10/16/08

It seems that Ivatans have a penchant for painting their doors blue.

This is a random door I chanced upon while walking along Abad Street in Basco.

A church door is left ajar in Mahatao allowing light to creep in.

A lighthouse’s blue door.

Now why blue?

10/11/08

A trip to Batanes isn’t complete without a smattering of rain.  Being vulnerable to most of the typhoons and weather disturbances that enters the country, a visitor to Batanes is bound to experience a climate glitch. Although this spells disaster to many a color photographer, for black and white photographers it may just be a beautiful day.

There’s a certain charm to the way houses are made in Batanes. Here’s a pair of windows I found in Abad Street in Basco.

Up in the Naidi Hills, a pale horse is perched, undaunted and unmoving.

My companions, standing against a faint, cloud-covered sun.

The sky looks so heavy, as if it’s going to fall in the sea.

A cow attempts to defy his status quo. I think it’s just cruel to show a cow all the world it can have and then tie him to one place.

Once you go black, you can’t go back.

10/09/08

I went to Batanes for the first time on October of 2007. I did it alone and for most of the time, the pounding rains kept me inside of the room I rented for the good 6 days I was there.

One year after, I found myself in Batanes again. But this time, I joined a Travel Factor tour and was blessed with glorious weather.

Here are some of the landscapes that I’ve managed to capture.

Marlboro Country is really a site to behold. It spans hills upon hills of perfectly green grass sprinkled with cows, goats and sometimes an occasional horse. In the distance is the cloud-topped Mt. Iraya.

The Tukon Radar Station is one of the highest points in Basco and commands a 360 degree, unadulterated view of Batanes. Hedgerows fill the foreground until it yields to the great sea and ended by the infinite sky.

I took this shot in the vicinity of the Pacita Abad House located atop one of Basco’s rolling hills. I don’t know but somehow it reminds me of a small shack in the Alps. I guess that’s one of Batanes’ appeals - being completely different from the usual landscape we are used to.

It doesn’t seem possible but traveling further from Basco and Batan Island even gives you more breathtaking sceneries. I shot this in Sabtang, aboard a jeepney.

This has been shot so many times over, possibly with the exact same angle. It just begs to be photographed.

We stopped for a while at Songsong Bay and these army of clouds attracted my attention immediately.

Batanes is just, oh so worth it.

Batanes or Bust!

4/12/08

Yesterday was an ordinary Friday summer day. Already, people were packing their stuff to get away for the weekend while I languished with the idea of being stuck in Manila. I was feeling terribly, terribly envious as status messages in Yahoo Messenger were all beaming with weekend plans. I think at some point I even felt feverish.

My week’s workload was done and so my idle hands led me to different airline websites. I normally check out these sites for promos and limited offers. And by God, Asian Spirit was giving seats away! It seems that they’ve jumped at the pre-selling bandwagon (which is all the rage in the airline industry these days) and timed it with their 12th anniversary celebration. I did a sample search and at Zero Fare, a roundtrip to Batanes came out at P2,480. F*ck that’s fu*king cheap!

Valugan Beach, Batanes

I immediately messaged people about my golden discovery and within minutes, Leia and Tyx of Travel Factor were all set to buy tickets! We agreed to spend 1 week in Batanes and chose October 1-8 thinking and hoping that by then, the rainy season would have passed already. By the next hour, we were convincing our usual travel buddies who attempted to resist but later on gave in to temptation. Man, Batanes is really persuasive! As of the moment, I think there are around 12 of us who’ve purchased tickets. Promo is available ’till April 15, Tuesday. Click here to book one!

I went to Batanes last year with my ticket costing almost P12,000. Although it wasn’t on my tab, that’s still an awful lot concerning that it’s just a domestic flight. I paid P2,480 for my roundtrip this time!

Anyway, the trip is still a million months away and I plan to completely forget about it ’till then. I’ve got months to save up to pay for that trip. Hehe.

Back to regular programming.

4/1/08

Travel blogs all over have been ranting about how all the Asian Spirit flights to Basco, Batanes are all fully booked for the summer, June being the next book-able date. Summer really is the best time to visit the northern isles and I will attest to that. (I visited Batanes during a very wet October.) I don’t know however if Batanes lends the same quiet and brooding mood during the sun and tourist-filled months.

To answer this shortage, Seair will begin flying the Manila-Basco route every Tuesdays and Saturdays (with return flights on the same days) starting April 8. Ticket sales will be handled by the Batanes Cultural Travel Agency (BCTA) which chartered the flights. Big time!

BCTA may be reached at their Makati office at (02)810-0988. They’re found online here.

I wonder how much a roundtrip flight would cost.