Maui No Ka 'Oi: Walking Above the Clouds in Haleakala

"Maui No Ka 'Oi" means Maui is the best!  But then every island in Hawaii will tell you they're the best anyway! ;-) To be fair, Maui has been voted best island by many for many years.  So does Maui really deserve this?   After visiting every island in Hawaii, I think it's hard to compare them to each other as each one has a distinct character for me.  While Kauai has the best nature, Maui is probably best for a mix of action and nature.  Oahu, in my view, is more about city life, and the Big Island is all focused on its live volcanic action.  But let's go back to Maui and consider some of the best things to see and do.

We spent a late afternoon at the Haleakala National Park ("House of the Sun") hoping to catch the sunset and see the glow of the sun over the craters.  Haleakala Volcano is a dormant volcano at the East side of Maui.  Legend says the Maui demigod lassoed the sun from the volcano's summit to slow it down from its descent so that the day will last longer.  We didn't really know what to expect except for a warm sunset over highest peak in Maui.  But we were baffled by the tip to bring warm clothing as we were advised that it gets really cold up there.  And as any human nature would dictate, there will always be someone in the group ignoring those tips, thinking "Hey, this is Hawaii, how cold can cold get?"

It was a lovely 1-1/2 hour drive from Kahului and beautiful views meet us along the way especially along Haleakala Crater Road or Highway 378.  This is the fastest ascending road up to the peak, just 38 miles ascending to 10,000 feet.  Wally, our driver, was an excellent narrator.  He kept us all awake with his interesting stories and with his hoarse throaty voice, he keeps building excitement as we go.  As we near the park, the roads turn left and right through a series of switchbacks, and we are finding ourselves on top of the clouds.  Yes, clouds!  Then sun seems to be shining and we still feel the warmth from it through the windows, until we got off the bus somewhere in the middle of the ascent to take a good look at these great views.  And boy, was it getting chilly!

Wow Philippines! * Batan, Batanes Part 1 of 3 (April 2012)

The sun was barely up in Manila
and we're already taking off

Being that Batan is the main island of Batanes, all flights get in from here.  Basco in Batan Island was our base for our 5-day journey and DDD Habitat was our home.

Batanes Airport

As soon as we landed, we checked in to our rooms and freshened up, then rushed off to catch the boat to nearby Sabtang Island and experience going back in time.  You can read my blog on Sabtang titled Sabtang Brought Me Back in Time

In fact, that was a good introduction to our trip to Batanes.  On our way back from Sabtang, we get a good view of the San Jose de Ivana Church, the newly painted yellow church at the Ivana port.

We also got to visit the Honesty Cafe, a popular cafe made famous for its honesty system.  "This Store is Too Small for Dishonest People" - a sign inside the Honesty Cafe, a small little cafe near the port in Ivana, Batanes.  Joe and Elena own this place and because they were so busy with many other chores elsewhere, they often had to leave their little cafe which eventually turned into a self-service cafe, where even the payment for the food, drinks or souvenir items you want to get are done by dropping them into a box just sitting on the countertop. Thus, the birth of Honesty Coffee Shop where Honesty is the Best Policy.

It seems that we've been here in Batanes for so many days already, but our first day was just ending.  We head out for our first sunset shoot at Vayang Rolling Hills.  As if Tinan Hills in Sabtang Island has not left us out of breath, Vayang Rolling Hills competes for our attention with its beautiful vast open hills as far as the eye can see.

One can see Mahatao Lighthouse from here

And what better way to end a colorful day than to have dinner by the bunkers at the Naidi Lighthouse, overlooking the hills up on the coast.  Dinner itself turned to be an adventure experience as the wind howled and hurled around us, blowing even the chairs down.  Never have I encountered such strong wind even during a storm.  But this is Batanes on a regular night.  We had to move our tables inside one of the bunkers so that we could eat comfortably.

As we headed back to DDD Habitat, we went for our rest knowing that there is a possibility of canceling our trip to Itbayat the next day, given the strong winds.  We were to decide at 4am the next day.  All night, it sounded like strong rain pouring but when I peeked through the window, it was just the wind.  At 4am, we received word that the winds had died down and we were cleared to travel by sea.

Despite the clearer weather, our journey at sea was still an experience of a lifetime. And you can see why when you read my blogs about Itbayat in Itbayat, Batanes: Adventure at Sea and Itbayat, Batanes: Homestay and Beautiful Landscapes

Back from Itbayat, we headed back to DDD in time to visit the church as it was Good Friday.  We went to take part in the festivities at the Basco Cathedral.  The activities were long and very traditional.  Practically, everybody was at the church taking part.  The cathedral was just renovated, after 12 years :-)

On our way back, we wanted to get something to drink, and to our disappointment, most of the stores were closed because of the special holy day.  We found one where we could buy some soda on a bag.  This will appear interesting to foreigners, where a plastic bag is used to put the soda.  Basically, it's so that you don't have to take the bottle and bring it back later on to claim your deposit.

After our rest, we headed out again for a sunset shoot at Chapidan, otherwise known as Boulder Beach.  The view was spectacular as we sit by the boulders watching the waves hit the rocks while the sun sets behind the spires.  Behind us, we were able to catch a glimpse of Mt. Iraya, as the clouds moved out of the way for a few minutes, uncovering a majestic mountain that was kept hidden all this time.

View of Mt. Iraya from Chapidan Boulder Beach

Photo by Ferdz Decena

Another wonderful dinner filled our stomachs as we ended the day at the Pension Ivatan, who served the famous Ivatan Platter which basically gave us a taste of a variety of the local Ivatan food which included the following:

- Tatus (Coconut Crab)
- Flying Fish (I think :-))
- BBQ
- Shrimp
- Turmeric Rice (yellow ginger)
- Uvod (meatballs) - after some research, I learned this is made of pork, flying fish and banana trunk
- Pako (edible wild ferns) - was great with the yummy bagoong that they served, we had to ask for more bagoong :-)
- Tinolang Manok (yellow ginger)



You can also read my other trip reports on Batanes

Batan, Batanes: Part 2 of 3

Batan, Batanes: Part 3 of 3

Sabtang Brought Me Back In Time
Itbayat, Batanes: Adventure at Sea
Itbayat, Batanes: Homestay and Beautiful Landscapes