A TRIP TO
January 2010
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 Approach to mysterious Itbayat Island |
The crossing. A trip to Itbayat starts with a rough crossing from Basco, Batanes, to the Chinapoliran landing in Itbayat on a falowa (wide-hulled local boat). The Itbayat airport was closed for reconstruction, leaving no choice but a sea crossing. We took the M/S Itransa at 7am at the Basco pier. The boat is mainly used for cargo but takes a few passengers. Trips are daily if weather permits. After 3 hours in open ocean, the boat reaches the Southwest tip of Itbayat and then hugs the western shore for one hour up to the landing. The coast is nothing but sheer 100-meter cliffs or steep rocky slopes. There is no beach at all. Three boat landings with stairs or steep trails to the top can be seen along the way. The scenery is breath-taking, with white limestone cliffs and grassy land above. A few birds of prey were seen along the way, including two Ospreys. In places the surf rushes below cavities under the rocks and create an curious noisy high-pressure water jet. | |
 The Southwest corner of Itbayat |  100-meter high cliffs |
The rugged western coastline of Itbayat
The landing. To land, you need to jump from the boat to a concrete landing. Since the boat swings up and down with the ocean swell, you have to jump just when the boat is level with the landing. You then climb a long flight of stairs to a cemented road where a dump truck awaits passengers and brings them to Mayan, the only town on the island about 2 kms away.
 Approach to Chinapoliran landing |  The steep ramp to the road | |
 Jumping off the M/S Itransa |
| Mayan is a pretty little town set in a verdant bowl, with many traditional Ivatan stone houses and an old Spanish church from the 18th century. No hotel here, only government guest houses and homestays. We stayed at the homestay of Faustina Cano, who is simply known there as Nanay, for P150 per person (tel. 0919 3004787). She was a delightful host. The food was delicious, in particular the coconut crabs, a specialty of Itbayat. |  |  |
 The old Spanish church of Mayan |  Traditional Ivatan houses in Mayan |  |
| Torogan Cave. The truck then brought us near Torogan cave, a
few kms Southeast of Mayan. After a 30-minute pleasant hike, we walked down
though a forest to the entrance of the cave. One of us spotted two Whistling
Green-Pigeons in the forest, an uncommon bird only found in Batanes, Babuyan
Is, and |  Entrance of Torogan Cave |
 View of the ocean from inside Torogan Cave |  Torogan Cave and walking trail seen from the sea |  Spectacular Di'nem Island | |
 The coast seen from above Torogan Cave. Voyavoy tree in foreground |  The trail above Torogan cave, Di'nem Island in the distance |
 Woman wearing the Vakul near Mayan |
Rapang Cliff and Nahili du Votox. We were planning to journey back to Basco the next day, but the wind had strengthened and turned to the North. A bell rings in Mayan at 7am when the boats leave Basco for the daily round-trip to Itbayat. No bell, no boat. We waited for the bell that morning but it never came. But we didn’t regret it. We hiked the whole day from Mayan about 4 km though agricultural land, forests and grassland to Rapang Cliff, a breath-taking setting facing the ocean, in very strong winds. We spotted a group of uncommon migrant birds, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, probably on a rest stop on their way back North. At the foot of the cliffs, we rang a natural stone bell believed to have been used in old times to call meetings. From there we walked south to Nahili du Votox, an ancient Austronesian settlement dated 4000 years ago, with more spectacular views of the coastline and Di’nem Island. We also walked past a good number of boat-shaped burial sites, some still containing human bones and pottery shards. |
 The trail to Rapang Cliff |  Stormy weather near Rapang Cliff |
 The stone bell at the foot of Rapang Cliff on a rainy day |  Boat-shaped burial site |
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Trees of Batanes. Interesting trees were identified along the trails, including the Voyavoy (a variety of the date palm Phoenix hanceana endemic to Batanes, used to make the Vakul or typical Batanes headgear), Arius (Podocarpus costalis, endemic to Batanes and Northern Luzon), Liwas (Drypetes falcate, a Batanes endemic widely planted in towns there), and Valintau (Diospyros ferrea, widespread in Asia and the Pacific, but particularly common in Batanes). |  Voyavoy (Phoenix hanceana var. philippinensis) |  Arius (Podocarpus costalis) |
Embarking for Basco. The following day the bell rang at 7am and we took the M/S Ocean Spirit, which left around noon with 6 passengers, a carabao and a pig. We observed with fascination as the boats from Basco were unloaded, and the cargo then loaded on a cart pulled by a cable along a very steep ramp. The cable passed through a pulley and was pulled by the truck driving slowly up the road. The carabao was brought down the same way, all tied-up, before being loaded by six men on the boat, which itself was swinging wildly up and down with the ocean swell! That was quite a show. The journey back was rough and wet as we were now facing the southeasterly wind. |  The M/S Ocean Spirit arriving from Basco |
 Carabao brought down on a cable cart |  Carabao being loaded on the boat |  Ready to sail! |
Itbayat is a magical place to visit. The friendliness of its people and its haunting beauty remain with you long after you have left its shores.