Inclusions of our Day 2 tour are the following: Chawa Viewdeck, Mahatao Shelter Port, Saint Charles Borromeo Church, Ivana Spanish bridge, Hohmoren White beach, House of Dakay, Saint Joseph Parish, Ruins of Songsong, Alapad Rock Formation and Marlboro Country.

Some photos of me from Day 2:

Marine Sanctuary
We passed by a marine sanctuary on our way to our destinations.

The drive was very scenic, and thankfully, the weather was perfect for touring the island.

As we drove along, I was thinking, “Who wouldn’t fall in love with this province with views like this?”

Chawa Viewdeck
It has a grotto of the Virgin Mary and steps leading to the beach below, where the view of the crashing waves against the rugged cliffs was quite a sight to behold.

The beach was not a sandy one, but rocky, and it’s beautiful.

Mahatao Shelter Port

The port was still being constructed during our visit. This is a project that aims to provide fish sufficiency and job generation in the region.

Saint Charles Borromeo Church
The original church was built in 1787. It has historical importance too since the Katipuneros raised the Philippine flag here on September 19, 1898.

I just noticed that this Church’s outline is similar to Sto. Domingo’s (photo HERE, in the collage), though the latter is painted yellow.

The drive to Mahatao Lighthouse was also very scenic.  We could see the village below and the rolling hills, mountain (sorry, I forgot its name), azure sky, and dark blue waters made me wish I have a house here.  Te he.

Mahatao Lighthouse

For me, this is the most beautiful of Batanes’ 3 lighthouses, though the wiring spoils the view.

From here, the views didn’t disappoint.

Afterwards, we had lunch at Monica’s Cottage where we got to try on native Ivatan garb (details to be discussed in a future post).

Here’s a teaser post of me looking out the window wearing vakul, an abaca fiber-made headgear worn by Ivatans as protection from the sun or rain.

Right after our meal, we met this fisherman who spent half the day catching squid, and he was nice enough to pose for photos.

Afterwards, we took some time exploring the village.

And of course, its beach, which was right across Monica’s Cottage.

One side of the beach was mossy (or should I say seaweed-y).  That is, the sea floor was full of some sort of sea grass.  The other side was rocky, and it’s a good thing I brought with me my pair of Sanuk to protect my feet.

In this beach, the water’s clear on the beachfront but farther up, the waves created about 2-foot high frothy waters.

Marlboro Country 

Called Rakuh-a-Payaman by the Ivatans, Marlboro Country is definitely one of the most beautiful places that I have been too. The verdant rolling hills, the blue sea, the crashing waves… all these contributed to creating stunning seascapes and landscapes.

Mahatao Lighthouse was also visible from here.

More photos of Marlboro Hills’ stunning landscapes and seascapes.

And photos of me pretending I was “falling off” the cliff.

Batan Island 
Another beautiful spot with views of lush hills and the deep blue sea.

I thought the guy in the collage was tending the carabaos (water buffalo), but Kuya Jun explained that he’s there for the signal because this is the only area in Batan with strong cellphone signal.

On the same hill, the Old Loran Station, an abandoned US navigational facility, provided a good focal point on the landscape below.

Alapad Rock Formation 
About 10 meters from the hill is the Alapad Rock Formation.

It kind of reminds me of Arizona and its canyons, albeit a small one.

Old House in Uyugan

We just drove by the village and I took a quick snap of this old stone house.  We did not linger since Kuya Jun said there are more stone houses in Sabtang, our destination the following day.

Song Song Ruins
This village was devastated by a tsunami in 1953.

Snacks at Honesty Coffee Shop
It’s called Honesty Coffee Shop because no one mans it. You just get what you want, look at the price list and then pay for it (details to be posted in a future post).

Saint Joseph Parish

The church is named after St. Joseph the Worker. The design is again reminiscent of Sto. Domingo’s in Basco and St. Charles Borromeo’s in Mahatao.

Ivana Spanish bridge

They said this is the oldest bridge in the country.

House of Dakay
Purported to be the oldest house in Batanes.  Most of the magazines and blogs I saw feature the lady of the house, but since she’s now so old, Kuya Jun said that she mostly lies down and sleeps. We didn’t have the heart to bother her to ask for a photo so we just took a photo of her house.

And of this cute dog and the rose bush that grew on a neighboring house.

We also made a quick stopover in Ivana’s welcome site.

The sun was about to set and I would have loved to stay because I could tell that it was a good spot for sunset-watching, but we still had places to visit, and still quite far from Basco so we left after taking some photos.  

Hohmoren White Beach

The sand here was a course, though the waves are gentler compared to Valugan Beach’s so it’s safe to swim here.

And thus was how we spent our second day in Batanes.

Some random photos from this day:

And another of Mahatao Lighthouse.

Just beautiful.