As soon as we drove off in the jeep from the Ivana port, the thunderstorm that the weather websites were predicting finally arrived. The weather effectively killed off any plans for more sightseeing around Batan island. That and the queasy feeling we got from riding the boat from Sabtang.

The weather in Batanes is pretty hard to predict, owing largely to its remote location. It can be raining pretty heavily in Manila, but it’d be bright and sunny in Batanes. The typhoon that was ravaging the rest of the country that weekend was already on its way out when it entered the Philippine area of responsibility for the second time. It was too far to affect Batanes with heavy rains, but it still made an impact with the strong winds that blew through the town.
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We woke up early the following day for our trip to Sabtang. Tita Remy has arranged for the jeep to pick us up at Novita house at 5:30 am, for the ride to the Ivana port, where we would ride a faluwa to Sabtang. At 5:20am, the jeep was waiting outside the gate. Because there aren’t that many people in Batanes, public transport aren’t as regular as it is in Manila, so we either take this jeep to Ivana, or wait until several hours later for the next one.

The streets of Batan island were dark, specially in areas where there aren’t any houses. Road improvement were ongoing, and the roadworks were marked by lanterns strewn along the cordons that line the pavement. Soon we were rewarded with a gorgeous pink sky that marks the start of a new day. This beautiful sunrise raised our spirits, taking it as a sign that we’re going to have another sunny day in Batanes.
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The flight out of Manila was scheduled for 5:50am. I still had work Friday night, so I was hurriedly finishing work-related things online. To my surprise, most of my travel buddies are also online on Plurk, which of course, made it hard for me to concentrate on my writing! Flying at 5:50 am, meant having to be at the airport before 4:50am, which in turn meant leaving the house at 3am. Rather than to sleep and risk oversleeping and missing the flight, Eric, Gail and Melo opted to pull an all nighter.

My favorite travel buddies: Dino, Marc, Eric, Melo, Gail and Karla

What I love about early morning flights is the traffic-less EDSA. Living in the north, travel time to the airport during rush hour can be terribly time consuming — it can take from one to two hours to get from my house in Quezon City to one of the airports in Parañaque City. Before the traffic starts, travel time can be cut to almost 30 minutes.

Using the old domestic terminal can usually be an ordeal: it’s too small, too cramped and too many people are using it. Thanks to the opening of the new NAIA Terminal 3, the number of passengers using the old domestic terminal has significantly gone down. Now, only two commercial airlines use the old terminal, one of which is Seair.

The pre-departure lounge was almost empty — a world of difference from the last time we used the terminal last June, when it was packed to the seams. We sat down, chatting amongst ourselves to pass the time while waiting for the flight to be called. The clock ticked past 5:50 am, and still no call. Soon enough, there was an announcement: flight DG601 bound for Basco was delayed. We were dismayed, but the announcement didn’t really come as a shock; for days we’ve been monitoring the weather in Batanes, and it was anything but sunny. We thought of possible places we can go instead, if flying to Basco wasn’t feasible. Melo wasn’t hearing any of it, and went to inquire among the ground staff. It seems the flight was only delayed because the airport office in Basco only opens at 6 o’clock in the morning. The people in Manila have to confer with its Basco counterparts before allowing the plane to fly.

Soon enough Seair flight DG601 was called — but for Boracay! It was an honest mistake on the part of the announcer, but it was indeed for the flight to Basco, Batanes. Within minutes we were onboard the Dornier 328 plane. It was my first time to fly north, and it was interesting to see how different the view from the plane was from all the flights I’ve taken going south. After reading through two Inflight magazines, the fasten seatbelt sign flashed — we are on the final descent to Basco. I eagerly looked out the window to see mountainous islands, the green stretching as far as the eye can see. I can see small roads hugging the sides of the mountain, small communities, and even smaller patches of beaches. We’re in Batanes!

Welcome to Batanes, where Jesus is Lord!

A huge thanks goes out Seair, who provided our transport to Batanes. A shout out also goes out for Mr. Patrick, Seair’s VP for Marketing, and his assistant, Leo for making this possible. Thanks guys!

Hola! I’m back from Batanes. I’ve yet to finish working on my photos for posting, so I’ll start off with our travel budget. Predictably, the most expensive part of Batanes travel is the airfare. Good thing Seair helped us out in that one! It also helped that we were traveling as a group — big expenses like vehicle rentals and accommodation are divided 7 ways! This is definitely the cheapest trip I’ve had this year.
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Batanes isn’t really one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines. So why would I want to go there?

It’s too far up north, that it’s closer to Taiwan than it is to Manila. Getting there is not easy, and from what I hear, getting out of there is harder still. I’ve heard of people traveling there and getting stuck, because the plane can’t land due to the weather. The seas around Batanes are also quite turbulent, for it’s where the Pacific meets the South China Sea. So that means rough waters when crossing over to Sabtang island.

The airfare alone is enough to discourage travelers from going to Batanes. Upwards Php 10,000, some people would rather opt to spend this amount on a weekend jaunt somewhere else in the country or spend it on a round trip ticket to our Southeast Asian neighbors.

But it’s because of this isolation that makes Batanes appealing. This means the landscape is pretty much untouched, and the culture closer to its roots. I’ve heard nothing but praise for the beauty of this island, and for the simplicity and honesty of its people, and I want to experience it for myself.

And that is why I want to go to Batanes. Why would YOU want to go there?