Batanes Trek - The Ivatans We Met and Their Way of Life

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The Ivatans We Met and Their Way of Life

Jinkee and I are a bunch of lucky travelers. The Ivatans have fallen for the image of two harried strangers sweating it out under the hot sun hehehe. Kidding aside, the Ivatans are friendly folks, ready to help out.

The kids in Basco cheerfully guided us to Naidi Hills and Valugan Bay. While hiking from Uyugan to Itbud, a truck driver offered us a ride which we graciously declined because we enjoyed the scenic walk. People in bicycles passing us on our way from Itbud to Loran Station and Imnajbu greeted us with smiles.

In a falowa (Ivatan boat for 10-20 passengers) crossing to Sabtang, we met two women who offered us their homes. We had coffee and breakfast in one of their houses in Centro, passing the time during a thunderstorm. Their kitchen was in an adjoining stone house. Another stone house serves as a pig pen. Their bathroom is also outside the main house. When the sun shone again, we bid goodbye and proceeded on our trek to Savidug.

Trekking along the coastlines of Sabtang, people on passing jeepneys and motorcyles, and even farmers working in the fields waved at us. Some of them recognized us as the two ipulas (Ivatan word for foreigners) in the falowa. How can they forget. We were among the few who volunteered to take the second boat trip to Sabtang. For the past two days, no boatman would dare make the 30-minute crossing from San Vicente to Sabtang because of strong waves. This caused some Sabtang natives to be stranded in Batan and celebrated Christmas eve there. Imagine us like Vietnamese refugees; the first boat trip was filled to the brim. In the middle of the ocean, the driver suddenly turned back to reduce the load of passengers. Jinkee and I and a couple of passengers were dropped off in the nearest port of Ivana to wait for the second boat trip. The waves have suddenly turned ferocious. They said that Jinkee and I were quite lucky the waves had subsided to allow the ferrying of passengers between the two islands. Well, I don't know if I will agree on the sea calming down. Our boat was thrashed to and fro by giant waves in the middle of the ocean. At first, Jinkee and I were thrilled and laughing with glee. Noticing that everyone was quiet and the women around us were praying with their rosaries, we abruptly halted and pondered our real situation.

In Chavayan, a sari-sari store owner toured us around the village. He even taught us a short cut trail going to Sumnanga which saved us about two kilometers. It was already 4:30 pm when we left the village. We were racing against time to get to Nakanmuan before nighfall.

It was almost dark when we arrived in Sumnanga, known as Little Hong Kong, because the hilly, fishing village is gently sloping towards the coast. Another woman we met was urging us to stay. However, even if it was already twilight, we proceeded for another 3-km hike to Nakanmuan and stayed the night in a stone house of our gracious host.

During dinner, Manang offered us uvi (a root crop) that she cultivates. Out of curiousity and a craving for the exotic, we sampled Manang's native dish, with chopped banana bark as its main ingredient. I complimented that it's delicious, to which she countered that it was also flavored with dog's meat. Whaaaat??? I spat out what I was chewing and hurriedly drank Coke.