I have had the pleasure and the privilege to set foot on Batanes just recently and it left me in awe since then up until now. And I’m already missing it. Wow! is definitely an understatement.
Batanes
I haven’t done biking a great distance like that in my life that’s why mountain biking in North Batan was a whole new experience for me. It was fun, physically possible, and quite strenuous but it was absolutely worth it.
Sabtang is the smallest of the three inhabited island municipality in Batanes. Thirty minutes away from Batan, it can be reached via a Faluwa, a type of boat which is its only public transportation, it is docked at Ivana Port that leaves at 6:30H and comes back around 14:00H every day. It was day two of my Batanes journey and I was looking forward to what I was about to set my eyes on.
I stayed in Batanes for four days and three nights and our tour guide said that it was the ideal length of stay in the province to be able to get around the islands of Batan and Sabtang. If you are extra adventurous and want to sojourn in Itbayat, a week-long stay would suffice to have ample time in case you get stranded due to inclement weather. First on my list was the island of Batan, it is where the capital of Basco is found. Batan is divided into two regions, North and South. On my first day, I rented a bike for PHP60/hour to explore North Batan on my own. I took off and sought for the famed landmarks in the region.
The larger part of the Batan Tour is South Batan. It was my third day in Batanes, I didn’t rent a mountain bike this time but instead, I joined the same group that I was with on my Sabtang tour. Unlike its northern counterpart, some of the sites in this region are distant from each other. Most of the roads leading to the landmarks are along the coast; I was already in for a treat with the beauteous view of the hills, cliffs, blue skies and the big blue Pacific Ocean and South China Sea even before we get to our journey’s end. They say that if you have been enthralled by North Batan wait until you see the South.