The Girl Behind the Pen

When I'm traveling, I make it a point to not visit a foreign country or province during the wet season. I've never been a fan of the rain. So when the time came that I'll head to Batanes for vacation, it was really hard to think about the best time to visit Batanes because it's like the ground zero of typhoons before it hits the greater Manila.

But, does timing really matter?

Of course, and it will always be. So come June of this year, the start of typhoon season in the Philippines, I traveled to Batanes— on the season I'm most afraid of. Because of seat sale? No, in fact, I bought my one-way ticket two weeks before the trip.

Best time to visit Batanes

The best time to visit Batanes depends on your preferences. March to May is the dry season so you may want to make the most of your summer by visiting Batanes during this time since the province is frequented by typhoons. But if you want to experience Batanes at its finest, the best time to visit is in the last week of June for Batanes Day or Vakul-Kanayi festival.

I went to Batanes on June because it's the best time to visit Batanes as locals say. Every June, the locals celebrate Batanes Day— one should experience when in Batanes—where they hold fun activities, parades, sports fest, pageants, trade and food fairs for a week-long festivity.

One of the things I enjoyed during the Batanes Day was the Tatus Relay. Tatus means coconut crab. In this game, participants will race to finish line. The fun part here? They race backwards with their hands and feet on the ground like a crab. This sure was very entertaining both to locals and tourists.

The Miss Batanes 2019 finalists also paraded their beautiful faces wearing native dresses while on their respective floats.

And the thing that excited me most was the community lunch where people would line up for Vunung and eat it together. There were at least four trucks loaded with Vunungs for the locals and tourists to feast on. 

TRIVIA: Vunung is the Ivatans' traditional way of serving food. They wrap the meal on Kabaya leaves. Usually, these are served on special occasions like weddings where people help hand in hand in the preparations without compensation.

Even the day was scorching hot, I lined up with the Ivatans to experience the famous Vunung. And for the first time, ever since I traveled, I felt like a local.

On the Vunung I ate, there were Luñis (Ivatans' version of adobo) and Supas (rice with turmeric pulp, garlic and pork bits.)

Indeed, Batanes Day was all sorts of fun. You'll find yourself smiling even for the simplest reasons there could ever be. When in Batanes, prepare for a wonderful journey waiting for you.