Philippine Travel Notes

I thought you said “km 0” is the Rizal monument in Manila (Luneta). Then why is that ass sitting at a “km 0” that does not look to be anywhere near Luneta? Now now, calm down my dear cayvan (that means friend in Ivatan). Especially in this country, there are always exceptions to every rule! The topic we had in the previous entry is if and when you can travel by land from Luneta (e.g., to Pili, Camarines Sur). That 'ass', is sitting at the kilometer marker in front of the Batanes Provincial Capitol which, as we know, is an island way up north, right? That is one such exception. When the province, city or town is on a separate island, what becomes “kilometer zero” is usually the highest seat of government on the island. And in this particular example, it’s the provincial capitol of Batanes located in Basco. That is why you also see “B” and another “0” below the “KM” and “0” because he is sitting at zero kilometers away from Basco, Batanes. He is in the very heart ...

Sabtang is southwest of the Batanes Island Group. It is a smaller island than Batan. Because of what folks in Basco were telling us, we decided to go to the island and check out what really is there to see. We were told the beaches are better and the stone-houses are in abundance. They assured us that the stone-houses there were still built just the way they were done years ago – unlike in the more “urban” towns of Basco, Mahatao and Ivana where houses already incorporate new styles, concrete balusters, jalousies and balconies plus even different hues of Boysen paint. That is what they all told us! So one early morning, we “stylishly” departed from the resort in a shining new Mitsubishi Adventure courtesy of our new-found friend, the bank manager. We were herded to the little strip of a beach across the street from the Ivana Church. This was the jump-off point to Sabtang, where everyone must take a boat-ride across the deep and dark sea waters of the Sabtang Channel. This is part...

Panoramas everywhere – for the eyes, for the intellect and for the soul! Skirting around Batan was such an extraordinary tour that took us to most parts of the island. This is the island where Basco, the capital, and some other towns are settled. Batan is still too far from the northern-most island of the province and yet also already too far away from the main island of Luzon! Early one morning, the resort crews woke us up to breakfast and advised us that the ‘commissioned’ vehicle, actually the same sarao jeep that met us at the airport, was ready for a tour around the island. Breakfast was more than continental! It consisted of our canned goods (corned beef, sausage pork-and-beans) plus fresh eggs, bread, fried rice, dried fish, fresh fruit-juice, hot chocolate and coffee from the resort! We requested that lunch be packed for us and loaded unto the jeep as we were told the leisurely trip would take a whole day. Aside from the driver, another of the resort’s staff went ...

Our “heavy” meal under the moon and the stars was a fine dinner like no other! The resort’s crews were clever enough to have turned-off our cottage “outside lights” – so that the candle-lit dinner table had a more fabulous feel! AND, as we had fun recalling the day’s activities and talking about the various sights we have encountered so far, dinner progressed into a “social drinking session”. We had beer from the resort’s bar and of course tequila that we brought along from Manila! Before I divulge our “drinking session”, let me first set the tone of how the night was in Basco! Electricity is “turned-off” at about midnight – not by the various households and establishments but by the power company itself! So imagine the whole town being pitch-dark every night. But many houses and of course the resorts do have their own generator sets if there would be a need for them to have electric power until the wee hours. Our resort rooms thankfully did not have radios or television ...