Thursday, February 04, 2016

BATANES SOLO BACKPACKING TRIP 2015 - Part 4

DAY 4 - FREE DAY

A relaxing bicycle ride around Basco town proper, wind and smile on my face, meet and greet with the warm, friendly and hospitable locals... That was how I imagined my fourth day in Batanes would be. The three-days group tour I availed at BISUMI Tour and Services ended the previous day, and since my flight back to Manila was still on the next day, 16th of December, I had the whole day free.

I woke up around between eight and nine in the morning. Took a shower, brushed my teeth and walked to Crisan Lodge to rent a bicycle. Bicycle rent costs P25-P30 per hour or you can rent if for the whole day (but as advised by Ate Crisan, it would be wiser and cheaper if you rent it by the hour, which I did).

I was itching to check out the souvenir shop that sells cheap but good quality items that Ate Let recommended us to visit. I asked one of the helpers at Crisan Lodge's mini grocery how to get there, and after a few bike turns here and there, I finally found TAWSEN Souvenir Shop.

My bike parked near the entrance of TAWSEN Souvenir Shop. (Matagal ko ng pangarap ang ganitong klase ng bike, yung may basket sa harap! hahaha)


TAWSEN... Island Dressing! #boom #corny

I bought five souvenir t-shirts (price per piece was around P180) and a small bottle of turmeric powder (P100 more or less), and the very kind shop helper from TAWSEN gave me a free Batanes keychain (how sweet!), all for a total price of P1K (or a bit more [hindi ko nanaman maalala, pero kung sakali, di lalagpas sa P100 yung excess] #kuripot).

Happy with my souvenir shopping, I went back to Beehan Food Enterprise to eat brunch.

Beehan Food Enterprise. Aside from bicycles, one can rent motorcycles/scooters (you need to have a driver's license) or make arrangements with a tricycle driver to drive you around Batan Island for the whole day or drive you from one point to another.

Can't get over of Batanes' Beef Nilaga (of course, with rice!)

During my research in November and early December about touring around Batanes, I already read that it's possible to bike around Batan Island but... it would be challenging because of the island's steep roads. That was why I just planned to tour around Basco town proper and would want to go back to Basco Lighthouse and Vayang Rolling Hills which we went to on our first day in Batanes as part of the North Batan Tour.

I dunno but my shy button was activated that day (opo, may nabili akong hiya bago pumunta ng Batanes, mura lang. #rawr). I was shy and hesitant to ask for directions even though I know the locals would easily point me to the right direction. So, I just decided to trust my gut, bike around, read the signs until I get to the lighthouse or the hills.

I made a few wrong turns, but after picking up and reading some signs, I was able to find my way to Basco Lighthouse. Although paved, the path to the lighthouse was super steep! I had to go down my bike and walk beside it up the hill towards the lighthouse. The easy-breezy bike ride turned into a full cardio workout!

Exercise pa more! I remembered that the climb was a bit challenging, and I was still exhausted from the bike ride, so I decided not to go up the view deck.

Tourist Registration in Basco Lighthouse

The sun cast a shadow on a grassy part of the lighthouse so I laid there just watching the sea of clouds above. Moments passed, I decided to head on out to find my way to Vayang Rolling Hills. The road I went on was uphill... again.

Several minutes of uphill mixed biking and walking (I even passed by dogs that barked at me #ScaredyCat), I finally gave up and settled to head back to the town proper and eat-out my frustration, which turned out to be still an awesome experience because the bike ride back was downhill! #ExtremeAwesomeness #WooohoooMoment

I came back to Beehan and ordered their special pancit.

Beehan's Special Pancit #PGModeOn

'Twas already mid-afternoon when I returned the bike to Crisan Lodge. I walked back to Berlen Lodge to eat what was left in my stash of food (sorry na... gutom lang) and took a nap for an hour or two. After my refreshing nap, I remembered Ate Crisan's suggestion to bike at Basco airport's runway. She told me that locals and tourists are allowed to go to inside the airport and walk, jog, run, or bike around the runway three or four pm onwards, since flights to/from Batanes are only in the morning (til probably early in the afternoon).

I went back to Crisan Lodge, rented the same bike and drove my way to the airport.

Basco Airport Terminal Building (Arrival and Departure Area)

Welcome to Batanes sign board

Photo-op of my bike with a parked plane

Basco Airport Runway. Fellow bikers up on the track

End of the runway (where planes take-off/touch-down)


Dusk

It was already dark when I returned the bike at Crisan's Lodge. I came there just in time to see Drs. Jet and Leo who just arrived from Sabtang for the funeral of Dr. Florentino Hornedo.

*** info break start ***

Drs. Jet, Leo and Florentino are doctors of philosophy from UST. It was also surprising for me to learn that Dr. Florentino Hornedo finished his Master's Degree in English and Philosophy in my Alma Mater, Saint Louis University, Baguio City. More about Dr. Florentino Hornedo in this wikipilipinas page: WikiPilipinas Florentino Hornedo

*** info break end ***

And as our last night in Batanes, Drs. Jet and Leo were gracious enough to invite me over for dinner, together with Kuya Mon and Ate Crisan and two other PhDs from UST (once again, I failed to remember their names. All I remember is that one of them is a priest and the other is almost there in getting his PhD).

Guess where they treated us for dinner? Pension Ivatan Restaurant (The Home of Ivatan Cuisine) *squeals*

According to Kuya Mon/Ate Crisan, their original restaurant/hotel was being renovated at that time

What's special about this restaurant? If one would google the top restaurants to dine at in Batanes, Pension Ivatan would surely be in all of those search results. The reason being is they serve a unique plate full of native Batanes dishes, the Ivatan Platter.

The glorious Ivatan Platter

Check out this looloo insights post about Pension Ivatan, the Ivatan Platter and other Batanes restaurants: 5 Must-Try Restaurants In Basco, Batanes

While planning for my Batanes trip, I was hoping (and praying that my tight budget would permit) to taste one of their specialties, the Coconut Crab. Every blog post about Batanes food raved about this delicacy and had me drooling to sample this dish. I thought I wasn't going to see, much more have a bite, of the coconut crab because of its rarity (already considered endangered so I think capture of these species is closely monitored) and price. 

I really thanked God for Drs. Leo and Jet. They made my post-birthday solo trip to Batanes a special and unforgettable one.

Aside from the Ivatan Platter, we also ordered seafood kare-kare and fern salad.

Seafood Kare-Kare (Yum!) and Extra Rice (for the hungry boys)


Fern Salad (Refreshingly Delicioso!)

(L-R): The priest, the almost there PhD, Dr. Leo, Moi (hindi naman masyadong halata na sobrang saya ko di ba? hihihi), Dr. Jet, Kuya Mon and Ate Crisan.

The night was filled with laughter and stories about Batanes, Dr. Florentino Hornedo, the Ivatan culture, about life and more. The big boys had their beers while I, being the youngest in the group, was busy sampling all the food in the platter (especially the Coconut Crab that had a milky rich taste #LuuuvIt #HappyKiddo) and genuinely interested listening to their conversations.

Looking at this group picture (and the food, hahaha) brings back wonderful memories of my Batanes trip. I hope to meet them again someday, especially Drs. Jet and Leo , to show a gesture of thanks in return for their kindness.

My next and last (short) post will be about my bitter-sweet last day in Batanes.

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Location: Batanes, Pilipinas

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