The Shire in the North (2)

Day 3

The day started easy because thank god, there are no early boat rides scheduled today. The van and a new guide picked us up and brought us to Mahatao, to our first up close lighthouse. I raced to the hill to get first dibs on the lighthouse, because I'm greedy like that, but stopped in my tracks when I saw that the lighthouse is closely guarded by this very hostile cow.

She is obviously pregnant and in a foul mood. Our guide lead us to a detour, a farther walk out of reach by the cow's ropes, but boy, she sure kept a mean eyes on us. Finally we saw the lighthouse, but the landowner was there, on his motorbike, and he gave us a look that clearly said we are not welcome. I looked to our guide for umm, guidance, and she said it's alright, because the place is public. Yes, there were some altercations with the landowners before, but they (the tour guides) already made a request that these places be opened to tourists. She did not however say how that issue was resolved; like, did the owners say yes? 

Nevertheless, I wasn't gonna leave without a picture of the Mahatao lighthouse, and after a few seconds of stand-off (for dramatic effect lang) the man left with his motorbike and I get to take all the pictures I wanted. Whew.

Another bovine friend wanted us to keep off their property. This one actually charged at us when we got close to the fence. Fine. 

Okay, okay, I can read the sign.

Next stop is the Marlboro country, where we also had lunch. The wind was defeaning, the rolling greens endless, and everything is breathtaking. It got me thinking why I continue living in cramped, noisy, rancorous Manila. No wonder most bloggers who got here feel reluctant to write about Batanes. Something about the place just makes you wanna keep it a secret, lest it turns into another metropolis. 

Raku a Payaman, aka, Marlboro country.

You can see the Mahatao lighthouse from here.

Hedgerows! Hedgerows!

It made me think that maybe, just maybe, I could have gone on being an associate lawyer in my old firm had I lived in a place like this. I would not mind the stress and the mindless hearings if I can escape to a place like this at the end of each day. Look at V ham it up.

Why can't people take great pictures of me??

This place is insanely beautiful.

There were several other stops along the way, but I could no longer recall the names (typical tourist, tsk). On one hill, we stopped for a rather long time, mesmerized as we watched the waves crash into those rocks. (Although, I suspected some of the boys were wondering what the score is on the ongoing Pacquiao-Rios fight.) This is one thing I love about the day's tour: we were never hurried. The guide allowed us to take our time with each stop, to sit on top of hills and just breathe it all in 'til we could take no more. 

Water violently crashing against rocks, which I find oddly soothing,

I don't see how you can marvel at the beauty of Batanes and not believe that God exist.

Nearby is an abandoned (not sure about this) US military installation/naval base of some sort. 

This one, they called the Spanish bridge, because obviously, it looks like it was built in the Spanish era. We just viewed it from inside the van. 

One stop we could not miss is the House of Dakay, the oldest house in Batanes. The famous Ivatan woman was not around that time (she was on vacation in Manila!).

 I was amazed to see seashell fossils all over the rocks on the house.

Should I call these corals?

We almost called it a day when I remembered that we did not get to spend time on the Rolling Hills. Ryan brought us there on the first day, but the rain was relentless so we were just holed up in the van, listening to Taiwanese radio stations. The new guide generously relented to take us there again, and well, it was just icing on the cake.

Like I died and went to heaven.

Oh will the greens ever stop??

I thought the sky was gonna pour again. Thankfully, it held up the downpour 'til we've completed our tour. As usual, Roxy and I struggled to take decent pictures amidst the foggy weather and grey skies. 

I walked back to van with a heavy heart because it just hit me that it was my last day there. Something inside me panicked and I hurriedly tried to memorize every detail of the hills. Then my camera's battery died (come on!). I fished out my Note 2 and took some last, desperate pictures, because hey, there's always Snapseed to make things better later. 

Choose your transportation.

But wait, there's more! We almost forgot the Basco lighthouse. The sun was almost out, and my phone's camera flash is no longer doing the trick, but that lighthouse is still gorgeous. No badass cow-bitches or private landowners to ruin the experience this time. 

Up close:

We had an early flight back the next day, and since I was headed straight for work the minute I landed, I was already mentally outlining my arguments for a case I'm working on. But oh, I still have a few seconds for one last look.

(Taken from inside the plane.)