The Tragic Trouble that Happened in Itbayat, Batanes (Day 3)

They say that a trip to Batanes will never be complete until you traverse Itbayat, the last inhabited island in the northern part of the Philippines.

And since we were already there, we decided to just go for it.

Little did we know the tragedy that would soon happen.

Well, if you all don’t know yet, I’m the frail one in the family. I have poor eyesight. I have stomach issues. And I have crazy allergies. Let alone, motion sickness.

The trip from Basco to Itbayat requires a three and a half hours of Faluwa boat ride. Which means, I’d have to endure the sea sailing, with the waves, undercurrent and all.  Itbayat is close by the Pacific Ocean on the east, by the South China Seas on the west, and by the small uninhabited island in the north such as Siayan, Matarem, Misanga, and Mavudis island.

I thought I was strong enough to endure the ride with eating a little breakfast. Unfortunately, three hours on the seas in the small boat with the waves crashing and rocking me to nowhere, messed up my whole balance-sensing system, that almost an hour later, I was throwing up like crazy!

At first, I felt like I just had a gastroenteritis attack, but then, my stomach started to really turn upside down. You know the feeling? Take the pain and multiply it by two (or three)! Aside from that, I could not help the swirling in my head caused by the motion sickness. I threw up uncontrollably so many times until I had nothing to throw up but those yellow bile substance in my body.

I know it sounds gross. But that was how worst it was.

When we eventually reached Chinapoliran Port in Itbayat, I was so weak to even pull myself out of the boat that people around me had to help me up and out. It was embarrassing to even think about it now. But what does a helpless girl do?? I guess I was already half unconscious at that time, so I didn’t really care.

Take note, we only had 1 day to explore the island. Can you guess how I managed it?

Pictured below was our home-stay at Itbayat. To be specific, we stayed on the second floor. Even I, could NOT believe how I made it up the stairs with the condition that I had. We were welcomed warmly by the people there, even though, there was an on-going commotion downstairs due to an event to be held there later on. Perhaps they really know how it felt like to ride the Faluwato their island.

As I remember, I was fighting not to go upstairs because my stomach was still painful and my world was still spinning. So the kind people let me stay downstairs for a while. Eventually, though, they had to help me up because the event was about to start. I was still feeling unwell even after lunch, so the rest of the group decided to just go on with the tour without me and my mom and a friend.

Here are some of the beautiful sceneries that I missed. (In no particular order, since I didn’t see them myself and I really had no way of describing them better, other than how the rest of my group described it.)

As you can see, my friend, I have missed so much beauty there. Right after they finished the tour, it was decided that I be sent to the hospital to be treated and to be hooked in dextrose. I, of course, agreed because we would be leaving tomorrow and I didn’t want to feel the pain again anymore going back.

The doctor confirmed that I, indeed, threw up so much bile. He said that we should have decided to go straight to the hospital right after we docked. But since we didn’t, he just advised us not let it happen again. 

Once you throw up thrice, go to the doctor.  That was the piece of advice he gave us, and that is what I’m offering you if you ever plan to visit there. I was not the only incident there, because apparently, this situation happens to most inexperienced city-people who visit the island. And let me just mention that the resident doctor there didn’t charge us for anything! It was completely free!!! How could that ever be in a small town!!! They accept donations though, so that was entirely fair enough. Because you totally would feel really guilty after all the kindness and hospitality that they’ve shown.Even though this tragic event happened to me, it didn’t lessen the fact that I enjoyed the visit there. I didn’t only learn about the warm kindness of the people there. I also learned something about myself that I’ve never realized before – that I could be stronger, mentally and emotionally, no matter how weak my body could be.Because going back to Basco, we had to ride the boat again. The plane ride that they used to have was closed down at that time, so we apparently had no choice.Yes. I threw up again. And yes. It was painful. But I recovered quickly this time. However, who would want to throw up again right after being hospitalized??But if you ask me if I ever want to go there again after this, I would say YES! I know my family would laugh at me, but I tell you, even if I didn’t get to enjoy it myself, just by looking at the pretty photos, a trip to Itbayat, Batanes is totally worth the experience!

Other Batanes Related Posts:

• More than an Escape ft. Honest Batanes Part 1
• Beyond the Rolling Hills ft. Honest Batanes Part 2
• 4 Unexpectedly Unique Beauties Found in Sabtang, Batanes

Would you exchange comfort and ease for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the secluded island even though you know you could lose your total calm?