“Let’s book a flight now!” exclaimed Hannah in Messenger when Cebu Pacific finally opened their Clark-Batanes route.
“But I want to go there alone,” my words broke her budding excitement. She might not have said a word but the long silence that followed said it all.
This might sound extreme to many but I’ve trained myself to travel alone. Although I still go with friends on trips every now and then, there was a point when I realized my kind of travel isn’t for everyone including those that are closest to me. They aren’t the pack-and-go type. They aren’t the “It’s okay to sleep anywhere”(including terminals and cheap homestay). They aren’t the people who love long bus rides. They aren't the kind who can endure hours and hours of trekking just to reach an isolated waterfall. They aren't the type who loves danger and adventure. People travel differently and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when you don’t find someone who wants your kind of adventure, you’ll naturally find out that traveling alone isn’t that bad, and isn’t that lonely after all. At the end of the day, you find out that you can brave it out with or without company.
If you've been following my previous travel blogs, this might be a bit obvious by now: I love exploring my own country. While my friends dream of spending a romantic weekend in Paris, go shopping in New York, and take a selfie with the cherry blossoms in Japan, my ultimate dream is to explore all the eighty-one (81) Provinces in my country. The idea of hopping from one Province to another sends chills to my entire body as if I’m reborn each and every time.
When I was still starting my #Project81PH, I convinced myself that there was one place that I must visit alone. Even now that I’m in a loving relationship, I’m firm with the decision to come alone. [Hey love! If you're reading this, I know you'll understand! 🥰] And that place is Batanes.
Call me weird but the idea of exploring Batanes is more adrenaline-inducing compared to visiting Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, Las Vegas, etc and I'm not here to convince you why because again, we travel differently. Batanes is the northernmost island Province in the Philippines and it's composed of three main islands, namely: Itbayat, Sabtang, and Basco. Because Batanes is too far away from the mainland Philippines, the only viable way to reach it is by taking a plane from Manila or Clark. Flights are expensive since only a few people explore this province. It's rarely on people's must-visit list because it's cheaper to travel internationally than visiting Batanes.
Why Batanes? I plan on ending my #Project81PH journey in Batanes. A weekend in Batanes means I've finally completed my life's ultimate dream of exploring the entire Philippines. I know that's huge but I'm more than halfway through it and no one's going to stop me, especially now that travel restrictions are loosening up. They say if you dream, dream big! Now, this is my definition if a big dream.
Thinking of that weekend in Batanes carves a smile on my face. This trip will be nothing big, nothing fancy, nothing luxurious. In fact, it will be the total opposite. It will be like going back to basics. I won't hire a tour guide. Batanes has almost zero crime rates[1] so you don't have to worry about being robbed or murdered while touring around. There will be no strict itinerary. Batanes is not the kind of place you travel with an itinerary, go to the destinations in your itinerary, take selfies and group photos then leave. I don't want it to be a meet and greet. It's the kind of place that you have to stop in order to savor, to keep everything on the pause button. I just want exploration to unfold right before my eyes. I'd be renting a mountain bike to dissect each and every corner of Batanes. I can imagine myself taking stops, a lot of them. I have to sit somewhere, preferably on top of one of its hills. From where I'm sitting the vastness of the rolling hills kissing the bluest sky above and the raging ocean below will make my heart flutter like a kid getting her reward for a job well done at school. At night, I'll lie down outside the room I'm renting and watch the sky as it glimmers with stars and the moon. The following day, I will be taking a walk in the neighborhood, meeting locals, and eating their delicacies. I want to live their life even for a day. In the afternoon, I'll explore the rest of its rolling hills and seasides. I might take my painting gears and paint while my feet rest on its famous black stone beach. I will stay there until the sun sets. On my last night, I will have a sumptuous dinner at a local restaurant.
Batanes smells victory and I couldn't be more peaceful and happy to have spent two days here.