate, class 4- difficult and class 5- extremely difficult.

What we experienced on this day was  intermediate--class 3.
 

The mighty Chico river is a contradiction in itself--forbidding and sinister just yesterday, accommodating and exhilarating today; life-giving and life-taking. We felt honoured to experience its strength and also its stillness.

This has been our most active "more fun in the Philippines" trip yet. With our spirits still intoxicated, we were already talking of our next Philippine destination. The kids are getting older so schedules are harder to coordinate.

Actually, it's not only the kids getting older. We often tease each other that we probably have only a few more years of adrenalin-rush type adventures before we concede to more passive, cushy, hanging-out-by-the beach type trips.

There's still so much to explore, and we hope to tick them off our list one by one.  It's really more fun in the Philippines!

-October 2012

Anton Carag 
Adventures and Expeditions Philippines Inc.
Mobile: 0917-5327480
Landline: (078) 8441298