Ironwulf.net Ver 6: En Route - Philippines, Travel, Photography

Just over the town of Ivana, stands the oldest stone house in Batanes known as the House of Dakay. Built in lime and stone in 1887, it is the only 5 structures that survived the frightful earthquake in September 13, 1918 which literally leveled the the whole town of Ivana to the ground. Most of the structures like the shutters and floors still retains the original materials. Only the thatched cogon roof has been changed every thirty years since 1917. It is a small impressive structure which earned a UNESCO heritage building title.

Batanes has always been compared to Ireland when it comes to its cliffs. Though I myself haven’t been there, I know a couple of friends who has been there and had told me that the Cliffs of Batanes does remind them of Ireland. When in tour in Batanes, one of the favorite stops along the road is the Chanarian Viewdeck where you can have a closer inspection of the cliffs.

I am currently arranging and archiving all of my photos from present backwards. I’m a bit of a sloth when it comes to organizing my digital files but it seems I need to systematize my work flow from now on. Anyways, with all these organizing, I realized I haven’t posted a lot of my materials yet. Will be posting some left over series from my most recent visit to Batanes for my local destination in between posts from Vietnam and China. First up is one the rugged beauty of Batanes, Imnajbu country.

This would be a quick post on one of my favorite looking church in Batanes, the San Jose de Ivana Church. Although built in 1814 with foundation dating back as far as 1795, it is one of the well preserved structures in the island. Right now, it still looks new. I like this church since it looks a bit different from the other churches as it looks more like a fortress at first.

I noticed that when searching for Batanes Maps, there wasn’t much information on the internet or even printed books or guides. So the idea suddenly struck me to create a visual, photographic landmark map of each of the Batanes Islands.

I just can’t get enough of Batanes so I’m making another post on Sabtang. If I really have enough time, I would spend months just exploring all the corners of the islands of Batanes. Here’s a video of what is like traversing the road to Chavayan, the southern town in the charming little island of Sabtang. That coastal road scene just sticks in your mind. Also included is a short drive to Nakanmuan natural arc at the white beach. Video after the jump.

Ironwulf.net and the SEAIR Adventure Club is giving away two round-trip SEAIR tickets to Basco, Batanes. More details here.