After two exhilarating days in Batanes, the day has arrived for us to visit the southernmost island municipality of the Batanes island group - the Sabtang Island. We had to wake up extra early on this day to catch our 7 am boat ride. Ate Jane, our tour guide from Bisumi Travel and Tours, was early as usual in picking us up at Nathaniel's Lodge.

It still feels surreal to be able to unearth the beauty of Batanes right before my eyes for the first time. For our first day on the island, we will be going around the south part of Batan to kick off our 4-day tour with Bisumi Tours and Services. Just so you know, this island is the most populated island in the province, but only the second largest island of Batanes next to Itbayat.

The reason why we chose to head to South Batan on the first part of our tour (instead of the typical North Batan - Sabtang Island - South Batan itinerary) is that we wanted to explore the north side of the island in time for the Basco Fiesta celebrated every August 8.

Batanes to me before is a dream that I can't seem to achieve because of hearsays that visiting this province is pricey. Expenses can reach to the point that it can equate to visiting another country already.

The Basco Lighthouse view  from Octagon Bed and Dine

However, I was able to score roundtrip tickets to Basco for two via Philippine Airlines last May 2018. After booking our flights, that's when I slowly turned things into a reality. Let me recount our 5-day wandering around the BREATHTAKING Batanes with our travel partner, Bisumi Tours and Services.