Beyond the Photo: Beach Bumming in Bagasbas

The ultimate beach bumming experience is when you have an absolutely nothing to do except waste the day on the shore under the summer sun - down a few drinks, read a book you've been dying to finish, pick a few sticks of bbq street food, and dive into the wild waves that playfully spit you back out to the shore. Relieved that we survived our one-week romp through the Bicol Region, we savored the downtime in Bagasbas - the last stop in our trip with our crazy itinerary behind us.

Bagasbas Beach. Daet, Camarines Norte - April 2011.

This was our BUSY schedule: We left Cubao in Manila Palm Sunday. Holy Monday we swam with Whale Sharks in Donsol, visited the ruins of Cagsawa, tried to get a glimpse of Mt. Mayon  (she skillfully hid behind a thick cloud) and spent the night in Camsur Watersports Complex after miserably failing at wakeboarding. Holy Tuesday we hied off to logistically elusive Caramoan but finally arrived before sunset despite the transportation challenges. Holy Wednesday we went on an early morning island hopping tour of the Caramoan Islands and had an amazing breakfast on a secluded white-sand island, we headed to Naga right after and caught onward bus to Daet. My sister Marija joined the trip at this point, our shuttle van picked her up in Pili. Holy Thursday we braved the waves on a rickety boat for 2hours on the way to jaw-droppingly-pretty Calaguas Islands where we spent the whole day with JM's clan - which meant we were free to act like kids in a family beach picnic. Which brings us to...

Good Friday - with all to-dos masterfully crossed out of our ambitious checklist, we could finally wind down and take things slow. We allowed ourselves to sleep in late, have a prolonged and lazy breakfast, and play  around with the kids. We headed to Bagasbas to bask in the morning sun, and it was simply magical feeling to have nothing to do looming over you. Finally we could exhale deeply, relax our clenched muscles and just let time run its course without worrying. We could have tried surfing, but we were simply too lazy even for that, and just opted to skimboard. Walked around town after that, went back home and slept some more. Ahhhhhh, a perfect way to end a great adventure. 

Beyond the Photo: Distress Call

Once... we were in the middle of a punishing six-hour trek up the Singnapan Valley and through the Matalingajan mountain range when my mobile phone started ringing wildly - it was so alien amidst the gentle sounds of the rainforest.

Anna taking an overseas call in the heart of the rainforest

For four days we were staying with a Tau't Bato family and the ten days prior we were with a Palaw'an community on the other coast of Southern Palawan up Mount Gantung. The areas were so remote we had minimal access to the modern world, until that moment.

I answered the call, and a lady with a thick aussie accent anxiously inquired if I was Raffy Vicente, and asked to talk to Anna immediately. It was Anna's MOM!! We found it so amusing at first, your mum calls out of the blue while trekking in the heart of the rainforest.

Turns out she was in a semi-panic and wanted to check our condition because a typhoon was about to hit the Philippines and was on a direct collision course with Southern Palawan. Anna assured her that we were okay, it was sunny in fact with great blue skies and I told them that we get typhoons all the time and staying safe wouldn't be problem. So we carried on, reached Rizal  town after several more hours, spent the night by the beach and rode off to Puerto Princesa before sunrise the next day.

In Puerto, we ambled to a convenience store to get supplies and our jaws dropped when we saw the newspaper headlines: TYPHOON SENDONG. Hundreds dead - in just one night as mammoth flash floods washed away towns in Northern Mindanao. Barely a week before Christmas, it brought unprecedented devastation that affected hundreds of thousands of  families.

We were unbelievably lucky. Turns out Anna's mum was not overreacting at all.

*Beyond The Photo will be a series of travel snapshots and the personal stories behind it. We all get a flood of memories surrounding that moment captured in a photo - and that's what I want to share.

Batanes Travel Guide & Notes + Top 10 Moments

It's been over 2 years since my epic Batanes adventure, only getting around to sharing this guide now. I am super sorry!! hehehe. Hope that people will still find this guide to be helpful, relevant and inspiring. If you've booked your Batanes trip and are in the planning process - I hope this guide will be a good reference to refine and help you prioritize your itinerary. If you're still thinking of going to Batanes - I hope this pushes you to actually book because it's one of the most awesome places in the Philippines!

Click here to download The Budget Traveller Batanes Travel Guide & Notes

The Budget Traveller Batanes Travel Guide & Notes I pepared includes the following:

• Summary of things to do in Batanes - in around Basco, Batan Island & Sabtang Island
• List of towns & villages and their main attractions
• Summary of awesome lookout view points
• Places to eat
• Budget and cost of goods/services listing
• Contact directory of restaurants, lodging, tour operators & service providers

Click here to download The Budget Traveller Batanes Travel Guide & Notes

Getting that out of the way, here's a rundown of my Top 10 Batanes Moments

1. Claiming SanTan's Canteen as our hangout spot. We wasted our hours here reading, drinking Kalinga coffee, eating BBQ & devouring the BEST burgers. The book exchange was a big plus too!

2. Discovering one of the best pizzas in my life at Casa Napoli! The owner Xavier worked with Italians in a cruise ship, and wonderfully makes do with scarce ingredients on the island. He also has a secret stock of Lavazza coffee - which he gladly shared with us :-)

Casa Napoli

3. The climb to Mt. Iraya was EPIC. What we thought would be a leisurely climb turned out to be a 9.5 hour test of spirits. It rained hard before we reached the summit. We crawled through mud & instant waterfalls. The wind was punishing at the summit - we were freezing, still drenched in rain. But we got a spectacular glimpse of the whole island on our way down, thankfully.

With my cousin Laida at the summit of Mount Iraya - wet and chilly

4. Discovering the Ivatan villages of Sabtang Island - Savidud, Chavayan, Nakanmuan and Sumnanga. It's like being transported to some fairy tale land with stone houses and breathtaking landscapes.

Old Ivatan lady walking the streets of Sumnanga Village, Sabtang Island

One of the stone houses standing proudly in Chavayan Village, Sabtang Island 

5. The 45minute boat crossing between Ivana and Sabtang was like Laida said, a 4x4 ride through the seas. The Ivatan boats don't have a "katig" because the waves don't have a real wave pattern, they sprout out from all around. It was wild!

On the commuter boat crossing from Sabtang to Ivana

6. The trip to Mahatao, on foot. Fresh from the airport - with no sleep from our New Year celebrations - we ventured on foot to Mahatao. Half-way through the 8km way, we decided to take a trike. Once in Mahatao, we walked to the lighthouse... it turned out to be another 3km. Waaaaah! The locals think we're funny.

7. Biking to Valugan bay, With joints and muscles still reeling from the prior day's abuse from the Iraya climb. We had to walk some parts, and I had to push Laida for "bwelo" at some point. But it was fun, and the Valugan Boulder Beach was a spectacular sight to behold.

Valugan Boulder Beach

8. SEAIR canceling our flight - two times, and forcing us to extend 4 days. Good thing they covered our lodging and food - we moved from Ivatan Lodge to Batanes Seaside Resort (hot water! a proper breakfast! cable tv!). But I never ever had my blood boiling as much in my life - SEAIR handled things very very poorly, they were frustrating, I just felt helpless.... I don't want to think about it anymore.

At the Basco Airport, on the phone with SEAir officials as we trying to secure a flight home

9. Waking up on our 2nd to the last day to find the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen! It was so clear from end to end, rising from the middle of the sea and ending with the Basco lighthouse at its foot. It was actually a double rainbow - but the 2nd one not so clear in the photo.

Beautiful rainbow seen from the rooftop of Batanes Seaside Resort

 
10. Swimming on our last day, the moment we saw the sun come out. It was quick but fun - for the sake of taking underwater photos! hahaha. The water was cold and very clear, the current was strong though. Scary.

Click here to download The Budget Traveller Batanes Travel Guide & Notes