Batanes Photo Safari 2014: What you can expect from our photo tour

Batanes is known to be the countries belt for the strongest typhoons. In spite of that, this little island manages to stay strong and endure the weather. But, for those who hasn't been to Batanes; you may ask "what's the hullaballoo about this island? Well, like any tourist would say;"Batanes will take your breath away". Breathtaking panoramic view of mountain hills surrounded by the clear blue ocean, all majestically spectacular! It's safe to say that all the Mandy Navasero Photo Safari Participants were left in awe by its beauty.

Photos below are the Mandy Navasero's BPS Participants for March 28-31, 2014:

Tour Guide Rogers, discussing trivia's on the Japanese Tunnel.

Batanes Photo Safari on 5-8 March 2011

Mandy Navasero: Batanes Photo Safari Lecturer

 on bed of cogon

Recent batch of Batanes Photo Safari Jumpologists

Jaime and Evelyn R. Singson (former president of 

Management Association of the Philippines), 

Susan and Alfredo Figueras, Aida Dy, sisters 

Helen Mayo and Nenita Gapud, and author-book 

editor Erlinda Panlilio in the area of Mahatao Lighthouse

Mahatao National High School Graduation 

Home away from home: 

Batanes Seaside Lodge and Restaurant

Ivana Elementary School Family

Immersion Read-Aloud to Ivatan children in different public schools has been a part of the Mandy Navasero Batanes Photo Safari, as well as distributing books to each pupil.

Shown above seated from left to right are:  Annabel and Rex Drilon II (reader), Rebecca Rarallo, Edwin Sy (reader), Annaliza Barrera, Hans (reader) and Barbara Muelinghaus, Ms. Yolly H. Elica, librariran of Ivana Elementary School who wish to have a second hand computer and printer  in their school (0999 3897 587), photographer Mandy Navasero, and tour guide-reader, Rojer Amboy with 31 pupils (Grades 6 and 3) who attended the GASFI READ-ALOUD at their school yard. The school has 150 pupils from kinder to grade 6 and recently was the recipient of 5,000 books from Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation in collaboration with Books Across the Seas.  They also lend their books to their neighboring school, the Uyugan Elementary School in Batanes.

Email mandynavasaero@yahoo.com if you wish to donate books.

Visit http://mandy-navasero.blogspot.com or call 8991767.   

Read Aloud: Batanes Photo Safari Immersion

Edwin Sy enjoying coffee at Fundacion Pacita

On 20 Feb 2011,  Batanes Photo Safari participants engaged themselves in  “Read Aloud” program where they read stories to schoolchildren,  in collaboration with Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation inc. (GASFI) and Books Across the Seas.  GASFI shipped 5,000 books for 150 pupils of Ivana Elementary School who share with neighboring school, Uyugan Elemenetary School. The books were received by Ms. Yolly H. Elica, Librarian.  Readers  were Rex Drilon II, Hans Muelinghaus, Edwin Sy, and tour guide Rojer Amboy explains the English stories in Ivatan.   Photos by Edwin Sy

Jumpology in Marlboro Country

MANDY NAVASERO of Batanes Photo Safari teaches participants the art of Jumpology. When you jump, you unmask yourself of all pretensions and land on the ground your own true self.

Beautiful Batanes Isles: Like the Scottish Highlands

Beautiful Batanes Isles is a special  destination for eco-tourism.  The land’s  unique qualities makes it incomparable to any other islands in the Philippines.  Batanes is like New Zealand, Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.  The climate is semi-tropical.  The inhabitants are peace-loving; in fact, it is a crimeless place.They speak Ivatan, English and Filipino.

Going to Batanes for adventure  with  mother nature is  not a luxury, it is rugged, unless you stay at the luxurious Fundacion Pacita Museum Resort  that  gives the best view of both the emerald hills and the deep blue sea. Other hotels are decent and clean with hot and cold showers.

Mandy Navasero at Tinguian in Sabtang, wearing vakul, Ivatans' 
headgear protecting them from heat and rain

 Fundacion Pacita Abad Museum

Valugan Beach covered wuth andesite stones spewed during the
eruption of Mt. Iraya

Ivatan Delicacies and Natural Attractions

Food in Batanes is native and deliciously prepared.  The Batanes Seaside  Lodge  and Restaurant  prepares its own recipes, most of which are not found elsewhere.  Batanes is famous for its coconut  crabs cooked with coconut milk, paco,  and lobsters— much loved Ivatan delicacies.  Beef and numerous species of fish  and other kinds of seafoods and indigenous harvests are served to complete  the visitors’ unique experience in these beautiful isles.

At Naiidi Hills, eating corn in colorful outfits

Batanes’ natural attractions include rolling hills  lashed by green meadows and hedged-lined fields where cattles graze and  root crops are  cultivated.

 There are two mountains-- Mt. Iraya,  a thickly forested volcano standing at 1,517 meters at its summit that spewed huge rocks when it erupted and covered a  beach cove with boulders; and Mt. Matarem,  standing at 495 meters.  They are the favorites of mountaineers and trekkers.

Batanes boasts of caves and rock formations along the coastlines.  Road cuts through high rocky cliffs and passes along sandy beaches,  winding at various points, and zig-zagging at every hill it passes.

Tukon Chapel

The architecture of Ivatan house features meter-thick stone and lime walls, as well as foot-thick thatched cogon roofs, which are cool in summer and warm during winter months.  Climate from November to February is considered mild winter; while March to July is breezy, cool summer. As  a general rule, the best time to visit Batanes is from February to early part of October.

Photo Safari in Batanes

Upon arrival of SEAIR at Basco Airport

My photo safari  participants enjoy to the hilt our trekking to the Fountain of Youth, cave exploration of the Japanese Tunnel with a 90 degree drop,  spelunking at Gig Crystal Caves in Batan Island, dipping in the cold water in Sabtang’s Morong Beach, and body surfing  with waves, the color of turquoise.  Tour of the villages in Sabtang like Chavayan and Savidug  show stone houses like frozen in time.  Photography is done everywhere and anywhere.  A stopover at Barrio Tinguian where one has the mountain and the deep blue sea is like being in Court de Azur in France.  There, we play with  the wind and our shawls, color of the rainbow.

Jenni Padernal with light crawling in at San Vicente Ferrer Church in Sabtang

Cynch Bautista doing a tricky stuff with photography

 Photo enthusiasts  are given tips on the   most successful way to execute architectural, portrait, fashion and glamour, macro and jumpology in Malboro Country and other destinations. Most photo students take surprising photographs-- luminous greens or seascapes framed with a sense of power and  beauty.  They take portraits under natural lighting , bathing their fellow participants in light, with hair like a glowing halo. Indeed, Batanes is a haven for photographers and nature lovers.

Join the Amazing Batanes Photo Safari  on March 18-21,  April 19-22 and May 6-9, 2011.  Email  mandynavasero@yahoo.com  or call 8991767 for details.  To know more about this exciting adventure, visit  http://mandy-navasero.blogspot.com  

Fall in Love with Itbayat

Batanes... where the intensity of nature is magnified and the people still have genuine warmth in their hearts.  Basco is your first stop, then Sabtang, but you must not leave until you've been to Itbayat.  The farthest of the three islands of Batanes, when you look beyond the northern most horizon you will seeTaiwan! Look inland and you will experience a town and a people where the community spirit is still so authentic.  Where money is rarely exchanged and the town elders police makes visitors feel secure with the authority of wisdom.  

The landscape does not disappoint, of the three islands it is most intense in this little paradise. 

 Come trek to the caves bordering the ocean cliffs that ancient Ivatans called home.  This is where the strength and the power of the crashing waves meet the calm of habitats that both nurtured and protected. 

Heralded by a bell heard from every corner of the island, mass is attended by literaly every towns folk and is celebrated in the small parish church, where men are seated to the left, and the women are seated to the right, and children sit along the aisle.  While mass is celebrated one humble home's front door is littered with many little slippers.  Children too young to sit still for one hour are all cared for here until their families come to fetch them after the service. I'm not too sure if the church is Dominican.  I can't remember exactly what language mass was celebrated in, but I think it was Spanish, the priest looks like he was a praile left over by the conquistadors. 

Photos and Texts by Popi Laudico

Fall in Love with Photography

Summertime

Playful at Boulder Beach

Batanes Shore

St. John the Worker Church

 Fall in love with photography in  Mandy Navasero’s learn-by—doing which is an  integration of artistic and technical instructions in portraiture and glamour, fashion, architectural, naturescape and macro photography.

Whether you are completely new to the field or seeking  new skills to advance and establish a career in photography, Mandy’s educational philosophy of “learning-by-doing” can help build sufficient skills to succeed.

With mandy, you  don’t just learn it.  You live it.   Batanes Photo Safari is  open to non- photographers, both local and foreign. 

You learn how to shoot pictures and to model.

Schedules for 2011 is on Feb. 18-21 and 25 -28; March 12-15, 18-21 and 25-28 (sold out); April 1-4 and  19-24 (Holy Week includes an overnight in Itbayat.  Discover huge caves facing the deep blue sea where Ivatans used to dwell) and May 6-9, 2011. Email mandynavasero@yahoo.com or call 8991767 or visit mandynavasero.multiply.com or mandy-navasero.blogspot.com.  Or drop by Mandy’s studio at Rm. 227, LRI Design Plaza, 210  Nicanor Garcia St., (formerly Reposo), Bel Air II, Makati City. 

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Please contact Mandy Navasero

09152200104   8991767

More than Photography

It is more than just the unique thrill of gaining new insights and learning new tricks in the art of photography from the guru herself, Mandy Navasero, for both professionals and enthusiasts joining the annual Batanes Photo Safari. They also experience the joy of giving the gift of knowledge when they distribute books and read aloud to the Ivatan children, in line with the learning advocacy program by the Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc. (GASFI) and the Books Across the Seas (BATS). The reading aloud activity is done in memory of Gig Oca Robles, a teenage photography lover who loved books and Sampaguitas.

Last year, Anne Nicorlay from Australia read aloud to the pupils of Sabtang Elementary School a title from the newly published Gig Seafarer Children's Book series "See, I Am Holding Daddy's Hand." The children were all eyes on Anne, and so were the photo safari participants. It was a sad story of a young boy whose father is away at sea as a seafarer, but always felt he was holding Daddy's hand. Anne read slowly for the Ivatan youth to understand every word she said. At the end, she asked the children, what was the boy holding? In chorus, they answered Anne, "Daddy’s hand!"

Mandy always encourages the children to read, because reading is the best form of education. “It gives you a wealth of information and when you read, you get ahead of the pack. No one will overtake you especially when you read voraciously, no matter how poor you are, knowledge is the leveling field,” Mandy enthuses. The children are told to encourage their mother, or father, or brothers and sisters to read to them 20 minutes before bedtime with the packs of books GASFI distributes.

The Batanes Photo Safari Season begins soon.  Learn portraiture, fashion, naturescape,  architectural and macro photography in three full days while having fun with the master photographer herself, Mandy Navasero, in the ultimate destination of a lifetime, Batanes. Schedule for 2011 Photo Safari is: 18-21 (5 seats available)  and 25-28 February (9 seats available) ; 12-14 (25 seats sold)  18-21 (9 seats available) and 25-28 March (25 seats sold); 1-4 (2 seats available  and  19-24  April (Holy Week includes Itbayat - 6D/5N, P30,000); and 6-9 May 10 seats available, 4D/3 (P26,000). Email mandynavasero@yahoo.com or call 8991767, 8963209, 09152200104  to register.  Pay immediately.  No refund. Non transferrable.  Visit http://www.mandynavasero.multiply.com and  http://mandy-navasero.blogspot.com for details.

Batanes Photo Safari 2009

Jumpology at Marlboro Hills

Learn Jumpology, which is the photographic art of capturing a high jump by the human subject without blurring any line of the body;  together with Naturescape, portraiture, Fashion, and Architectural shoots. Join me in the coming Batanes Photo Safari early next year 2010 for a package fee of P26,000 only (P28,000 for the Holy Week)-- 18-21 and 25-28 Feb, 18-21 and 25-28 March (fully booked), 1-4 and 12-16 (Holy Week) April, and 6-9 May. Email Mandy Navasero for details.

Exotic Batanes 3-day Photo Safari

Three-day Batanes Photo Safari 2011

Feb 18-21  and 25-28;  March 18-21 and 25-28 (fully booked); April 1-4 and 12-16 (Holy Week) ; and May 6-9, 2011

Package fee of P26.000 (P28,000 for the Holy Week).  3D/4N inclusive. Twin sharing or triple sharing for bigger rooms, one RT airfare ticket MNL-BASCO-MNL via SEAIR; three meals a day with two light snacks. Accommodation at the Batanes Seaside Lodge & Restaurant, with land and boat transport and tour guide.

You  learn  fashion, portraiture, architectural, naturescape and macro photography. You become  model and  shooter. Newbies can learn in the  easy way I conduct  hands- on photo workshop right on each destination.

You may wish to check  the activities we will undertake while in Batanes at  www.mandynavasero.multiply.com

Batanes Photo Safari- Day 1

Day 1

Group Check in  

Tentative -  4:45 am check in at the Manila Domestic Airport. Depart Manila at 6:45 am via SEAIR. Luggage  allowed 10 kilos; extra baggage charge  to your account.   Put a yellow ribbon for easy spotting for tour guides who will pick up  baggages.

Arrived  Basco- 8:15 AM

Basco City.   Get into a long jeep assigned to us. 

Check in at Batanes Seaside Lodge & Restaurant 

Room assignments. Freshen up, breakfast and change to appropriate trekking  attire.40 minutes negotiating the  Japanese tunnel. This has an exciting 'drop'.

Lunch at  Batanes Seaside & Restaurant

Visit Basco Bassilica

Proceed to the Light House with a breathtaking view. 

To Chanpan Fishing Village in Valugan, facing the Pacific Ocean . Picture taking at Boulder Beach. 

5:00pm- Back to the  Batanes Seaside, rest and dinner. 

7:00 pm- Lecture on history and culture of Batanes by Ms. Felicitas Alconis of  Philippine Information Agency (PIA).  You may buy books from PIA on Batanes 

Batanes Photo Safari- Day 2

Day 02          

Sabtang Island Tour Sunday 
  
Bring aqua shoes, shorts, bathing suits, trunks, sun lotion, hat, shirts easy in, easy out clothes, towel and a hat.  Wear colourful clothes.  Bright summer clothes for colour photography. 
    
5:30am-Breakfast 
6:00 am- Jeepney ride to Ivana Port. 
6:30 am-Cross Sabtang in a  falowa boat.45 minutes boat ride, get ready to be   splashed with  water  while crossing sea, camera  zip lock.  Keep camera safe, bring out only in San Vicente de Ferrer Cathedral for lecture) 

Ride and shoot  all day through the 4 towns of Sabtang,  stone houses like  frozen in time.  

TOPIC:  Architectural Photography 

Proceed to  Savidug,  old settlement, where local wine making is made from sugar cane. 
  
We do a READING PROGRAM  and  give books to children  as part  of the Mandy Navasero Travel Immersion Program. 

See the beautiful place of Chavayan, known for its cobble-stoned pavements and steps. The vernacular houses are centuries old. The place is recommended to the UNESCO for its preservation and protection . 

4:00pm back to the  main island of Basco 
Proceed to  Frestilda Dakay’s stone house, one of the oldest built in 1875.  The roof is changed every 30 years. 
  
 Visit the restored house of the Mandy Navasero Batanes Batch 2006 (raised P264,000.00 from sale of Batanes Photographs in Rockwell photo exhibit.)

Walk towards St. Joseph the Worker Church in Ivana,  built in 1860, oldest Roman Catholic Church.

Have coffee at  Honesty Store. Ride back to the Hotel. 
Freshen up, rest , or view  sunset at the beach behind our hotel. 
Dinner and fellowship night. 

Batanes Safari- Day 3

Day 3      ISLAND TOUR OF Batan Island 

  

6:00 am- Breakfast

7:00 am-  Meditation at at Rolling Hills 

8:00am- Jeepney ride to Diura Fishing Village 

This will be done depending on what time low tide is. 

Swim at the pool of the Fountain of Youth 

Trek back through the hills, SPELUNKING 

  

Ride to Tukon and enjoy a full view of Basco on the West China Sea and on the east, the Pacific Ocean  merging

Lunch at Marlboro Hills 

A ride to Marlboro Country, local version, with breathtaking panoramic view, velvet green grass and tamed farm animals. We do JUMPOLOGY 

5:00 pm-  end up  at the Rolling Hills, watch sunset. Spiritual bonding.  This can be in the morning depending on tide.

7:00 pm-  Rest and Dinner at the Lodge.  Fellowship night.  Show best pictures on laptop. Collect from each participant P500 as  tip for tour guides, driver, cooks and waiters.

Day 4    Return to Manila 

                                    

Tentative  Check in at 8:20 am at  Basco Airport . 

Depart Basco at 10:20 am and arrive in   Manila Domestic Airport at 12:05 PM.

7  am Early Breakfast.  Check out of the Hotel at 7:30 am  and catch the flight back to Manila . All tickets must be given back to Mandy Navasero at dinner time on Day 3. All luggage must be properly  tagged with your name at the Batanes Seaside Lodge Lobby at  7:00 am.  Individual participant must pay their   extra  luggage.  10 kilos allowed only .

Spend Glamour Photograph  shoots at White Rock Beach.