Revisiting Batanes: Basco Highlights

As I mentioned in my previous post, my friend Marco and his wife Cha organized a tour for all the wedding guests. It was designed to give people a chance to see some of the highlights of Basco despite the limited time. First stop was the Valugan Boulder Beach. Not sure if this spot is always the first place to visit in every tour but this was also the first part of our itinerary in my previous Batanes trip.

Valugan Boulder Beach

We then headed to the Vayang Rolling Hills.

Vayang Rolling Hills

Even in my second visit, the views here remain awe-inspiring.

Incredible view from the Rolling Hills

Next stop was the Mahatao Lighthouse where I ran into my friend Meg who was also visiting Batanes at the same time. Visitors were not allowed to enter the lighthouse; I'm not sure if it was only for that day or if it is now off-limits.

Mahatao Lighthouse

We then proceeded to the Marlboro Hills which is known locally as Rakuh-A-Payaman.

Marlboro Hills or Rakuh-A-Payaman

Similar to my previous trip, after going up the hills and soaking in the amazing scenery, our tour group had lunch here.

Cliff at the Marlboro Hills

First stop in our afternoon itinerary was Alapad, which is where some scenes from the movie "Hihintayin kita sa Langit" were shot.

Alapad

We then headed to the Honesty Cafe where we spent some time purchasing some souvenirs and food items.

Honesty Cafe

A few folks crossed the road to visit the San Jose de Ivana Church (Simbahan ng Ivana).

San Jose de Ivana Church

We then made our way to the House of Dakay. There was a major change in this house since the last time I visited and I will write about that in one of my next posts about this trip.

Dakay House

Before the tour ended, we also visited the San Carlos Borromeo Church in Mahatao.

San Carlos Borromeo Church in Mahatao

We stopped over in the town proper to purchase souvenirs before going to the Basco Lighthouse, our dinner venue that evening. Thankfully it didn't rain since our tables were out in the open. It was a cool experience having a good meal while the sun was setting.

Basco Lighthouse

There were a couple other places we visited during the tour, but as those were places I visited for the first time, I will instead write about them in my next post where I talk about my new Batanes experiences.

Read more about:

• Valugan Boulder Beach, Vayang Rolling Hills, and Basco Lighthouse here
• Honesty Cafe and San Jose de Ivana Church here
• Marlboro Hills, Alapad, House of Dakay, and San Carlos Borromeo Church here