Beyond Our World

Batanes Province, Philippines is a group of ten islands in the northernmost part of the Philippines. It is reached by a 40 min plane from Manila or shorter from Laoag, Ilocos Norte. It is already near the southernmost tip of Taiwan. Wide bodies of water circle these islands, the North is Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean merges with China Sea. It is also famous for frequent typhoon visits, that its old famous stone houses have meter-thick walls to withstand gusty winds. One of the most beautiful characteristics of Batanes is its zero rate of crime, the people are helpful and old traditions are still intact. Moreover, the climate is subtropical unlike the hotter temperatures in mainland Luzon.

Not many Filipinos have reached Batanes because only one airline goes there, making expenses a bit costly. Only determined tourists, travelers and nature photographers really take time to visit these islands, as it really is a haven for photographers.  Being in the typhoon belt, visitors must be prepared to stay longer when an unexpected typhoon arrived. The main island is Batan, where the airport and commercial district is located. Going to other inhabited islands like Sabtang or Itbayat takes 40 min to 4 hours, respectively. Due to climate change, they say typhoons are not anymore that frequent in Batanes.

The photos I posted here are all in Batan Island. My older post of these islands are HERE and HERE. 

 West side of Basco, the capital of Batanes

Valugan Beach facing Pacific Ocean

 View from Fundacion Pacita and Abad residence

grazing grounds for cattle

The House of Dakay, UNESCO heritage building,  in Ivana town is the oldest stone house being built of lime and stones in 1887. It survived an earthquake in 1918 which leveled off most structures in the area.   

Fundacion Pacita at the promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean

Some information links: 

http://www.ironwulf.net/2009/05/13/batanes-accommodations-and-places-to-stay-in-basco/

http://www.sabtang.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivatan_people

http://www.philsite.net/batanes.htm

http://www.batanesonline.com/Features/Majestic.htm

  

Continuation of my Idyllic Landscape

Batanes, Philippines sinked in so deep in my heart that instead of posting in again flowers, ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables, orchids; i opted to continue sharing with you some scenes i took. There are still a lot of photos, as we stayed there for 3 days during the Backpack Photography Workshop. I confess i am not yet knowledgeable with my camera, which i bought only in April, much moreso with photography. But it is not an excuse not to take photos. It is one thing sure, it is learned by practice. I hope i can give justice to the beauty of the place, and further hope they will merit your enthusiasm.

Fundacion Pacita is very accomodating to guests, whether tourists just wanting to roam around

We were privileged by the rainbow to be at the right time at the right place. The group of houses is the Fundacion Pacita Complex, as viewed from the Basco Lighthouse.

expanse of Batan Island landscape as viewed from the Lighthouse

One of the churches in Batan Island, Mahatao Church

Carabaos freely roam at what they call Marlboro Hills, but it is fenced at some areas

How do you like the clouds in Batanes?

This is a normal feast in Sabtang island. We had 3 lobster meals for 3 days, in addition to a lot more dishes. And it go very beautifully with yellow rice.

A newly constructed stone house in Sabtang, as tourism office

The Basco Lighthouse

A carabao oblivious to the full moon, which we all cherished. We had a difficult time chasing and disturbing the animal so it will raise its head for the picture, but it didn't budge.

My Idyllic Landscape

Instead of showing you the usual flowers and plants, i would like to share with you occasional landscapes from my travels. This time it is Batanes, the northernmost islands of the Philippines, between the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. This is composed of a few islands but only 3 (Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat) are inhabited. It is actually nearer to Taiwan at 190km than the northernmost tip of mainland Luzon, which is 860km. These islands are mostly coral reefs elevated above the water through time and aggravated by volcanic eruptions.

Fresh seafoods are plenty in Batanes, especially lobsters and some species of crabs. It is also famous for stone houses with very thick walls to withstand strong typhoos visiting the islands. The Ivatans (people of Batanes) are real kind and accomodating, and they are known for having zero crime rate. Batanes is reached by SEAir flights from Manila.
                                                                                                  

The "Marlboro Hills" a grassland for cattle, carabaos, horses and goats

Nakabuang Arch in Sabtang island

Nakabuang Beach in Sabtang Island

Mt Iraya, an active volcano but erupted a century ago

one of the many lovely coves in Sabtang island

Valugan Beach in Batan Island (the main island)

The Dakay House, oldest in Batan island, a UNESCO Heritage, the owner still lives there

Fundacion Pacita, a hotel-museum, owned by the Abad Family. Other buildings are not in photo

This fruit can be unusual for you!

This fruit is unusual for me, and i assume it is unusual for you too, Pandanus species, with multiple fruits. That means this is a bunch of fruits, not unlike a bunch of bananas, or a bunch of grapes. But the nearest similar in appearance is the pineapple, also a multiple fruit fused together in the pineapple fruit we are very familiar with.

I took these photos in Batanes, a group of islands in the northernmost tip of the Philippines. It is nearer toTaiwan than to Manila, which is 50 min by plane. In fact there was this joke that in Batanes you can hear the sounds of roosters when they croak every hour through the night.

But this plant is common also in other parts of the country especially near the seashores, where most of the resorts in the country are located. I have also glanced at a single fruiting plant near the Station I of Boracay.

 Several fruit bunches are born by this plant, and they almost ripened at the same time.

The plants are mostly seen in clusters near the seashores or top of the coral cliffs. Batanes islands are mostly uplifted corals, and lots of these Pandanus utilis plants are growing there.

Bigger older plants, which are almost like trees serve as roof  shelters for these carabaos in Imnajbu, Batan Island.  A herd of them lives in these quarters.

These are multiple fruits at closer view. Please look at the individual fruits detached from the bunch. I am not actually familiar with the use of the fruits, however our tour guide, Joax, informed me that these are eaten by the coconut crabs, which are common delicacy in the area.

Postcript: thanks to Floridagirl for the ID, Pandanus utilis.

For more information about this palm, origin, utilization and function please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_utilis

My Batanes Favorite

Mt Iraya peeping through the clouds for the tourists!

Windows of Batanes Stone Houses

I seem to have some fondness for windows in Batanes, both Batan and Sabtang Islands. Their windows are so small in proportion to the width of the house, understandably because of the frequent typhoons visiting the area. The stone houses with very thick walls are purposely built in the first place to address such frequent calamities. Stones...because these are abundant in the area.

The Dakay house in Batan island

the above 5 windows are from abandoned houses in Sabtang island
walls plastered lately to preserve it

Rows of Sabtang houses


a church window
window of the Basco lighthouse with Sharon