So, I'm in Batanes!

I've always wanted to say those words and not be lying... and now I can! I am actually in what my friend Drew calls "my favorite place that I've never been to." I'm traveling with Erik Liongoren, friend and kick-ass photographer, and his asisstant Jong for a project. We arrived Sunday morning and have been making our way through Basco (the main municipality) and Sabtang which is another island municipality.

There is definitely a tranquil, almost sleepy, air here. People are in bed right after dinner and are up with the sun. No bars, no discos. It's a great change of pace although I wont lie... I am very happy I have my laptop and a stack of dvds with me.

For the surf rats out there -- yes, there are waves!!! Mostly right-handers. But no, I havent been able to surf yet. Mainly because we've been working and also cos it's been really low tide, even at high tide. I think that's due to the moon being en route pa lang to fullness. The re are a few spots I've seen that look really rideable if the wave was bigger or the tide was higher. Then again, what do I know? Maybe a higher tide will change the shape of the wave? In any case, I am definitely sure on this one spot we saw yesterday.

We have one more full day here and then back to Manila on Thursday. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow I will get my chance to paddle out and catch a few waves. Or maybe I wont and I'll come back to Manila without even taking my board out of its bag. Whatever the case, I'm sure I'll be blogging about it.

Anyhoo, to the people that I miss, wish you were here with me. Sobrang fun siguro nun! To the people that have been here -- I am sooo glad I got the chance to finally experience what you guys did. To the people planning a trip naman, you should. Just dont forget to bring a laptop and some dvds. ;-)