Unforgettable adventure

HORNSBY AND MONTECASTRO. Discover the beauty of Batanes.

ELLA Guadayo Hornsby, a classmate in college, decided to join the March 10-12 batch of our Batanes Photo Safari. On the plane, she sat with Elisa Montecastro, a 77-year-old adventurer who was traveling by herself, and who owns the Cliff Royale Subic Resort in Olongapo City (call 0917 851-5273).

Elisa was hotel-hopping, so I invited her to join our fun group of 26 photo enthusiasts, many from the Asian Development Bank Camera Club. Elisa was keen on seeing the third island, Itbayat, by herself.

Highest peak

I advised her to take a five-minute plane ride to the island, instead of the rough, four-hour trip on a falowa boat. It takes a 3-km trek through a forest to reach the mouth of Torongan cave. Then, a truck takes visitors to Coroboban, the highest peak on the island, and Port Pagnaman, where falowa boats dock.

At the heart of this quaint town is a beautiful church built in 1875, where a Spanish priest (assigned there almost 50 years ago) still says mass. I attended a beautiful early-morning mass one Easter Sunday, during which men sat on the left side of the church and women on the right.

* * *

Join our Batanes Photo Safari from April to June. Visit mandy-navasero.blogspot.com,  or call 896-3208.