The bike had some sort of speed mechanism and ceased to function after I adjusted it. I had it replaced with a one-speed orange bike with a basket in front. After lunch I took a shower then went on with the long bike trip awaiting me along National Road. It took me around 30 minutes to get to the Chanarian View Deck and another 30 to get to Mahatao. It was not easy and I had to rest a lot along the way. The road just goes up and down but the scenery is postcard perfect.
The Chanarian View Deck is situated on one of the cliffs along National road. A Mama Mary grotto is the first thing you'll see before going to the benches overlooking the ocean. There are steps leading down the rocky landscape below. There you see some sort of low brown plateaus perpetually bitch slapped by the waves. If the waves hit you, do not hit them back. They will eat you alive. I thought that was what happened to the owners of the two motorcycles I saw by the entrance until I found them fishing on one of the cliffs. As to how they got there, I have no idea. If the goats can do it, I assume humans also can. I decided to go to Mahatao after that 20-minute break. There is a Blow Ur Horn warning at every sharp turn on the cliffs. They say that the Ivatans have been using that even before mobile phones were invented. I did not see any jejeje signs though.
When you see the Welcome to Mahatao sign, go ahead and turn right. Right at the corner is the Vahay ni Dakay. Vahay means house, easy to guess. It is the oldest stone house in the province, and no, Dakay is not gay. Ivatan phonology is just full of v and ch consonants that the language sounds gay sometimes. Now imagine Ricky Reyes saying that, Vahay ni Dakay, Kay Gondoh! Hi, DOT! *(EDIT: According to someone from Batanes, this is NOT the House of Dakay. The real one is in IVANA. Sorry for the misinformation caused by this error!)*
After seeing the house you can continue and have a look-see of the village. They also have a church. Picture! The National road then goes through Ivana, stretches all the way to Uyugan, and finally ends at Itbud. What I did was get off National road and follow the narrower street (straight instead of right from the Dakay House) that leads to Marlboro Hills and Diura Fishing Village.
I passed by three forks on the road, which always gave the option of either turning left or going straight. Going straight leads you all the way to Itbud where it connects to the National road. If the map is not lying, the first left fork goes through Fundacion Pacita and the Radar Tukon en route to Basco; the second fork goes to the mountain in the middle of Batan; and the third one leads to Diura, where I decided to go. The way to Diura is all downhill after one uphill climb. My ass and legs rejoiced. Only when we finished our descent did we realize that going back meant going uphill. There was no other option. My ass was still happy. Surely I could not bike all the way up there. I would have to walk and push the bike up. My legs muttered a crispy PI. I headed to the village to have some refreshments.
[BATAN] Fishing at the Chanarian
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