Batanes - Paradise, Batanes, Philippines

During our second day in Batanes, we visited the South Batan Island. Itinerary for this day was: Basco - Mahatao - Uyugan - Ivana - Mahatao - Basco.

The day started with a short stop at Chawa Point viewing deck - it consists of stairs down to sea coast.

Walking down the steep stairs, we saw Chawa Cave, its an enchanted cave with natural salt bed whose mouth opens to the West Philippine Sea.

Next stop is the Mahatao Boat port - this is a natural port made from a small island near the coast, and enclosed by a wall of break water to prevent the strong waves from coming in.

Notice the difference with the calmness of the sea within the walls of the port as compared to the waves outside. As an added bonus, we saw this Blue Marlin in the port which was caught by the local fishermen that morning.

According to our driver/guide (which is a Mahatao native) - the locals have cooperated to rebuild the church after the Typhoon Odette last Sept 2013, interior ceiling is made of natural Reed material locally grown. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).