Category Archives: REGION II – CAGAYAN VALLEY

BATANES… Enjoying the Marvelous Marlboro Country

Oh well, a breath taking stopover; our adventure continues… It’s almost mid-day and we have to rush uphill for another dazzling surprise from nature. Following the road to the mountain, on-going road concreting projects were in place, it took us maybe around 20 minutes to get to a waiting shed. Welcome to Racuh-a-payaman… known as the Marlboro Country. As you can imagine what... continue

BATANES… The Picturesque Alapad Gorge

An interesting stop at Alapad Gorge… Listed on our itinerary, we moved further down south to reach Alapad Gorge and Long Range Station (LORAN). Not quite far from Ivana and only a short drive from Sitio SongSong. The road conditions were very good, all new concrete. They cut one portion of the mountain to construct a good road down south. We drove along a scenic route wherein you will... continue

BATANES… The Ghost Village of Sitio Song Song

Another interesting stop is at Sitio Song Song… Continuing our Southern Batan itinerary, we drove along the highway to the south. Along the way, we stopped at Sitio Song Song. Its location was just beside the highway. All you can see were ruins of stone houses, some were covered with grasses and other vegetation. This ruins were a reminder of the great tragedy that happened to the area.... continue

BATANES… Beautiful House of Dakay

When in Ivana, House of Dakay is another stop… Lime technology is not just used in building bridges but on other concreting works as well. Most of it was the stone houses that are still up and standing nowadays. Just walking distance from the Spanish bridge, we were very lucky to pay a visit to one of the oldest stone house that was built in the 18th century, the House of Dakay. Inside... continue

BATANES… The Old Spanish Bridge

Our adventure continues in Ivana… From the scenic white beach, we drove further to Ivana. One remainder of the Spanish occupancy in Batanes was the Old Spanish Bridge. As per history, in the 17th century, Spanish claimed Batanes as part of the Philippines, that later drove away British power in the island. Spanish introduced several methods and techniques, and one of these was the use of... continue

BATANES… The Secluded White Beach

Just after the shelter boat stop, the tour continues… Few kilometers drive down the road from Boat Shelter Port was the white beach. If you’re not familiar with the place, you will not notice this beach. There is no clear entrance on the beach; there was no signage as well. We got off our van and walked towards a grassy area. There were lots of coconut trees. It seems like it was a... continue

BATANES… At The Boat Shelter Port

Another stop along the way… A short drive from Homoron Blue Lagoon was the boat shelter port. It was a cove where it houses the boats during typhoon season. The boat shelter was the perfect place to safeguard the boats during bad weather conditions since it was located in between hills. One area closed for strong waves not to enter the cove and a small entrance on one side can... continue