*I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand.* ~Leonardo da Vinci~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Che (my favorite cousin) and Elch (my one and only best friend) left Quezon City a little past 2AM to catch our very early flight to Batanes and to meet the rest of the Team. There were a lot of passengers awaiting their flights to different parts of the Philippines. Some of the flights down South were delayed because of a bad weather and our flight was not spared. We boarded our plane still in high spirits even after almost an hour of delay in departure. 
The wonderfully cranky Batanes weather (as I would love to describe it during our trip) adds up to its charm of being unreachable by many. And when it’s unreachable, the more we want to be there. It was my first time to take an Asian Spirit flight and it was good (in an uneventful kind of way). I was expecting a 2-hour direct flight to Basco but it only took us a little over an hour to reach it. Even before we hit the runway, we were treated to a preview of Batan Island (one of the three Batanes islands) with its rolling hills, cliffs and plains embraced by the white foams of the seas on every side (it made Bosley start to sing *the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-0f-music*). 
We were fetched by Kuya Manny (not only a very good tour guide but also one of the *goodest* people I have ever met) and we were welcomed by a very, very cold weather. Don’t be fooled with my get-ups in our photos. I guess the adrenaline rushing through my veins got me through the almost paralyzing temperature.  Okay, let me tell you how our first day in Batanes went with these photographs. I can’t do Photoshop so the clouds in them will also tell you how fast the weather changes in Batanes. For everyone planning to go to the island without a tour package, I hope our itinerary could help you. For a five-day tour and with a group of nine budget-conscious travelers, we spent 5k pesos per head. Not bad having seen most of what the Island could offer.
ENJOY our day one – at least parts of it! 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In Basco, the capital town of Batanes, we checked in here. It is a government-run inn with friendly and helpful staff, clean rooms, cable TV (that’s why we were able to watch the heart-breaking finale of The Amazing Race Asia 2) unlimited drinking water and coffee supply and a water heater to get you through the daily (ideally) task of bathing. Accommodation is very affordable. 
Then, off we went to have our breakfast. Here is a tip. All your meals should be pre-ordered in Batanes. The *fastfood* concept is quite uncommon which is actually refreshing as you really put more thought about your food combinations during a meal. Kuya Manny did this for our first breakfast in the island and for the rest of the days, the come-back kid, Lara girl, did a wonderful job ordering our meals.
Before our Day One tour officially started, I found these scenes interesting. The quiet merging of the old and new in the island. 
 The first stop was the STO. DOMINGO CHURCH. I believe this was the first trip we had with a church being on the first of the list of the must-sees. Every one said their little prayers and off we went to our jeepney ride around the island. 
The roads we took were almost always long, winding and sometimes dusty but the sceneries were all worth it. I had a lot of jeepney road trips but Batanes is not like any other place I have been in. Some modern things are silently creeping in the island but its landscapes still dominate Her magnificence.
The next stop was the CHAWA VIEWDECK in Mahatao. Kuya Manny had to tell us to be careful and in a very polite way asked us to keep our excitement in check. Maybe he saw our daredevil streaks during the first part of the ride. He also told us about a tragic death on that place because of its strong winds and waves. We are really obedient boys and girls so we calmed down a bit. We called the place The Washing Machine because of the sea waves’ white froth and lather.
This is still in Mahatao. One of the very few parts where the water is peaceful making boats like this looks really floatey.
We continued to explore Mahatao where we saw the SAN CARLOS BORROMEO CHURCH. 
and these…  
We also dropped by the WHITE BEACH which caused a dispute between the municipalities of Mahatao and Ivana. Some wastes of some Taiwanese and foreign vessels are scattered here. Now, it seems like neither Mahatao nor Ivana wanted to take care of it which is quite sad. However, Kuya Manny told me how Batanes is really serious with its waste management encouraging the people of proper garbage segregation and recycling. 
Batanes has six municipalities and four of which are in the island of Batan. These are Basco (which is the capital), Mahatao, Ivana and Uyugan. The other two are the islands of Sabtang and Itbayat. I am ending this weblog entry with our visit to Ivana where we met an old Ivatan woman who gamely posed with us in our photographs. Her face and attitude are like other things in Batanes – living or non-living. They have braved the biggest of waves and the fiercest of winds and with time, they have become wonderful reminders of how important resilience is. 
DAY 1 …to be continued. 
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