Batanes: Fundacion Pacita Abad
Fundacion Pacita Abad at Tukon’s Windswept Hill
One of the places I missed last time I went to Batanes was the Fundacion Pacita Abad in Tukon Hills. So after our half day stay in Sabtang Island, I asked our guide Mang Roger to take us to Pacita Abad’s place in Tukon. Tukon is one of the elevated portions of Batan Island where you can actually have a good view of the surrounding landscapes of Batan Island as well as both the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. So those who still have enough energy to tour ventured this hill, which became one of my favorite places in Batanes.
Gate Convergence
Just a brief bio, Pacita Abad (1946-2004) is one of the globally known contemporary artist who hailed from the Philippines. A native Ivatan, she was born at the Post Office in Basco, Batanes. Her early life revolved around Basco, and eventually she studied abroad and got interested to paint. Her passion for the arts grew from mere interest and became her life’s work. With that, she was able to travel around make the world her studio.
The Fundacion Museum Undergoing Construction
By late 50’s her body began to gave to cancer. On her last years, she went back to her home in Basco and tried finishing her works there despite being half paralyzed. She eventually had to be moved back to Singapore for medical treatment but she passed away there.
Inside the Fundacion Museum
Reading her life story on her website is somehow moving. She’s one example to the world of a person who pursues her passion and had gone places and be recognized with it. In the end even on her last days, she was an artist till her last breath.
Gates and Mount Irayat
Even with her gone, her legacy went on with the building of Fundacion Pacita over the windswept-hills of Tukon. The Fundacion Pacita was established in 2005, a year after Pacita Abad’s death. The foundation aims to facilitate artist on the study of Pacita’s life and work as well as to help emerging and committed artist on their studies by giving grants and scholarships.
Museum over Windswept Hill
This place in Batanes may be the center of arts in the region. Personally, it’s one of the most scenic places I’ve been aside from the rich history of the owner. The location is just ideal for any artist and I’m sure they would always be inspired with the breathtaking views around them.
Sculptures by the hill
Nearby the Fundacion Pacita is her house. First you’ll pass by this set of sculptures. I’m not really sure who they are since there wasn’t any signs or I missed them. But I’m guessing they were her parents.
Pacita Abad House
The Abad residence is intricately designed as the museum itself. The garden is well landscaped and the house sits on another very scenic location on the Tukon Hills. We weren’t able to go inside the house since there were some guests at that time but we were allowed to visit the garden.
View from Pacita Abad House garden
The garden has again an amazing view of the South China Sea. I can just imagine living in this place. To wake up with this view and to watch the sun go down here is just one of the most peaceful and relaxing places in the world.
Note: Am now using flickr for my images here. Since I got unlimited storage in my Pro account, I best utilize it and put less strain on my server bandwidth and space.
Tags: Batan Island, Batanes, Fundacion Pacita, Hills, Museum, Pacita Abad, Tukon
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Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 1:19 pm 
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February 29th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
such a beautiful scene indeed. im simply speechless.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
i agree with you, the fundacion pacita is one of the must-see, must-stop-over places in batanes. the view overlooking tukon bay is simply breathtaking. if you look into her dining room, the picture windows are awesome! lalo na when the mists fog the view of the bay.
you’re right bai, the sculptures are indeed the elder abads. rep. abad told us
February 29th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Wonderful photographs! I love the first one specially b/c of the lighting. It’s amazing.
(:
February 29th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Simply Awesome!
February 29th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Such dramatic photos, Ferdz! The photos in this set are really something else!
March 1st, 2008 at 5:59 am
ferdz among all your travelogue, this one’s my most fave. I am even tempted to put this in my list of “must see places”.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:51 am
The view is simply breath taking. That house seems to be defying erosion!
March 1st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Stunning pics!
I loooove the last pic. It soooo beautiful 
March 1st, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Di ko na kaya to. Nagpabook na ko sa Batanes.. Pagkatapos ng Tax Season at trabaho sa Baguio I will definitely go.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:45 pm
these photos are indeed very beautiful, ferdz. it says a lot about our motherland. di mo na kelangan pang pumunta sa ibang bansa to experience beauty.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
That is indeed a wonderful place… great views! You captured it all wonderfully!
March 1st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
what a charming house
I notice that it is made of stone which makes it strong enough to withstand those nasty northern typhoons !
March 1st, 2008 at 10:18 pm
What a beautiful place! When I go to Batanes, I’ll be sure to check this out.
The clouds and the sun are great in the pictures.
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 am
Ganda! Sayang di kami nakasama dito. Next time. =)
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:33 am
ah, amazing! the photos give justice to the place. i like the feeling of the place being a hideaway from the humdrum of city life. now i know where to go when i need some peace to myself. great photos again!
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
wow.. parang indi sa pinas..
ang ganda!
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Sa Pilipinas ba talaga ‘yan? It looks like straight out of a fairytale. I just saw a documentary on that house on TV.
Batanes is definitely one place I would want to go to.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
wow! ang ganda
March 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
i love love batanes so much! hay i hope one day makarating ako dyan…
March 10th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
it is beautiful
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:28 am
hi there. i’m going to batanes this april. may i know if there are public transpo going to this place? i checked our itinerary and it’s not there…so we might just go there on our extra days. kaya ba ng bike? hehe. thanks.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
since no one answered…hehe
no pubic transpo going to this place. you may need a 4×4 to get to it. i went here twice…the first one with a 4×4 rental, the next one, a jeepney couldn’t make it to the top…so we had to walk a few hundred meters to the place. the place is undergoing renovation and will have lodging in a few weeks time. you can probably rent a motorbike or bike if you can’t find a bigger vehicle.
i just got back from batanes.