The Beauty Up North

After watching the film of Iza Calzado opposite Ken Zhu shot in the marvelous place of Batanes bearing the same title, I was inspired to visit the northernmost province of the Philippines.
I tried to research on how I can get there even I’m on a budget and luckily I found out that most domestic airlines in the Philippines offer sweet deals and cheap promos for flights going to Batanes just like Seair. So after booking a flight, I find myself just a week after watching the movie, standing in the same beach where Iza found Ken.
But first some background in this rich historical province. It was in 1687 that English freebooters with a Dutch crew arrived in Batanes and named three of the islands in honor of their monarchs- the main island of Batan was named Grafton Isle after Henry Fitzroy, First Duke of Grafton; Sabtang was named Monmouth Isle after James Scott, First Duke of Monmouth and Itbayat was named Orange Isle after William of Orange. Led by William Dampier, the freebooters stayed on the islands for three months but never laid claim on the islands for the British crown.
Batanes is separated from the country by miles of rough water, resulting to the fact that people of Batanes have a diverse culture than the rest of the country.the Ivatans (the name of the people of Batanes) have developed a different culture. The province is situated to be at the border of the Pacific Ocean to the east, South China Sea to the west, Bashi Channel and Taiwan to the north and the Balintang Channel to the south. There are 11 islands that makes up Batanes namely Itbayat, Sabtang and Batan Islands are inhabited while Ditarem, Adekey, Vuhus, Misanga, Dinem, Mavudis and all others are uninhabited.
There are many remarkable places to visit and I tried to go to all of them, even the ones not featured in the movie. Some of the places of interest in Batanes are the UNESCO Heritage Building which is the House of Dakay, St. Dominic de Guzman Parish Cathedral, Mahatao View Deck, Songsong Ruins and the lighthouses of Batanes. Of course, I didn’t miss out on the unspoiled beauty of the pristine beaches of Batanes such as the Chadpidan and White Beach.
It was really a trip worth remembering and with just an hour and 45 minutes flight from Manila, I will definitely, definitely come back.
Seair takes you everywhere. For more information on their flights, visit www.flyseair.com.