Half of my life I've wasted

and the rest I wanna spend discovering the Philippines.

Photo courtesy of http://www.travelandtourpackages.com/

I was born and raised in Cagayan, the province in the North, in Region II where Batanes is also situated.

I only knew about Batanes, it being mentioned in the Region II hymn we had to memorize and sing every flag ceremony way back in elementary. Aside from its name and location, I did not have any idea about Batanes. Until I went to college.

It was then that I learned how popular the place is among local and foreign tourists. First and second hand accounts and photos about the place revealed a paradise hiding somewhere there, in the isolated island, kilometers away from Aparri.

People would then ask me why I haven't seen the place yet since it's also in the same region where my hometown is. I would silently answer to myself, "because I just didn't have the opportunity to do so, the same reason why I am a stranger to my own province."

Now that the wanderlust and adventurous in me have awaken, I am trying to make up for all those lost time. Unlike most people who want to go touring outside the country, I prefer to experience the best of Philippines as I believe there is a bunch of amazing spots in here yet to be discovered.

But of course, giving in to such pleasures is never easy as the issue of money always comes along. That is why I see this South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) promo for bloggers as the opportunity that would finally bring me to Batanes, a step closer to my goal in discovering the goodness of my own region.

Last time, I didn't try my luck for their Boracay Bloggers' Tour, that first led me to the SEAIR facebook page, as I am not confident of myself but now, I won't pass this opportunity. This could be my chance to see the Ivatans who I heard have pretty fairer skin compared to us inhabitants of other Region II provinces.

I want to keep this short, direct and honest, so that's it! To all the good fairies, please make Batanes my first nature escapade for 2011. I wanna be a no-stranger in my own place. :)