Something Else: Ivuhus Island

Or Vuhus Island. Whichever.

I learned about Vuhus Island from a forum. I decided to check it out instead of pushing a day in Itbayat.

And because I am a solo traveller, I had to fork money to get in that side of Batanes. I’ll go back to Batanes someday.

 

After lunch and resting in Morong Beach, Kuya Michael brought me to Nakanmuan Village, the jumpoff point for Vuhus Island. Had to pay an additional Php 500 from Morong beach to Nakanmuan, then take me back to the Tourism Office. He said he had his contact here. Better contact him for boat rates Michael Hornedo – 09184370551.

 

Took a break going to Nakanmuan to take a photo of the view

 

 

No signal in Nakanmuan village

Took us around 15-20 minutes via a slow motorized boat. Low tide during the afternoon, so we had to walk.

 

 

Vuhus Island is one of the uninhabited islands of Batanes. Uninhabited by humans, inhabited by cows. According to Kuya Michael, there’s another island in Batanes that’s inhabited by goats. There’s a caretaker in Vuhus island, guarded by a dog.

Scorching hot sun that day. The beach sand was so loose too, I kept losing my balance.

According to the caretaker, the cattle here are raised together, then a village is assigned per area. The residents all go to their respective areas once the cattle are ready for “harvesting”. The Bayanihan spirit is very alive here.

 

They took me around Vitavuy Coral, where they train some of the cows and quarantine those with a disease.

Well hello there, little fella.

Vuhus island piqued my interest because I read that the island had faluwa-shaped graves. Yes, that was interesting enough for me. :P Plus of course, some bragging rights that I chose an off-the beaten path adventure.

 

Kuya Michael insisted on carrying my handbag. Hehehehe!

 

I was disappointed when they told me the graves were kilometers away and it would take hours on foot. So would visiting the cattle. I didn’t see the herds of cattle around. They said it would also take a while on foot. In the scorching sun, no thanks.

They took me to the caretaker’s residence, with a vegetable and salad garden. Cute.

But the pests got to the cabbages first

 

Not a crazy adventure, but looking back, it was crazy that I considered travelling in the island. I was a solo female traveller and there were two men, with me on a deserted island. CRAZY. But I felt really safe with the locals, and I trusted them.

The whole thing just took around two hours. Kuya Michael noted that I was tired (really, the heat tired me out) and offered that I take a nap in his mother-in-law’s stone house for a while. I also sensed that he wanted to stay for a bit to probably catch up with some of the locals there. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t in a hurry to go back.

Tired. Must chill.

 I would suggest a visit to Vuhus island, but I suggest you visit the place during the morning para high tide, you can swim. Also, bring a bike (a folding bike to fit the boat probably) so that you can explore the island).