A little deja-vu!

I have not been leaving town lately, and somehow that creates an air of unease in my head. Leaving town means riding on a plane to someplace where the landscape is different from the concrete jungle I live in. The only respite from the daily unworthy circumstances are the every-other-weekends going home to the province, where the air is much easier to take in.  That is a 3-hr land trip only, which doesn't correlate to the meaning of 'out-of-town' already in my head.

So when my feet are itching to go away, I open my external drive of photos, and dig, dig, dig for photos of the not so long past and recall the incidents there. Here are some of the  photos of Batanes, the northernmost tip of the Philippines. Only one airline go there, and not many tourists avail of the chances, prices are high without competition. I've been there twice, and hope to be there again one of these days. It is a place not yet conquered much by commercialism, only the typhoons are its frequent visitors. This led to stone houses with 2 feet thick walls to withstand the strong winds. Batanes group of islands are famous, yet seemingly difficult to reach by common standards.

 This is the view to your right, as you are facing the big waves of the Pacific Ocean.

This is the view to the left, with Mt Iraya, the volcano responsible for putting more soil and rocks on the island. Very normal in the area is the loud deep sound confusing every first timers, as to where they are coming from. But those are caused by the big rocks underwater being carried by the waves, bumping every other rock on the same journey. These unceasing phenomenon is responsible for making these rocks and boulders smooth, and changing them to small pieces. The sound is really incredible and unmistakably from the deep. 

These are actually big boulders, and rocks here get smaller in size faster than maybe any other place, which are just left on normal process of weathering. The loudest sound can be heard even while still beyond that ridge, and is loudest when at that cove. That small stretch of smaller rocks at the middle of the cove serves as anchor point for small fishermen's boats.

Rocks are of different origins and colors. I guess volcanologists, geologists and mineral people will find a lot of data from these rocks and boulders. I wonder how long a certain size of rock becomes a pebble.

It is scary to even think of being caught under those waters. Even just maneuvering yourself among the rocks without water is very difficult. Travelling from one site to another is meditative, as you will not allow your mind wander, or you might slip and break your head.

You wont even allow yourself be near the waterline as wave manners are not predictable. Photographers will not allow themselves near it with the danger of being watersoaked, camera and all.

 This is the common flying fish gathered from those waters, among other marine resources found there. These fishes are sometimes even caught flying alongside boats to the other islands, I actually saw one myself for a few minutes, maybe it flew about 6 meters.

 The view at the other side of the island opposite the Pacific is more tamed, but not necessarily safe! But of course these coves offer more sanctuaries for marine organisms, and humans can swim on these areas. In one of those coves, we actually had swimming.