The bow seems to be his favorite spot of the boat. We took this motorized boat or what we call a banca from Bantayan Island to Malapascua Island, a popular dive site where thresher sharks abound.
This boy, accompanies his dad and helps out by stirring the boat as it approaches the shore.
This is my entry to this week’s PhotoHunt. For have a glimpse of more photohunt entries, please visit them here.
The first time I became aware of this group of islands called Batanes was when I saw this Filipino film – “Hihintayin Kita sa Langit” which catapulted to stardom two established actors in my side of the world (and it just dated me too). Since then I became obsessed in stepping foot on this islands of the Ivatans. In 1997, that obsession came to fruition. It was my first taste of rugged travels. I feel privileged to have witnessed the Batanes of before… before its commercialization to a certain degree, that is. At that time, there was only one jeep going around the island of Batan. So we walked almost everywhere, even climbed an idjang – a pre-hispanic mountain fortress where the locals sought refuge during tribal conflicts. There were only a few places to lodge; we stayed at Mama Lily’s. It was clean and comfortable albeit spartan. And because there were hardly any restaurants then, we’d have home cooked meals courtesy of our host. Fortunately, she cooks and cooks well.
Getting to Sabtang is an adventure of its own. The only way to get there is by boat or what they call falowa. If the sea gets a bit rough, expect your inside to turn topsy turvy as well. Expect to take the trip with chickens, goats and sometimes a cow… yes a cow! We’d hike the whole island, spending the night camping in a school gym at Sumnanga; halfway around the island, then we’d walk back the next day to catch the falowa back to the main island, Batan. Those were the days.
Credit: Paper – Joyful Hear Designs Plain Jane – Olive; Alpha – PDuncan Carnival Alpha; Element – Hoyfyl Heart Designs – Plain Jane Tape
Nine years after my first Batanes encounter, I found myself back in 2006. There were evident changes – vehicles, more than one and more than one kind were now all over the island. There were a lot more lodges and inns, some restaurants, even a pizza place but despite all this, it is still the Batanes I reveled in almost a decade ago. Mama Lily has long migrated to the US and when I passed her house, fond memories (of her food actually) came flashing by.
Credits: Alpha – Asman; Papers – KPertiet Cotton Easter – red; KPertiet King Me Paper; KPertiet Graph Note Paper; Overlay – KPertiet Graphic Sun Prints OV; Tag – KPertiet Stick Pon2 Red Tag; Template – JSprage 4 square template; Frame- JSprague Grunge Frame 1
Sabtang, my favorite island of Batanes, has not progressed as much as Basco has. The only way there is still by falowa (and still taking on both humans and animals). Sabtang still leaves me breathless. It makes you feel like you’re in another world. Although you can now arrange for a vehicle to take you around the island, walking is still the main means especially among the locals. Truth to tell, you get see more of the island by foot so if you can, take the vehicle up to a certain point (probably Chavayan) and hike the rest of the island. Still no inns and only a few stores that offer food in the island, our contact in Basco, had someone cook dinner for us. The food was great but we were so stirred by their warm reception. Their pride was so evident as they talk about their island and simple cuisine (which consisted of a lot of root crops, turmeric and seafood, particularly lobster, crabs et al). Camping days are likewise over, the School of fisheries in Centro has dormitory rooms, albeit few and basic, indoors nevertheless. I heard that there now exists a Sabtang Lodge, which I have yet to verify and see for myself.
It is now possible to fly to Itbayat when the only way to get there before was by falowa – four hours of rough sea. Sheer torture, I’m sure. Itbayat, the farthest northern inhabited island, can be considered the Philippine’s last frontier. Its rocky island is a great place for trekking. We barely scratched the surface as we only did an overnight. We visited a cave that led to a rocky hilltop overlooking the sea. It was awesome and quite different from islands of Batan and Sabtang. This needed going back to and we decided that this year would be a good time to go… well we tried.
Credits: Paper – DJE PP3, Joyful Heart Designs Plain Jane-Seafoam, Scarlet Heels Media Carnival PP1; Frames – JSprague Flurish Frame, KPertiet Snap Frames; Element – Jack n Me Alpha blank
Needless to say, plans didn’t pull through. Why? You ask. First, we found out that the airport where the planes takes off to Itbayat is currently under construction and there is still no solid plan as to its resumption. And to my dismay, but to my friend, S‘s delight… you see, she had to back out of this trip because of this thing called work. But I digress. So to my dismay, when some (I wasn’t about to cancel) went to cancel their flights with Zest Air (formerly Asian Spirit), they found out that flights in February were still up in the air (no pun intended). They revealed that their entire January flights were canceled due to aircraft shortage. Unbelievable! We didn’t have a sure flight to Batanes after all? And we weren’t informed about it until someone went to cancel? By that time SeaAir (the other Airline that flies to Batanes) was fully booked. Hmmph!! But it’s only February, you may wonder. Well, we could if we really want to push it and go in March or April but I just love it there during the cool, breezy months. It’s really the best time to go. After summer comes typhoon, and you don’t want to be there at that time, believe you me! So perhaps next year and perhaps not with Zest Air. 😉
And that’s “the not so sad” tale of my recent Batanes trip that never was. 😕
This has been my entry to That’s My World Tuesday. Go visit to see more.
I am blessed. Blessed to be able to explore the world, albeit not as extensive as I want to but I’ve had some fair share of adventure and fun last year. So I’m not complaining. Last year was a good mix of local and international travels, small and big trips. Rounding them up, there were highs and lows, great satisfactions and some disappointments. Here’s a run down of my best and not so best experiences of 2008.
Donsol – in pursuit of the elusive whale sharks (Feb)
We were ready to jump anytime but the whale sharks were scarce. There were way too many boats, way too disorganized and so we caught a glimpse of its… tail. Oh well… this calls for another trip sometime in the future.
Mt. Pulag – rained out! (Feb)
We started the trek with just overcast clouds, then it drizzled and when we reached the campsite, it poured. It let up a bit just so we can go to the loo and cook our dinner. Then it started again. Rained the whole night and the whole day, next day. Needless to say, the summit was foggy and really, really cold! No sunrise, just slippery, flooded trails. Good thing this was not my first time here and I’ve seen a glorious sunrise in 2002. But we still had fun.
Luang Prabang, Laos (Mar)
The jewel of Indochina and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surrounded by mountains at the junction of the Mekong and its tributary, the Khan River, Luang Prabang to me is a city where time stood still.
It was a wonderful 5 days of various adventures. One day was spent trekking to the Kwang Si falls, another learning to cook Lao dishes. There were a lot of walking, eating (Lao and French meals), sunset cocktails and we even had a taste of a traditional Khamu massage. It was fantastic.
Viaje del Sol (Apr) – a blend of good food and the arts. From Kusina ni Salud (for dinner) to Ugu Bigyan (for lunch and his potteries) to Carlito’s (for coffee, mangoes and his sculptures) in one weekend resulting to another follow-up weekend. This time, we stayed in Casa San Pablo, checked out Kinabuhayan Café, and had a satisfying lunch at Sulyap Gallery Café, a restaurant cum antique gallery. There definitely will be a 3rd trip to this Viaje del Sol sometime in the future. Perhaps we’ll try a meal at Kinabuhayan Café, try that famous buko pie locals are raving about and do an overnight at Sitio de Amor.
Dolphins Galore at Puerto Bay (May)
Didn’t even know that they had a lot in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. There were tons of ’em. What we didn’t see in Donsol, these dolphins made up for. We didn’t even need a spotter as they were all over the place. Never saw so much in my life. Tons and tons of them. Hope to dive there someday.
Cruisin’ Halong Bay, Hanoi (Jul)
When in Hanoi, one must experience cruising along Halong Bay in a junk at least once. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the bay features calm water and thousands of limestone karsts and islets in various shapes and size. Something like Palawan.
Dinner at Restaurant Bobby Chinn, Hanoi (Jul)
Even if he wasn’t around, I was excited to be there. Totally am infatuated with this celebrity chef of Travel and Living’s World Asia Café series. And the food did not disappoint. Maybe because I’m so infatuated. Hee Hee! Expensive but superb. Sorry but no photos of the food and the place except from across the street. It was a treat from DBF to cap our Hanoi adventure and we agreed no cameras, besides the place was too dark to get even one decent photo.
Watching the traffic of Hanoi at the Old Quarter (Jul)
We spent hours atop a restaurant sipping beer, relaxing and watching the traffic below with amazement. The chaos of Vietnam traffic just amused us no end. Watch and be amused.
A San Francisco get-together with my high school buddies (Aug)… some I haven’t seen in 26 years. It was a trip down memory lane but more importantly, it was literally a food trip as well. Our friend and classmate, JT, now a chef cooked a superb dinner for us! They’re actually planning another one this year… a US trip 2 years in a row is out of my budget if I want to explore other new places as well, so boohoo for me.
Anawangin Cove (Sep)
This could pass as my runner-up for the Most Miserable Climb too. I am a clumsy person and more often than not, I fall and hurt myself. So during the trek I was already asking “why do I do this to myself”? when I banged my knee in the course of what I thought was an easy trek. I’ve seen beautiful pixes, read and heard so much about this “not so secret” place and finally am hours away from it. Thrilled and excited as I started the 7.3 km trek to Anawangin Cove, I was 3rd to arrive at the saddle (which had an awesome view of the cove, by the way). Not bad, if I may brag… Many months of lifting, walking on a machine (that goes nowhere), puffing and pushing is finally paying off. THEN… without warning, I slipped and fell about 30 minutes through our descent, all because I was not paying attention to the trail. It was agony from then on. Let’s just say that I trudged downhill, passing rocky streams for another 2+ hours before I reached the camp… From 3rd to last! Thirsty, tired and in pain but dampen my spirits it did not as it was indeed so BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL! Picture this, Agojo (imagine pine trees as it looked so much like it) forest on the beach with a meandering fresh water stream that flows out to the sea. And that is why I keep doing this to myself.
Rafting the Chico (Oct)
Been doing this for almost a decade but never on my birthday. So that’s new. If you’ve never tried this, you should! You will experience one heck of a weekend, a totally worked out upper body, and the thrill of a lifetime. Contact Anton Carag of AEPI for bookings.
Mantas and Sharks up close in Yap (Nov)
Amazing… is all I can say. An experience of a lifetime. Read more about it here.
Credits: Katie Pertiet Flatjacks Frolic 2; KPertiet Flatjacks Frolic-green; KPertiet Flatjacks Frolic-ribbon stripes; KPertiet Acrylic Alpha; KPertiet Sanded Overlay
El Nido: a gateway to Palawan’s natural treasure, Bacuit Archipelago — a fantastic seascape with a collection of jagged limestone islands. It’s clear blue waters teeming with marine life. A top favorite.
Indeed one of my favorite getaway. Two ways to go; in luxury or rouging it up. I personally prefer the roughing it up route. Love the town. What’s not to love? With the limestone karst hills as your backdrop, dramatic eh? Accommodations are definitely far from luxurious but there are plenty of great places to eat! If you take the luxury route, you miss the town and the good food but accommodation wise, I must say is splendid.
my adventure odyssey 