Ironwulf.net: En Route – The Philippines, Travel, Photography Blog

I have written plenty about Batanes on this blog and I’m sure when I go back there, I’ll find more things to write about again. It just shows how I love the place. It’s like being in a foreign land yet with the familiar warmth and hospitality the Filipinos are known for. For the mean time, here’s the chronicles summary from my recent visit to Batanes in conjunction to the Backpack Photography Workshops to cap off this series. I also hope you enjoy the Batanes Islands video I put together.

I can’t believe it’s almost over. I woke up Sunday morning to see the group already up and ready to leave for the airport. Munching on their breakfast of tuna sandwich and a cup of coffee in hand, I also noticed their baggage clumped together at the reception area. I greeted them good morning. Everyone’s already prepared. I brought down the Selphy Printer for a last minute request to print. And as soon as we heard the Seair plane started to land, we hopped in our jeep and sped to the airport only a few minutes away.

Ever since the workshop started we’ve been waking up earlier than the sun. We were joking most of the time that we’ve managed to accomplish a lot before 9am (when one of the participant’s alarm would start ringing) than on a usual day. Even on the last day of our workshop, we had to wake up a tad earlier. We noticed that the days are longer here in Batanes, by 5am we could already see the sky light up. So by 4:40am, our jeep was already rolling towards Valugan Bay.

“Batanes in June!? You gotta be kidding? You might get stranded when a storm comes.” Was some of the common reactions I get when I say we’ll be holding a Travel and Outdoor Workshop at the end of June. I couldn’t blame them since Batanes do have a reputation as a stormy region but that was true a few years ago. These last couple of years we noticed the change in weather patterns. Even Ivatan locals there say “Official storm season now starts sometime October” So early morning 24th of June, 2010. I along with 16 other people flew from Manila, braving whatever weather yet  eager to set foot on the northern-most region of the Philippines – Batanes.

I’ve always thought that Batanes is rich in underwater life but it has never been really exploited. It’s remoteness (and pricey flights) really prevented a lot of people for coming here to gamefish. It’s really fortunate that on one of my assignments on Seair Inflight, I was able to observe what it’s like to fish here. Here are some excerpts from writer Chip Childers.

Aside from finding the range of accommodations in Basco and also discovering places to eat, I spent a lot of my time in Batan Island just chilling out and wandering around. It was after a 4 day of assignment so I didn’t really want to pressure myself to produce as many photos as I needed. I decided to be experimental this time and set my camera to monotone mode and capture Batanes in monochrome hues. At different times of the day, I go to these places walking distances from Basco center and just sit there for at least an hour and just be amazed at this wondrous creation.

With more time to roam around Basco Batanes, I was able to see what has changed since last time I was there. Nothing much really aside from some re-construction of some buildings. What I noticed though are some changes and additions on accommodations in Basco. With the rise of tourist in Batanes, it’s a good thing there’s a growing number of accommodations now available. Here’s a nifty guide on where to stay in Basco with personal comments and impressions on each of them.