I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t seen much of the beauty of the Philippines. All I see everyday is the hustle and bustle of city life in Manila. I don’t enjoy seeing pollution and traffic everyday. That’s why I was very excited to see Batanes.
The Province of Batanes is the northernmost and the smallest province of the Philippine Republic, both in terms of population and land area. The provincial capital is Basco. (Wikipedia)
On our first day we checked in to Batanes Resort, our home for four days. After lunch we started our tour at the Tukon Church. Of all the churches we went to in Batanes this was my favorite due to it’s architecture and details.
Tukon Church
The ceiling had beautiful frescoes of saints.
I loved all the wood work in the church.
The Tukon church was a project of Dina and Butch Abad for the residents nearby to have a place to go to mass instead of going to a much farther church in town.
Our next stop was the Basco Pagasa Station.
Basco Pagasa Station
I wasn’t listening so I didn’t really know what was so special about this weather station. All I understood was there was some beautiful views surrounding it.
This simple looking device was used to measure rainfall.
rain gauge
This wasn’t a crystal ball. Through research I learned that this was called a Campbell–Stokes recorder otherwise known as a sunshine recorder. Neat huh?
Campbell–Stokes recorder
Sunny or cloudy, I just liked the picture I took through the sphere.
From the top of the weather station we could see the church we came from.
The Japanese Tunnel served as a hideout of the Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Japanese Tunnel
The entrance was really low and you had to duck-walk towards the back where you could stand. It was cooler as you went in. We didn’t go further in.
One of my favorite destinations was the Valugan Bay. The beach had a kilometer long stretch of fine white beach with large multi-colored rocks.
Valugan Bay
I walked down the huge rocks slowly, step by step while the three boys ran and skipped from rock to rock.
I’ve never seen anything like this. Really amazing.
The next church we went to was located in Basco’s town proper. The Sto. Domingo church was the oldest church in Batanes. It was built in 1812 under the supervision of Dominican friars. It was also one of the first limestone buildings built under the Spanish regime.
Sto. Domingo Church
The ten commandments in Ivatan.
Part 2 here.
Shoot First Eat Later 