Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?

Batanes has always been one of my dream destinations. I’ve seen photos of it, watched the movie, and read literature about it. I was dismayed last year when our flight to Batanes for the press launch of the movie was canceled. But thanks to the wonderful people of GeiserMaclang and Epson Philippines, I finally fulfilled my dream to visit the Northern Isles.

Batanes — where love knows no boundaries — is a place that you really have to see before you die. I kid you not, pictures of it may be beautiful but you have to experience it and be physically there to fully appreciate its beauty. Weather conditions may give you the scare of your life but I’m telling you that it really is worth the risk.

Having read about the climate in Batanes this time of the year, I packed a couple of scarves and about three jackets. So before I exited the plane, I donned my fasyon-fasyonan outfit composed of a scarf, a corduroy jacket, shades, slim jeans, and Havaiianas (I knew I packed my shoes into my luggage but realized later on that I left it at the last minute.). The winter pa-fasyon outfit was a good decision, I found out as I deplaned at about 7 in the morning. Cold and comforting winds welcomed us as we stepped on Batanes soil. And from there, I knew that this trip was gonna be one memorable and fun vacation.

We checked in at the Batanes Seaside Lodge and Restaurant — the same place where Ken Chu, Iza Calzado, Coco Martin, Joem Bascon and the rest of the cast and crew of Batanes the movie were billeted while filming. After freshening up, we got our first serving of a local delicacy - Fried Flying Fish. I now remember one of the lines from Anne Cook’s American Accent Training to correct p and f issues: “It’s truly rural to eat freshly fried flying fish flesh on Fridays.” But it was a Monday, a busy Monday at that. Because even if we were in some distant land, away from the political noise in Metro Manila, there was just too many things to do for the day. I couldn’t complain. And I didn’t. After all, the climate in the area was really cool that you wouldn’t want to waste a minute of the day while the sun was out.

That busy Monday started with a briefing from the bigwigs of Epson Philippines about a photo contest. Ah, no wonder why they asked us to bring our own cameras. And that answered my ultimate question as to why there were so many wide-angle and state-of-the-art camera lenses and cameras around. We were told that at the end of the day, the photos that we took on our tours would be printed on their top of the line printers. And yes, they said that we could print as many photos as we wanted. The theme for the contest was Convergence: when two elements meet. It was quite apt since the region was in itself a convergence of more than just two elements. And yes, in Batanes, you can see the convergence of the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea.

I was quite hesitant and intimidated to join the contest for many different reasons. One of them was that I only had a point-and-shoot camera. How the heck would I win (or at the very least produce decent enough photos) using a mere point-and-shoot camera? Another reason was that my knowledge on photography was limited to taking beautiful photos of myself. So I merely shrugged off the idea of joining and decided that I will just shoot whatever I found beautiful in the island.

The first day was a tour of Basco, one of the towns of the island of Batan. I did not keep track of the places we went to, but let me help you all by giving you a tour of Batanes through photos:

A church in Basco (more Batanes Churches here)

The very cold and windy rolling hills

A Lighthouse (more Lighthouses here)

The Viewdeck

Marlboro Country - The Pasture Islands of the Ivatan Folk

A cliff

Sitio Songson, The Ghost Town

Honesty Coffee Shop

The oldest church in Basco, Batanes

After a long day and since the sun has finally decided to call it a day, we headed back to the hotel. Some of us headed back to our rooms to get some much-needed rest and shower, while others (including me) headed to the dining hall where the Epson PictureMate PM250 printers were set-up. These things may look small, but man are they powerful! They print pictures of exceptional quality using Claria Photographic Ink that promises to last for up to 200 years! It’s a camwhore’s dream! Imagine printing your photos right after taking them! The portable printer prints photos in 4R sizes and prints at a speed faster than any photo printer I have seen. That small thing actually saved me from sheer embarrassment, thanks to its printing speed.

A little shy and embarrassed with the photos that I took for the day, I waited until no one was watching me while I printed. I was fighting the urge to print only photos of myself in various poses (model portfolio ito?). I won that fight and printed photos that I thought were decent enough for others to see and hopefully appreciate.

Satisfied with the photos that I have printed (in reality, someone arrived and started printing using the Epson PM250 beside mine), I headed back to my room to freshen up. A party/program was set to begin after dinner, but my body decided to pass on both dinner and the party.

For the first time in a long while, I had a smile on my face as I slept. I don’t know why but Batanes gave me peace of mind. I was on a high - the kind that makes you forget about all your worries and sorrows, the kind that makes you feel that all the love in the world has been bestowed upon you.

After all, Batanes is where love knows no borders.

(part 2 soon!)

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