Waking up at 2AM, it was still pretty dark out and there still wasn't any running water in the faucets yet, though we do store water in huge pails here in the Philippines at times like these, so my mom and I managed to prepare for our day.
Kuya Harold arrived exactly at 3AM with his trusty tricycle and we soon reached the starting point of our 600-meter trek. The walk usually takes an hour to reach Rapang Cliff before sunrise and you wouldn't have to worry about getting lost in the dark since, apart from being provided flashlights, the field is divided into 5 gates that'll at least give you a sense of achievement every time you pass one.
Personally, I think the walk to Rapang was a lot shorter than actually waiting for the sunrise, and we really had to wait it out since you can't take much pictures of the landscape in the dark without the sun yet.
Once the sun peeked through the horizon though, it felt surreal to see the field come alive!
Waited for the sunrise up that trail...
A few treks to the cliff...
Taking in the view...
We later had to cross this field in order to get to the other side of Rapang Cliff for some best shots, and I also managed to snap some pictures along the way:
Talk about an early morning stroll...
This rock actually looks like a spaceship!
If it wasn't so dry, the water would have reflected the cliff beautifully...
Another curious thing we encountered along the way though, was this thing called a stone bell:
Said to be used to herd cattle and warn of incoming ships across the horizon...
After waiting out the first pair of tourists that got there, we finally had the chance to take solo shots on top of the cliff!
Best seat in the house!
View down below...
Shot at the sun!
View up top!
I would have stayed there a lot longer if we didn't have a boat to catch back to Batan, and with another hour of walking back to the first gate, we had to get moving if I wanted to sneak in one last adventure at Itbayat.
Sunlight slowly creeping in...
Some cattle in the distance...
It was a good thing that we already packed our things before leaving for Rapang that morning, since we had time to have breakfast at the eatery from yesterday and just had to grab our bags from the homestay before leaving for the port.
See that perilous end?
Chinapuliran Port is usually the one you see in earlier videos of Itbayat where people had to jump amidst raging waves in order to get to dry land, but being as steep as it is, it now remains unused for the most parts of the year unless it's hightide season. However, just near the old port lies a hidden treasure that not a lot of tourists know about.
Presenting: Mauyen Archway
I saw an article about having to ask about seeing this part of Itbayat since it's usually not included in the tour unless you ask your tour guide about it, which I did.
The stance of success!
It just took a few minutes to get to the archway as it's just located off the sideroad just before heading down to Chinapuliran Port, though my mom opted to stay behind in the tricycle since the stones were said to a bit sharp and slippery on the way down. Once I was done, we headed back to the port where we would be leaving for Batan.
I knew there was a lighthouse here somewhere!
After Kuya Harold helped us get registered for the Itranza, we paid our thanks and waited a few more minutes for the boat to unload. This time around, I headed straight to the back of the boat where you could lie down and sleep the 2-hour journey away.
Settling down at the back...
2 hours later... Welcome back to the Island of Batan!
We arrived early in the afternoon at Batan, and since the port was just near our accommodation at Katuvang, we just decided to walk. Also, we texted Miss Hilda and took her up on her offer to tour us, if we still felt up to it, once we got back from Itbayat. Why waste the afternoon in our room, when there are more places to be seen at Batan?
Taking note of port signs might probably wake me up a little bit...
After freshening up for a few minutes back at our room, we went out to find Miss Hilda already waiting for us at the lobby area with her husband by the tricycle outside Katuvang. Before we left for our next destination of the day, mom decided to send out a postcard to herself at the Post Office just down the street.
Wouldn't want to miss this signage
For our next stop, I can't help but be amazed at how the Ivatans take care of their surroundings, especially after experiencing Homoron Lagoon.
I'm starting to think every part of Batanes was made to look like paradise...
I mean the place is just out there in the open, just off the side of the highway, and it's free to the public and yet it still manages to maintain its air of naturalism. Maybe it's just me having lived in the city all my life, and having had the idea of what public places are like in the Metro, I definitely didn't pass up the opportunity to have a little dip at the lagoon.
yeah.. definitely a "little dip" right here..
I can't help it!! Somebody's gotta have to pull me out before I decide to grow fins and stay here!
The face of utmost refreshment..
So I managed to pull myself out, though it feels like I left a little piece of my heart there at the lagoon. Since it was nearing 4pm, we decided to make a last stop before calling it a day.
View on the way to the Spring of Youth...
After having to pay for the Municipality Fee, we later walked to the Spring of Youth, with a little history trivia from Miss Hilda pointing out that the area was once a settlement for the Malay people, as evidenced by the stone columns we keep passing by. If you also looked closely enough at the stones on the floor, you'd notice some have marble-like qualities that are called crystals here.
A little piece of the past that stood the test of time...
Turns out the Spring of Youth is actually a man-made pool with the water coming from a spring of water, and since I felt I already swam my energy out at the lagoon, my mom & I just headed over to the beach area for some much needed pictures and videos.
Batanes' very own infinity pool!
Catching our last waves in Batanes...
Waving goodbye...
We started to get hungry since we didn't exactly have lunch when we got back from Itbayat and it was actually just the adrenaline keeping us from going, and since I was craving some pasta, Miss Hilda suggested to eat at Casa Napoli.
Don't miss the experience if you happen to find yourself here!
The exterior got me fooled for a second that it wasn't an air-conditioned establishment..
Really cozy in here...
I've read somewhere that Casa Napoli is a family-owned business and that they recommended trying the pizza at the place, so we invited Miss Hilda and her husband to eat with us much like a going away party.
The best pizza in town!
Sauce was a little too "thick", but tasted amazing!
Try their graham cake too (on the right).. I wish I bought more..
Before heading back to Katuvang, mom asked if there was a place that sold postcards, and this is how we discovered the Creative Hub:
A place of talent just waiting to be discovered...
It's a great place where the local artists get to sell their works and so with my mom having satisfied her search for postcards, we were then dropped off at Katuvang where we paid our thanks to Miss Hilda and her husband for their hospitality.
Guess how many my mom bought..
Night came faster than we wanted it to and after getting our bags packed, my mom & I soon succumbed to sleep. Early the next morning, we had a light breakfast of pandesal (bread), jam and scrambled eggs, before we left for the airport courtesy of Katuvang's van transfer.
Leaving soon...
Well if there's one thing I didn't miss in Manila, it's the smoke and traffic and one thing's for sure, it may have been our first time going to Batanes, but it most definitely wouldn't be the last. Until my next adventure, see yaaaahh!
I woke up with a queasy stomach and I couldn't get myself to eat breakfast, it definitely wasn't nervousness that was causing it since I felt like dry-heaving but as long as I was able to walk, I wouldn't miss the chance of going to Itbayat.
Trying to save my strength for the day's adventure...
We pushed through and waited at the dock with Miss Hilda, our tour guide since day 1 here in Batanes, who is also coincidentally from Itbayat so she has contacts there whom she made arrangements with for our Itbayat tour.
Here's a copy of Miss Hilda's calling card
Here's the deal, our original tour package with Wakay was 4 days & 3 nights but we had to add another day since we wanted to go to Itbayat, which required having us stay the night at the island. Since Wakay couldn't give us a final decision about our Itbayat tour, since they worried about the ever-changing weather at Batanes, it was like a divine intervention that we somehow mentioned it to Miss Hilda that got her to help us with our trip.
Early at the port.. No one in sight...
There are only 2 boats that make the trip to Itbayat once a day, Itranza and Veronica, and it mostly depends on the weather; with a fare of 450php/ea and 2 hours of travel ahead of you, it wasn't a surprise that the boat was mostly filled with locals and supplies to be delivered to the island.
Waves in the early morning
Rise and Shine!
Get your vitamin sea!
I suggest heading to your left side when deciding where to settle on the boat, aside from seeing the view of Itbayat from there, it's a good place as any to throw up. Twice.
...But the view is worth all the trouble...
Where's the ever-changing weather??
I can say that the port of Itbayat is very different from the ports of Sabtang and Batan with no signage of where you are, and miles of road ahead, you'd really need to have someone who knows the place. Luckily, this is where kuya Harold, the tour guide Miss Hilda referred us to, picked us up so off we went to our accommodation, in yet another tricycle.
We found out that the whole of Itbayat consists of five towns and with an approximate of only 3,000 residents, it was hard for people not to know each other when passing by the streets. Not long after the tricycle ride, we were given time to drop our bags off and freshen up a bit at the homestay before starting our adventure in the island.
Quaint little home...
....with just the right amount of comfort... (pardon the mess)
We started with a tour to the old PAGASA (Phil. Astronomical..) Headquarters here at Itbayat which still stands amongst the hilltops after it was ironically ruined by a previous storm.
Most of the foundation of the structure is still standing though...
Our tour guide, Kuya Harold, then showed us the airport being constructed in the area. It's mostly finished with a runway and all, so tourists at least have another option on getting to Itbayat other than boarding a 2-hour boat ride.
The airstrip in all its glory!
Next stop was Lake Kavaywan with the sun giving it a refreshing sparkle!
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!
With the weather agreeing with us, Mauyen Cliff provided an excellent view of the calm blue ocean, we also carefully took pictures near the edge where you could also see the old Chinapuliran Port in the distance.
Sitting on the edge...
...getting some nice shots...
On the way back, we passed through Barangay Raele where we found out it was the town's fiesta. Here in the Philippines, fiesta's are like local holidays where the people mostly start the festivities with a mass at the local church and gather around after to share in the food prepared by the locals. Though my mom and I just reached the near-end of the mass before we decided to go about the rest of our tour.
A gathering of the folks
I've also noticed some of the houses in this part of town are built in a certain way that aren't exactly stone, like the one's we've seen in Sabtang.
Who's a good boy?
Nearing the town where our homestay was at, we felt we weren't hungry for lunch yet so our tour guide made a little detour to Mt. Karaboboan's viewdeck, where you could see a couple of the uninhabited islands that make up Batanes from a distance.
To the top, for the view!
Since it was already noon at around that time, we wanted to cool down first before getting lunch, so Kuya Harold led us to Paganaman Port where a small treasure was hidden there.
Port of calm, blue waters
You can even catch a glimpse of the coral bottoms!
Just through these rocks...
...lies a glistening jewel!
The view was superb and luckily the waters surrounding the lagoon were calm enough that I got the chance to go down near the waters, mom stayed behind though since the rocks were a bit sharp on the way down, but the experience was worth the trouble!
Tempting to just dive in...
Cooling down for a bit...
I got tired on the way back to town though, but I partly blame it for not having a proper breakfast, and even when Kuya Harold dropped us off to have lunch at a small eatery I still couldn't take the sight of food. Mom insisted I eat to gain my strength, so I half-heartedly ate my lunch while mom made arrangements with the cook to have our dinner delivered at the homestay; on a side note, diners were hard to come by in Itbayat, but you can have meals cooked for you at a range of 250php per person. With that said, we were off to our last adventure for the day, but not before mom decided to buy some Gatorades.
It's a good thing that the Gatorade seemed to do its thing, since there weren't many drugstores around where you could buy medicine from, so I soon found the idea of food appealing as I decided to snack on some soda crackers we brought along for the trip whilst enjoying the refreshing view of Torongan Hills.
Just a short trek through the hills...
A mysterious island in the distance... #DinemIsland
Somewhere near the edges...
...I find myself taking pictures...
Soon we were walking down further into the hills to get to Torongan Cave:
Reaching the cave, mom decided to wait by the benches near the edge instead so it was just me and my little adventures for now.
Personally, going down the cave wasn't really hard for an amateur like me, so I deem it safe for young first timers, and if you'll notice some "stone walls" seemingly stacked upon together, it's because the cave was once a settlement for the earlier settlers who came upon the island.
Amazed at how these rocks are stacked so neatly...
Pic under some natural spotlight!
The only thing icky about it is that the cave is littered with the three C's (creepy crawly carcasses), mostly just centipedes here and there that makes me think it was a really good thing that my mom and I decided to make this trip during the really dry summer months since moist areas make them.. you knoooww.. On a different note, they put up a bench at the end of the cave where you can enjoy the view!
Just through this cavern...
...is an amazing view of the ocean!
Perfect spot for silhouette shots!
How far? Not by much...
Turns out my mom made friends with the other tourists we came upon and they shared some of the food they brought with them from the fiesta in Raele, which was suman (sticky rice), with some meat and other stuff wrapped in banana leaves. It tasted similarly to a local rice dish we have here in Chinatown, and I would have ate more if my stomach wasn't still doing its own somersaults though.
We ended the day with a picture near the town's church on the way back:
Turns out there was a signage afterall...
Have you been keeping track of the churches so far?
Reaching the homestay at around 4pm, we paid for our dinner that was already there, and for the room which was 300php per person a night. Another good thing was that we decided to have an early dinner and freshen up for bed since the water here in Itbayat usually gets interrupted during the night and early mornings.
Not much of sunsets in this part of town... #viewfromthehomestaybalcony
No nightcap for tonight as there's not much to do at Itbayat when it gets dark, and going to bed at 7pm was good enough if we had to be ready by 3AM to trek and catch the sunrise at the top of Rapang Cliff.
Front row seats this high up!
Stay tuned for my next post: trekking in the dark, living on the edge and a hidden archway near the ocean!
