Batanes Travel Guide Sabtang Island Ready for Download

Thank you very much for the 1st edition of the En Route Travel eGuides! It may not show on the page since I had to reset the permalinks but the first edition the En Route Batan Island Travel eGuide have reached more than 500 downloads since it came out. For those of you who downloaded, I hope you found it useful. The Batanes Travel Guide is a three-part edition divided based on the three main island. Now here’s the 2nd edition, the Batanes Travel Guide Sabtang Island. It is a slimmer 20-page PDF guide but still packs in information about the island. The PDF download is still FREE so click on the link below to lead you to the download page.

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Biking in Batanes | Sabtang Island from Basco on Day Trip Ride

It was almost pitch black. I was extra careful riding my bike as I could only see only about 6-10 feet of the road ahead of me. I was thankful for the cheap LED light I bought before flying to Batanes as I could never have rode in this darkness. I left Basco as early as 5am so I could catch the first falowa to Sabtang island. After a day’s rest, I decided to continue biking in Batanes while I still have a group to join with, this time to bike Sabtang island. I wasn’t sure at first if I can handle the terrain but our guide Rene assured me Sabtang is a lot manageable than our North Batan Island ride to Tukon we did the other day.

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Batanes: Postcards from Sabtang Island

It was the peak season alright for Holy Week in Batanes and our trip almost  didn’t push through but thank God (and Seair) for helping us secure our flights. Albeit shortened, we made do with our time, maximizing moments to take photos and enjoy the scenery. I’ve written about Batanes so many times already in this blog so I’ll just share some memorable takes during our recent Backpack Photography 3-Island Photo Tour. These ones from the small but charming Sabtang Island.

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Batanes: Sabtang Island Backpack Photography Workshop June 2010 Day 2

There were rain showers early morning before the sunrise, just as I was told. But I caught a glimpse of the full moon and the early morning light rays off the slopes of Mount Iraya through my room window. It is gonna be another great day I say. The group woke up early so we could catch the boat to Sabtang. Half an hour past 5, we dragged our sleepy heads to our jeep and rolled of to the port of San Vicente.

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Sabtang Island: The Good People

Batanes’ famous natural arc, found at white beach, Sabtang

Marooned four. That is what we have become. We didn’t plan on staying on this island since our flight is the day after tomorrow. But that is the reality of traveling, expect the unexpected. You could either react badly when something goes wrong or simply accept what have become. Still, we thought we were fortunate enough to be stranded here in Sabtang as the people of Batanes are known for their kindness and pride themselves for having virtually no crime. Though there were isolated crimes of passion, I doubt it if those who committed these crimes are natives of the region. Other than that, their jail cells have become a stock house since there’s no one inside. It seems hard to believe though that place such as this still exist.

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Sabtang Island: Capsized!

View at Chavayan village in Sabtang Island

Sidenote: Thank you very much to all those who gave their congratulatory remarks on my blog being a finalist on two categories at this year’s Philippine Blog Awards. Indeed being a finalist is honor enough. I promise I’ll blog more on this next week, but for the meantime, I got my last two segments for the Batanes series. Thank you all dear readers as you inspire me to continue sharing on this blog. Salamat po!

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Home of the Winds

It was one memorable week at Batanes, the so called “Home of the Winds”. The place, as my travel buddy, Marco, would describe as a “Raw Beauty”. And it is a beautiful place, but what’s more important are the people living on the islands. Never have I found a place with people still so kind and gentle, helpful and accomodating, each having a story to tell on their own. Each of it’s main Islands; Batan, Itbayat and Sabtang, have their characteristics of their own. Right now after organizing my things I would be writing my article. Just reviewing my notes …

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