Melo Villareal
Travel Guide: Sabtang Island in Batanes
Sabtang is one of the islands in Batanes known for its unique cultural heritage. If you are a true adventure lover, then a tour of Sabtang island is a must for you. In 1994, the Philippine Department of Tourism chose Sabtang as one of the 12 best destinations in the entire archipelago.
Our adventure began when we left the port of Ivana, the 45-minute faluwa ride was quite rough but we were mesmerized by the island’s beauty, its rugged but majestic terrain, and the steep cliffs made us feel like we were in a foreign land.
Sabtang Island compare to Batan is less modern, in fact, It is the only town in Batanes that has preserved the traditional Ivatan house made of lime and stone. The heritage houses can withstand the strongest of winds during trying typhoons. If you find a windowless stone house, that means that it faces downwind of the strongest blowing wind. Sabtang is a municipality in the province of Batanes that is politically subdivided into 6 barangays which include Chavayan, Malakdang (Pob.), Nakanmuan, Savidug, Sinakan (Pob.), and Sumnanga.
One of the most interesting sitio in Sabtang is called Chavayan, It’s a small community where Ivatan Stone Houses and the Ivatan culture are pretty much intact. I met an old lady who manufactures Vacul – a cultural headgear that is hand woven mostly in Chavayan. Vacul is made from Vuyabuy – a palm tree that is endemic to Batanes. Vacul is a protective headgear used by farmers to protect them from too much sunlight and heavy rains as well but for tourists like us, it’s a perfect souvenir.
While walking around the small Barangay, we suddenly felt parched so we looked for a small sari-sari store to get some thirst-quenching soda. I was amazed when I saw a battery-operated radio transistor in the sari-sari store, the lady said that listening to old-school AM music is their past time, and tuning in to a Filipino radio station was a bit hard since the radio picks up Taiwanese radio stations most of the time.
It was almost lunchtime when we left Chavayan and after the short heritage tour, we found ourselves in the beach area called Nakanmuan for our alfresco lunch.
Typically, Batanes offers its tourist an irresistible Ivatan meal which includes steamed Lobster, Nilagang Baka with fresh vegetables, and fried fish served with a long grain steamed rice but our tour guide in Sabtang served us a different set of delectable seafood menu for only Php250.00 per head.
Manong Romy’s wife prepared our food right beside the Nakanmuan Arc and It was probably the best lunch I’ve ever had in Batanes. Imagine yourself dining in front of a beautiful white beach with your friends feasting on a coconut crab, beef soup, steamed sigarillas, and fried fish plus fresh buko juice… It was priceless.. It was flavorgasmic!
After almost half a day of touring the island, it was our time to leave but while we are walking towards the port, we realized that the boat that was supposed to bring us back to Batan was not there and suddenly, heavy rain poured as if we were not being permitted to leave. We waited for about an hour for another passenger’s vessel while observing the gigantic waves.
Finally, we were able to secure a seat on a boat that was seabound but it took time before we could get inside the boat since the big waves were preventing us from even stepping onto the ladder. After loading the passengers and the baggage, we finally began braving the big waves. It wasn’t my first time experiencing challenging waves and I got used to it but I still got dizzy because of the smell of the gasoline.
It’s amazing to see the locals looking unaffected by the huge waves, I think the big waves them is not something extraordinary and some of them even find it exhilarating. The boatmen look just fine as if we were just touring a tamed lake but the uneasiness is still eminent in most of the tourist’s eyes. Good thing Dino of Columbia Sportswear brought a set of Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks – ultra-lightweight watertight dry bags which made our Cameras and gadgets safe from splashing salt water.
It took us more than an hour before we reached the port of Ivana but the experience was really worth the hassle. Sabtang is a unique island where you can find different kinds of seascapes; from reefy shore to fine white sand beaches, the island’s never-ending surprises will make you think of coming back.
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Read:
- Sabtang Island in Batanes: Adventures from the Farmland to the Untamed Sea!
- 10 Destinations in Batanes Featured in the Film “You’re My Boss”
- Batanes on my Mind: Dreaming of a Batanes vacation even after it was over
- Morong Beach in Sabtang Island, Batanes
