WHOLE DAY TOUR IN BATANES

February 25, 2010

Honestly, this is the day that we did not wake up so early to be able to commit to our itinerary. The atmosphere outside is cloudy and we are praying and hoping that it would not rain. The slated start is 9:00AM. After our Bangsilog breakfast, our Sarao jeep headed to the church in Matahao (San Carlos Borromeo parish). We are fortunate that Father Bridge Casas was there to share the story and the restoration process of this place. The standout part of this church is the ceiling where they have used cogon reeds which is really amazing. It is one of UNESCO heritage churches in the country.

A short the old Spanish bridge then walks to one of the oldest house in Batanes, “home of Dakay” where we met with Lola Ida. Our next stop is at the Ivana port, seeing the San Jose Obrero church then we went to the docking station to see the “Jackstones”, these are used to block incoming waves. Another quick walk and you will be in the “Honesty cafe”. There we bought Palik (fermented sugar cane juice).

As we make turns and honk the horn of the jeep, next is the “Ruins of Songsong”, which can be seen from the highway. We are now stopping at a view deck near the “Old Loran station”, as the local said, it was formerly used by the US Coast Guard. Kuya Ariel also noticed that the right front tire was flat. A 10-15 minute change gives us ample time to do some jump-shots along the view deck cliff.

Right on the timing, we will be having our lunch at Racuh A Payaman aka “Marlboro Country”. Our menu includes the following, (Shoots with Egg, Sinigang Na Sea Bass, Venus-Dried Gabi stalks with Beef, Pork Stew, Steamed Tilapia with Vegetables and Suman dipped on Bucayo). There also we had taste of their red wine (Palik). During lunch we had a great sharing session with our doctor tourmates, they shared about their traveling experiences.

fter eating, we strolled to the hills seeing carabaos on the other hillsides; lighthouse can be seen from afar, two giant communication towers and coastline below. Also, we did some jump shots. Too bad, we were not able to go the Mahatao Lighthouse because of time constraint.

Our jeep rolled down to the other side going to Diura Fishing Village and then we walk uphill going to the “Fountain of Youth”. There we had a short dip on the spring water, a refreshing one. Our last stop for the day was in Matahao view deck, we decided to go down the staircases to feel the waves downstairs. At the deck, you can see Basco port and Naidi Lighthouse. Sadly, I ran out of battery.

We arrive at the Seaside hotel at 4:30PM, so I decide to recharge my camera battery to be used for sunset at Naidi Lighthouse. Before 5:00PM, we decided to rent bike again at Amboy store, unfortunately, only one bike is available, almost all are rented. The result is we had a 15-minute walk going to the lighthouse.

 
At 6:00PM, we decided to walk back to the town center. On the road, we had a barbecue bites at SDCBI, this is the canteen of the students of Batanes State College. Then we proceed to Hiro’s café to talk to Tita Lydia for our Day 6 schedule.  After a short dinner, we immediately rested because of our uphill challenge tomorrow.

Location: South Side of Batanes