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After failed attempts, I finally checked one item in the bucket list - thanks to Lou who loves travel as much as I do! He got promo flights last January for Manila-Basco-Manila, and had them scheduled on August 20-25 (2011). Why not, it was discounted by 50%, or 15k round trip for two people! But the catch was, like what I said, it was scheduled on August - a rainy (or even stormy) month, making the entire trip prone to cancellation. tsk! Though, after offering a mass prior to the trip, and a sundance before sleeping (LOL), God blessed us with a very very very beautiful weather. And so Leda Lakwatsera adds N more posts to this blog! Okay let's start...
DAY 1 - BASCO TOUR
As what most sites suggest, this tour doesn't take up the entire day. This can be scheduled immediately after settling in your hotel, and this can end just on time for the sunset. Because it didn't sound complicated, Lou and I opted to rent a tricycle for this. Thanks to Cris (our day 4 tour guide), he recommended Mang Romy - a trike driver and tour guide in one, who can tour 2-3 tourists with his tricycle, for only P200 per hour. (Contact details at the end of this post)
Tukon Chapel. First stop was Tukon Chapel - a small chapel that's built like the traditional stone houses of Batanes. When we got there, it was closed, but Mang Romy opened all doors like he owned it -- according to him, anyone can open it anyway. Whoa, Mang Romy!
Before I can comment that it's a very nice chapel for small weddings (it's solemn looking and elegant, reminds me of Caleruega!) ...he mentioned some personalities who recently had their weddings in Tukon Chapel. And that night, before I shared it my friends who are already engaged, coincidentally Yahoo news published a list of wedding destinations. Yep, because of this beautiful chapel, Batanes is on the list!
Birchtree, the cow, passed by the church for a moment!
(yes, seriously, his name is Birchtree!)
Tukon Radar. He then brought us to Tukon Radar Station - just a few minutes from Tukon chapel. I originally wanted to skip this, assuming there's nothing really spectacular in it -- boy, I was wrong! It had a spectacular view!
Tukon Radar is actually PAGASA's station, the spot where they monitor the weather, apparently.
So what's up with the term Tukon? Mang Romy said it means HILLTOP. Oh, makes sense!
Actually, from the viewing deck, you'd see Tukon Chapel!
Fundacion Pacita. Next stop was Fundacion Pacita. At first I was hesitant to go inside this awesome bed and breakfast place, after our hotel's operations manager informed us that it's no longer open to non-guests. But -- I SWEAR -- Mang Romy's THE MAN, he said that the staff know and trust him, so there's no reason why we can't get inside!
Fundacion Pacita's as beautiful as it was projected in its website - The landscape is clean and unconventional, it has a perfect view of the pacific ocean, and everything inside felt homey. That's why I dreamt of having at least one night here. Good it didn't push through -- not only was it expensive, it is also currently under renovation! With the ongoing constructions, no guest can check-in at the moment. My wish stays the same though -- to have at least one night here, next time, when I'm in Batanes just to relax.
Japanese Tunnel. Then Mang Romy brought us to a tunnel used by the Japanese during WW2. We didn't go inside anymore, but we hiked a bit to reach its top, or the soil above the tunnel. There you'd see the tunnel's 3 windows facing 3 different views: pacific ocean, china sea, and the airport. And yes there you'd see the runway clearly, which is actually just at the foot of Mt. Iraya.
Valugan Beach / Boulder Beach. The Boulders are really massive, actually even more massive than I imagined! Mang Romy explained that these huge rocks were spewed by Mt. Iraya years ago, and were smoothened by the waves of the pacific ocean over the years. Amazing right? As you might have noticed though, this place isn't a good place to swim, waves are not calm and it requires a lot of effort to reach the shore. It's still pretty in pictures though, so you shouldn't skip this one! :) (FYI - Dawn Zulueta's ad of ph Care was shot here!)
Vayang Rolling Hills. Now the most awaited part - to see some rolling hills! Batanes is so known for this, in fact I WENT TO BATANES JUST FOR THE BEAUTIFUL HILLS, they make Batanes Scotland-like as they say. Vayang just happened to be my first encounter, making it my personal favorite. hehe!
Basco Lighthouse / Naidi Hills. Now the finale - Basco Lighthouse! One word to describe this: ROMANTIC. Sadly, the lighthouse was closed, perhaps coz it was a saturday? Oh well. We were really meant to call it a day, besides we were already tired and hungry from that half-day sunny tour.
I think it's a really beautiful spot (and again, romantic.), it definitely shouldn't be the last destination of tired tourists on their first day. Well... watch out for day 3, when we went back to this place to experience the beautiful sunset! Stand by, folks!!! (Stand by for the coming setbacksunday posts!)
We do recommend Mang Romy!
Call/Text him at 0949-6923256
(If you can't reach him, let me know)
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