They say that what makes a place worth going back to isn’t the incredible sights or the old churches or the pristine beaches — it’s the people. The people of Batanes are the most accommodating I have ever met, and it’s not just our tour guide or our waiter or the people we paid to help us. It’s the storeowner who hauled their monobloc chairs from inside their house so we could sit on something. It’s the random stranger who walked with us in the rain so we wouldn’t get lost. Basco is the urban area of Batanes, and yet I could feel utterly safe as I walked its dark streets at night with nothing but an umbrella as a potential weapon.
The locals of Batanes live by the values of simplicity, humility, and honesty, and each tourist who finds themselves in the midst of this humble people can’t help but embody those values too. I wish I too could be kind to everyone I met, could accommodate their requests without asking for anything in return.
Faberes Hometel
One such pair demonstrating the known Filipino trait of being accommodating are the owners of the Faberes Hometel in Sabtang. It’s not common to stay overnight in Sabtang, as most tourists staying in Basco only go there as a day trip. We ourselves had decided on it only the day before, and having read about the lighthouse that was actually an inn, our group insisted that we stay there for at least a night. We were lucky that it was available.
The land where the defunct Sabtang lighthouse stands is privately owned, so the government issued a memorandum of agreement with the owners that a lighthouse be built on their patch of land. The government commissioned the lighthouse, but at 2010, the contractor mysteriously abandoned the project, and the lighthouse has remained non-operating ever since. The owners, Adela Faberes and her husband, then built a small shack next to the lighthouse so it could at least serve as an inn.
There’s nothing fancy when one stays at the Faberes Hometel. The facilities are about as fancy as one would expect for Php500 a night. The folding beds and linen are old, the shower has no heater, and the front door is locked from the outside — but all this doesn’t matter when one has exclusive access to the breathtaking view that the lighthouse provides.
Food is delivered and set up at the cottage by Adela Faberes, whom we fondly called “Mother”. After breakfast, Mother led us to their private lagoons that could be accessed via a stairway from our back yard. There are two lagoons which one can swim in. The smaller one can be easily accessed through the stairway.
Words fail me when I try to describe exactly how I felt when I first saw the lagoon. I couldn’t believe that we had it all to ourselves. The lagoon opens out to the wide ocean, so one could stand on soft corals with the ankle-deep water lapping at one’s feet, whilst looking out at the waves coming towards you and coming to a halt as they hit the deep corals right in front of you. It’s a very surreal and very awe-inspiring experience.
One can only go to the bigger lagoon with the aid of a guide. Mother, with her 70-year old body, easily trudged up the grassy hill, down across the sharp rocks and tangled plants, and led us to the bigger lagoon. This one featured a cave of sharp rocks that led to a small opening through the hill.
Zipline Viewpoint
The last item in this blog entry can’t be found in any of the Batanes tour packages or special trips — that’s because it’s not exactly a legitimate tourist spot. While we were in Sabtang, we opted to stop by the zipline station to see what the route would look like. On our way back to our van, our driver told us that there was a good view if we climbed a few hills over. It was the last stop of our day before we went to the lighthouse to sleep it off, so we agreed.
The reward we got is a clear view of the southern part of Batan, with Mt. Iraya peeking just at the side. I doubt our guide will include this spot in his future itineraries, so I like to think of this place as a hidden nook that only we will ever be privy to.
Batanes does not run out of breathtaking tourist spots, but it’s these hidden gems that make a trip extra special. I doubt I’ll be returning to Batanes in the next year or so. I’d rather wait until the amenities upgrade and the flight procedures improve (We got stranded for a day, but that’s a story for another time). Until then, I’ll fondly look through these photos and remember the stories we heard, the hills we climbed, and the people we met that have inspired us to be better versions of ourselves.
