It took almost two months to get everything together but I’m glad we have finally completed the three-part Batanes Travel Guide collection. It was a really tedious process creating these guides but I enjoyed the moment I spent time with it. Cross checking facts led me to several resources for Batanes that gave me deeper appreciation of the archipelago. You can now download the guides for Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat islands by clicking on their cover images below which will lead you to their download page.
Category: Batanes
Batanes Travel Guide Sabtang Island Ready for Download
Thank you very much for the 1st edition of the En Route Travel eGuides! It may not show on the page since I had to reset the permalinks but the first edition the En Route Batan Island Travel eGuide have reached more than 500 downloads since it came out. For those of you who downloaded, I hope you found it useful. The Batanes Travel Guide is a three-part edition divided based on the three main island. Now here’s the 2nd edition, the Batanes Travel Guide Sabtang Island. It is a slimmer 20-page PDF guide but still packs in information about the island. The PDF download is still FREE so click on the link below to lead you to the download page.
Biking in Batanes | Sabtang Island from Basco on Day Trip Ride
It was almost pitch black. I was extra careful riding my bike as I could only see only about 6-10 feet of the road ahead of me. I was thankful for the cheap LED light I bought before flying to Batanes as I could never have rode in this darkness. I left Basco as early as 5am so I could catch the first falowa to Sabtang island. After a day’s rest, I decided to continue biking in Batanes while I still have a group to join with, this time to bike Sabtang island. I wasn’t sure at first if I can handle the terrain but our guide Rene assured me Sabtang is a lot manageable than our North Batan Island ride to Tukon we did the other day.
Launching the En Route Travel eGuide Batanes | Batan Island
This is a concept that has been playing in my head since late last year. I’ve always wanted to do a Travel Guide for my site but I wanted to do it right. Ironwulf En Route has always been about narratives. If I wanted a Travel Guide, I want something that I can practically bring with me on my travels even offline. I swear how convenient these guides were on my own travels. Hence, I made this Travel eGuide, a handy downloadable destination travel ebook. And as a debut, I made sure I feature one of my favorite destinations which is the Travel eGuide Batanes!
Biking in Batanes | From Tukon Hills to Valugan Beach then Vayang Rolling Hills Bike Trek
“Adjust your seat higher. It would help.” Our bike-tour guide Rene told me as he saw me struggle on our uphill ride towards our last stop for the day, the Vayang Rolling Hills. With my armpit at level with my bike saddle, I stretched my arm towards the crank center to determine the proper height for my saddle. I adjusted my saddle accordingly to let my legs fully extend on pedal. We continued our ride and I felt more at ease to somehow find my right cadence. Wow! They could have told me this earlier when we were trekking from Tukon Hills to Valugan Boulder beach. As we near the day’s end of our bike trek in Batan Island, I thought biking in Batanes is the most fun I had on the island on wheels.
Batanes: Postcards from Batan Island
No doubt the most visited island in Batanes is Batan Island, the landing point for any plane coming in this northernmost region in the country. The provincial capital, Basco is also located in the island making it as a starting point for exploration. I have written extensively about the places in Batan Island already so I won’t be repeating much aside from some updates and new site takes from our recent Backpack Photography 3-Island Hop in Batanes. But don’t get me wrong, even if I’ve been here several times already, the views still never fails to amaze me.
Batanes: Sunrise at Mt Karoboboan and Sidetrip to Paganaman Port
We marvelled at the stars, shining plentifully at the sky. Something we don’t see in an urban night. We played around with the stargazers on our phones figuring out the constellations, the position of the stars in the wee hours of the morning while waiting for our dump truck service to arrive. Despite the gizmos in our hands, there was no electricity in Itbayat at 4am as it runs from 12noon to 12 midnight only. We were headed to one of the mountains in the island, Mt Karoboboan. Usual program from tourism here is they take people to the peak at sunset. But since we didn’t have time the day before, we decided to go on a sunrise.
