Breathtaking Batanes: North Batan Travel Diary (Day 1)

We have finally arrived!! YEY!!! Now what? hahaha! Just kidding.

Anyways, the typical itinerary always start with a North Batan tour. Our Tour Guide, Kuya Dale asked us when we would like to start our tour, we told him that we'll just freshen up, fix our crowning glory and then we are ready to roll! Woooo! Hahaha! Yes! We couldn't be more excited!

Let us begin!

Our tour was not booked through a Travel Agency, as we all know, arranged tour packages could cost you a lot. One of our goals is to explore Batanes on a limited budget, what we did was ask some of our friends for some contacts in Batanes, and just like them, we had the Tricycle tour. yey!

We started our tour around 9 a.m., Kuya Dale picked us up from the Lodge (Marfel's/Triple MP) and yey! it only took us a few minutes to reach our first stop.

Welcome to Basco Arc

Welcome to Basco! 

Oooopsss. Sorry I couldn't get a nicer shot of this arc </3

This place has a small viewdeck too, tadaaa!!

Viewdeck *insert tiny voice here haha*

We only stayed here for a few minutes since we know that the next spots would be exciting!
We hopped in back to the tricycle and moved to our next attraction.

Mt. Carmel/Tukon Chapel

Another "ooops" photo. HAHAHA! Sorry! 

Knock knock!~ I'm fascinated with this door. <3

Ahhhh!!! Isn't it pretty?!! I'm so in love with this chapel, The stone structure, the flowers, the interior gahhh!! Very lovely indeed!!

Kuya Dale told us that Mr. Butch Abad's family was the one who donated this chapel for the locals. He also mentioned that this chapel was finished in 2006 and it became open to the public around 2008. The mass schedule here is every second Sunday of the month.

Our favorite spot, so far! This is just the second stop so let's move to our next attraction.

Pag Asa Radar Station

Let me tell you your future. Hahaha! But nahhh! This is not a crystal ball. 

I got a little curious and did a little research. I found out that this little cutie is called a "Campbell-Stokes Sunshine recorder".

You'd only spend a few minutes here since the vicinity is not that big, It would be nice If I could interview some of the workers inside this station but I don't have the guts to do it, soooo... ! Hahaha!

Anyway, don't forget to stroll around the area. It's one of the best place to get a nice view of Mt. Iraya.

View from the Pag Asa Radar Station

Moving forward, we went back inside the tricycle and proceeded to the next attraction.

Fundacion Pacita

Fundacion Pacita

This is the most expensive lodge in Batanes. The prominent family of the Abad's are the owners of this property. We only took pictures of the signboard though, We were too shy to walk inside the property since we do not have any reservations. Kuya Dale said that the cheapest rate in this lodge could be 9,000/ Night. We were like, Okayyy....Maybe next time! hahaha! but sure! why not? I mean, it would be nice if you could spend one of your Batanes Nights here for a change, right?

Now, let's roll to our next spot.

Dipnaysuhwan Japanese Tunnel

Kuya Dale mentioned that this tunnel is the safest one to enter among all of the other tunnels around Batanes. It's completely black out inside (well, it's a tunnel after all HAHA!), so turn on the flashlight of your phone because you would need it if you would like to explore the tunnel.

"Ano po yung susunod?" ("What's next?") is what we always ask our Kuya Dale. Hahaha! and here we are at the famous Valugan Boulder Beach.

Isn't it beautiful? Well, it's not your typical beach since swimming is not advisable, but what matters is the scenery of the natural landscape and the music that the sea and the stones bring.

After taking a few snaps, We jumped in to the tricycle so we can start exploring the other attractions. According to Kuya Dale, we were down to 3 spots for the day.

Here we are! Hello Santo Domingo Church/Basco Cathedral!

It is the oldest church in the land of Batanes. However, some parts of it have been damaged due to an earthquake. What we see now is the renovated structure. According to Kuya Dale, Half of it was made with cement and the other half is still the original structure made with Lime.

Ten Commandments in Ivatan

The provincial capitol is just beside the church and across it is the Municipal/City hall (which we thought was a fire station. LOL!)

Provincial Capitol 

Municipal Hall

It was just a quick stop and it didn't take us long to reach the next spot; Naidi Light House/Bunker's Cafe.

Front Door/ Bunker's Cafe

Naidi Lighthouse/Batanes Lighthouse

Naidi Lighthouse is the only accessible lighthouse in Batanes. It is good to take advantage of this because the view from the top of the lighthouse is stunning. Observe caution,  of course.

Now, we have to go to our last attraction for the day.
Wi arae, wi wi arae~ (up and down) is the best way to describe our ride going to the hills. Hahaha!

Anywho, here we are!

Vayang Rolling Hills

Hi Cams!

Talk about clean, fresh air! These hills are amazing! I wouldn't mind tumbling down like Jill did. Cows are everywhere! *cows and their poop actually. hahaha!* In fact, I was doing my dramatic poses somewhere until a cow walks by. I stood up quickly and ran away. hahahaha! It's not like I was scared or something, hahaha!  The cows kept on walking towards me and I felt like they were asking for a photo. So, Snapppp! They were very cute! 

Strike a pose! <3 Isn't she fab?!

Our first day was so fun! The tour lasted for 5 hours, I think? That tour made us hungry so we asked Kuya Dale to take us to the cute pizza and pasta place that we saw along the way. We arrived and found out that it was closed. Huhuhuhu! :( Kuya Dale recommended another Pizza and Pasta place around, we checked the Casa Napoli nearby, although, they won't open until 5 p.m (it was just around 1:30 by that time. :( ), the clerk from the store suggested to go visit their main branch which opens around 2, we were fine with that until we came and found out that the main branch is closed too! This was quite an adventure for food! I swear! hahahaha! We ended up eating at the Pension Ivatan. (I'll post a little review for this experience. :p)

We've stuffed ourselves with lots of food and after, we walked our way home to Triple M Lodge, it was just a few blocks away from the restaurant.

That actually concludes our First Day in Batanes! Next up? Sabtang Tour!