Batanes Day 2 Part 2 – Sabtang Island Conclusion

There is no shortage of beautiful sceneries in Sabtang island and the best was at Chamantad.

We walked down the hill all the way to the edge. Well I took a shortcut and almost slid down all the way. Luckily I got my balance and was able to put on the brakes.

Yes, I made it up there all by myself. I wish I wore sneakers instead of my crocs sandals.

Wherever I turn I see so much beauty. I took hundreds of pictures in Sabtang and it was really hard to pare it down to just these shots.

Uggghhh I almost died on the climb up. Pant, pant, pant….

Next stop was the small village of Chavayan.

The stone houses here were more preserved than those at Savidug.

We had a snack of fresh coconut water and camote q (sweet potato fried and coated with caramel)

camote q

After drinking the coconut water we had the coconut split open. We were given a piece of coconut shell to scoop out the super tender and young coconut meat.

We met Marcelo Hostallero who at 104 yrs. old was the oldest man in Batanes. He doesn’t look over 80. He still has excellent hearing and eyesight and still weaves fish nets to this day. He said he has never been to a hospital. I wonder what is his secret?

(picture c/o Wilson)

These houses were occupied by the residents of village.

I caught a boy happily swinging on his hammock.

This was the interior of the thatched hut where I took a nap.

En route to our last stop we stopped the van just to take more pictures of this beach.

Our last stop was Nakabuang Beach where we had lunch inside this structure.

This was a breadfruit leaf or locally known as kabaya. It’s commonly used as a plate liner in Batanes.

The soup was really oily and of an unknown origin. (imho)

pork adobo

sauteed veggies

Finally we got to eat really fresh lobster and coconut crab. The only problem was there wasn’t enough for 5 adults and 3 kids. At least we got to try the coconut crab. We determined that there wasn’t really anything special about it. Somehow we still preferred the crabs in Manila.

We did enjoy the super thick and meaty fish.

Spanish mackarel

This was my lunch. I actually brought raw bok choy from Manila which they cooked for me. All for my diet. Sigh.

Dessert was sweet sticky rice.

Our lunch for 5 adults and 3 kids cost P1,800. Not bad for a meal with lobster and coconut crab.

Nakabuang beach is known as “white beach”. This was one of the few beaches where you can actually swim. Too bad none of us brought swim wear.

Nakabuang Beach

The natural arc formed by rocks was a popular attraction at this beach.

(picture c/o Wilson)

After lunch and a short rest we were ready to go back to Batan island.

A guy waiting for ride had these live coconut crabs that he tried to sell to us. I read that coconut crabs are a threatened species in the Philippines thus buying or possessing them are illegal.

Coconut Crabs