Decode Society

It has been exactly two years since I visited the Batanes Islands, the awe-inspiring and otherworldly northernmost province of the Philippines. Preparing for my two-week stay at a friend’s house in Basco, I had every reason to be thrilled for the surprises that the islands had in store for me.

A handful of my friends who had been to the rustic paradise brought back with them innumerable stories that tell of the sheer beauty of the place. I was told of hills and ravines that are bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea on both sides. I was told of sweeping landscapes that seem to gracefully rise from the floor of the sea and dramatically descend back into its turquoise waters. I was told of stone houses designed to withstand the beating of the tempestuous winds, and of an ancient citadel - a hilltop fortification called the ‘idjang’ - that represents the ethos of a people and culture whose very fortitude is toughened and tempered, for thousands of years, by the ebbs of the boundless sea and the thrashing of heaven’s storms.

Batanes is all these and more – infinitely more.

Allow me to tell you about my journey to the most beautiful place on earth.

Forever etched in my mind is the memory of the view from the sky of hundreds of cows grazing on the hills of Batanes moments before the plane I boarded landed on the tarmac of the Basco airport. In my mind, it was as if the herd was running after the shadow of the aircraft – an unforgettable race between the beasts of the earth and sky. Upon landing, I was welcomed by my friend’s mother who, on her face, wore an adoring smile that so perfectly matched her vibrant amethyst dress. She was on her way back to Manila, boarding the same plane that brought me to the hometown of her family.

I immediately hopped into the pickup that brought me to my friend’s magnificent hilltop home, a welcoming abode painted with the warm colors of the sun and filled with an assortment of fascinating mementos collected from around Asia, Africa and Europe. Adjacent to my friend’s house is the extraordinary spot from where one can simultaneously see the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea impose upon the islands their sheer majesty and immensity. I looked on, in humble surrender, as I witnessed the island of Batan being cradled by the great seas.

Traversing the turquoise strait that separates Batan Island from Sabtang on a tiny wooden boat is an adventure in itself. Silvery flying fishes of various sizes emerged from the sea, flying parallel to the bubbly path of the fragile vessel.

Sabtang Island is where one can find the most number of the famed Ivatan stone houses. In Chavayan town, rows of archaic houses lie at the feet of the island’s sprawling hills. Strolling along the town’s narrow walkways, one cannot help but breathe the air of bygone centuries. A few minutes from Chavayan, the idjang, perhaps the only surviving pre-colonial citadel in the entire Philippine archipelago, stands erected in its olden splendor. The ancient hilltop fortress in ruins is a testament of the grandeur and sophistication of the Ivatan civilization that existed thousands of years before the arrival of the Spaniards.

Two years after my unforgettable trip to Batanes, I long to revisit the vestiges of the Ivatan heritage and be reminded once again of the legacy of the great Filipinos that built the idjang - the fortress that survived the pounding of the sea and sky, and witnessed the passing of the history of my beloved motherland.

(Photos from top: Sabtang Island’s winding road; Ivatan stone houses in Chavayan; Sabtang Island coastal landscape; Idjang I-II; Sabtang Island coastal landscape; Batan Island coastal landscape; Chavayan stone houses I-IV; Batan Island stone house; Songsong Ruins I-II)  

~Speck Tackle