This is my review of our stay at Rapitan di Vasay.

In Ivatan language, Rapitan di Vasay translates to a place to stay in Vasay, which is the eastern part of Basco.  It used to be the residence of Don Vicente Barsana, the first Ivatan Governor of Batanes and is now being managed by his great grand children.

Inquiry and Reservations
I made the inquiry through their official website’s contact form.  The owner herself answered my queries promptly.  She’s very helpful too and suggested that we bring jackets because the weather can be very fickle.

After reserving their Idawud room, we were asked to deposit the payment via their PNB account, which was a hassle for me since PNB is in Cebu City, which is an hour from Mactan.  I’m hoping that in the future, they will come up with credit card payments for everyone’s convenience.

Arrival
Kuya Ireneo, the cousin of the owner who also acts as its caretaker picked us up from the airport.  Rapitan di Vasay was a mere 10 minute ride from the airport.  As mentioned on a previous post, it is walking distance from Basco’s church, town plaza, municipal hall, and school.

Accommodations
As mentioned earlier, our room is Idawud.  It has one queen-sized bed and a single bed.  Its view is that of a garden of bougainvilleas.

The room was clean and quite spacious.  On the downside, it had no bathroom as it’s shared between the occupants of their rooms (from my inquiries, most accommodations in Batanes have this arrangement).  Fortunately, the couple on the other room was due out when we arrived so after they left, we had the whole house (and bathroom) to ourselves since the third room, Kagtin, was also unoccupied.

The living room, dining area, and front porch were also common guest areas.

Basically, all the house’s facilities are shared among the occupants of all the rooms.  If you are a family or group of friends, this is one ideal accommodation for your group.

Service
We were mostly out so our contact with the caretaker and the cook was minimal.  Nevertheless, our experience with them was most pleasant.  while the young lady who prepared our breakfast mostly just smiled, Kuya Ireneo shared some travel tips and explained that the reason why they had no restaurant is because the owner wants utmost privacy for their guests

Meals
Now this is the best part about our stay here.  Our breakfasts in Rapitan di Vasay were always beautifully presented and delicious.

On our first day, we had dried flying fish, sweet potato, and rice.

The dried flying fish was in my list of Batanes must-try because it’s a known delicacy and I was happy to tick it off my list on our first day in the island.

Every day, they also provided complimentary buko (young coconut) juice and camote (sweet potato) fries for our snacks.  Both were sweet and quite a treat, especially since they are free.  Te he.

On our second day, we had longganiza, omelette, rice, and again, sweet potato fries.

Another filling, yummy meal for us.

We had fried chicken, sunny side up eggs, rice, and again, camote fries on our third day.

Yummy, especially the very tasty chicken, which was well-marinated and crunchy.

On our fourth day, we again had dried flying fish, scrambled eggs, rice, and the now perennial camote fries.

Note that breakfast is not included in the room rate so we had to pay Php 200 per person per breakfast.

I’ll end this post with photos of the flowers I took here.  The purple flower brought me memories of my childhood.  We had the same orchids at home and as a child, I would make it into some sort of floral crown.

In a Nutshell
I recommend this place for those who want basic accommodation when in Batanes (you will be out most of the day for your tours, anyway).  It’s perfect for small groups and families, though if you prefer an accommodation with a view, head on to Fundacion Pacita.  It’s more expensive, but it’s beautifully designed and with a good view of the mountains and the sea (details in a future post).

Rapitan di Vasay is located at the corner of Amboy and Castillejos Streets in the capital town of Basco.  Visit their official website for more information.