Going to Batanes has always been part of my travel wishlist, so when my friend invited me to tag along with her, I readily said yes. This is the first part of my series on Batanes, the smallest province of the country and located at its northernmost tip. Being constantly ravaged by typhoons, travel by sea and air is quite a challenge, thus its relative isolation for some time. Of the ten islands comprising the province, three are inhabited: Batan, Sabtang, and Itbayat. I was able to visit the first two. Basco, the capital, is located at Batan.
Mt. Iraya greeted us shrouded in clouds upon landing in Basco Airport. Mt. Iraya, a dormant volcano, reminds me of Legazpi's Mt. Mayon.
We arrived in this teeny airplane, just a few months after the resumption of Philippine Airline flights to Batanes. I was worried strong winds would prevent us from taking off in Manila, but the flight to Basco was uneventful.
The excitement won't let up when we landed. I've been quite to a few airports in the country, and the Basco airport has its own distinct charm.
The arrival area was abuzz with people, but civilians were there to greet and assist us.
Relics of the not-too-distant past provided us a peek of how the Ivatans, the people of Batanes, lived.
We passed through a narrow, winding trail for our ride from the airport to our hotel, Fundacion Pacita, owned by one of the prominent families of Batanes. I'll write about the hotel grounds later. For this post I'll focus on our beautiful hotel rooms.
We got the Mountain View Family Suite at Fundacion Pacita which has a private porch with swinging bench.
I love how the owners made sure there are plants all over the grounds, some with lovely blooms.
We had this picture-book pretty cerulean blue bench all to ourselves.
This is where we waited for the sun to rise.
Time to enter the suite.
This is where my friend slept. The suite featured two queen-sized bed.
We shared a toilet and bath. Note the wooden toilet seats.
This served as our informal dining table.
I spent two nights here on this bed.
I woke up to this awesome view.
Room 4, aka Terrace Suite Garden, was my favorite. I love the contrast between the salmon pink cabinet with the avocado walls.
I wanted to take these pillow cases home. Beautiful!
I love the attention to detail evident in the suites.
Wooden chairs in the same shade of blue in every suite.
I enjoyed my stay at Fundacion Pacita, the only drawback being the lack of TV or phone signal, but this is only minor for me. I could stay a week here, truly an escape from the madding world.
I'll post pictures of the our tour next.
