Itbayat

HA! I WISH!

Itbayat wasn't in my agenda for two reasons:

1) Going there meant enduring a rollercoaster ride on water eight times as long as the ride to Sabtang (and that's just one way!)

2) Wallet wouldn't allow me to buy a Php 2700 roundtrip plane ticket to Itbayat.

I will visit you, Itbayat, when my stomach is stronger or when my wallet is fatter, whichever comes first.

So instead of talking about Itbayat, shall we talk about food? They say do as the Romans do. I say eat as the Ivatans eat (or eat whatever I can afford).

Here's that 120-peso one-day-old daing breakfast from Shanedel's Inn and Cafe that would have made me cough up my breakfast if I had known it was going to cost me that much.

In Sabtang, I had all my meals at forgot-the-name canteen.
CamoteQ, veggies, turmeric rice, tatus (coconut crab), and fish for lunch.
Looks a bit much for one person? It is. That's actually two servings.

Humet (seaweed soup), onions and egg, and fish again for dinner.

   

Chicken, noodles, and turmeric rice at Hiro's Cafe.
 

Also tried out food at canteens in Basco thinking it would be cheaper. But no, food in Batanes wasn't cheap at all! A serving of meat viand at a canteen costs 50 to 60 pesos (that normally costs 25 to 35 pesos in Cebu), 30 pesos for a serving of vegetables, and 15 pesos for a cup of rice. I canteen hopped from Zantan Canteen (ate here twice for they had affordable and tasty pork barbecue) to Carl's Canteen (sells ice cream and has super spicy chili sauce), and to another canteen I can't remember the name of.

Ate lobster at Pension Ivatan and it had its revenge on me, it ate a 400 peso hole in my pocket (actually it was a 200 peso hole since I shared this with another person). Sorry, no photo, I forgot to bring my camera for dinner.

Five days and four nights in Batanes left me with an enriched soul, a full stomach, and a giant hole in my pocket:

Some of the meals were shared with another hungry person and the meal expenses shown above are already my share. You might also wonder why most of my breakfast expenses are less than 50 pesos.... well, I brought some noodles and crackers with me and the lodge had a water dispenser. Not included above are expenses for Cebu-Manila-Cebu.

The end. Time to go back to the world of work and replenish my travel fund.

If you missed my other Batanes posts, do not fret:

Sketch Batanes
Hello Batanes
Northern Batan on Foot
Northern Batan Not by Foot
Southern Batan
Sabtang Island
Itbayat (you're here!)