Batanes 05112014 Day 4

May 11 is the second Sunday of the month and is also Mother's Day for this year. I committed a mistake when planning for my travels because I thought Mother's Day falls on the 3rd Sunday. I made a mental note to make sure I send an SMS to mom and greet her a happy mother's day.

We woke up very early to catch the sunrise at Diura, a fishing village in Mahatao town. The beach there was full of boulders and it was there where I scraped my knee when I fell after stepping on a very slippery rock. Ugh!

After watching the sunrise for around two and a half hours, my buddy and I separated ways. We both wanted to explore Batanes the hard way but I don't know how to ride a bicycle on rugged roads so I planned to just walk.

I was dropped off at the foot of the hill where Tayid lighthouse is located so I had to hike up all the way. My first few minutes of being alone made me question what I wanted to achieve after all this. Talk about sudden regrets but the tricycle had already sped away. [And there's also my pride to protect.]

Fortunately the road to Mahatao was gently sloping downwards so it wasn't that difficult. The challenge is dealing with the very fickle weather. One moment it rains and another the sun shines ever so brightly. Good thing I brought my raincoat with me.

I got to Mahatao just in time for the mass to commence. I ran all the way to the church and even was relieved to see the priest and his "staff" were just about to enter. Whew! Needless to say, I was super drenched in sweat and with a bleeding knee on which I poured lots of alcohol to prevent infection.

Because I was all alone, I could visit places of interest to me but which may be weird for others. I went to Mahatao cemetery afterwards, then walked towards Basco, determined to make it in time for lunch [or maybe I'd just collapse and sleep the whole afternoon]. It was already past 9 in the morning and sun's rays were not friendly anymore. Still I tread on, feeling like a 浪人. When I was running out of water and seeing the long stretch of road ahead of me [and also thinking that I must have covered 4 kilometers already], I decided to bring out the magical thumb while on the highway. It was my second time to hitch a ride (the first being on my return to Manila from Vietnam and a fellow plane passenger would also pass by the Makati area where I used to work).

The driver's name was Richard. I was happy because he's a chatty guy. He told me interesting tidbits about the Ivatan culture, like how they raise animals in Goat Island but slaughter the animals for meat there to be transported to the populated islands. They do not transport live animals due to their superstitious beliefs. He also told me that Amboy's is the only place where you can get beef tapa because normally the delicacy is just for household consumption.

Since his destination was Batanes Resort, we had to part ways at that point and I had to go by foot again all the way to Marfel's Homestay in Basco. By that time, I could already feel like collapsing any minute because of the heat. I think I must have walked more than a kilometer just to get to the inn. WHEW! [I'm never doing it again! On second thought, I might if only for the sense of fulfillment...] My buddy had returned some 20 minutes earlier than me.

Ate a quick brunch of leftover pinakbet and fish and went straight to sleep. I tried to go over the materials I got about the history of Batanes but my body was already craving for sleep.

Late in the afternoon, we explored Basco again. We planned to have dinner at the famous Bunker Café near Basco lighthouse. At the same time, we wanted to see the sunset there for the second time. Our dinner consisted of mushroom soup, beef steak, fish with wasabi mayo, upland rice (YUMMY!), turon, and stir-fried veggies. Of these, I loved the fish best!

In short, this day was mainly about getting awed [and burnt] by the magnificent sun. [But this girl is a Moon Goddess...]

Batanes Day 1
Batanes Day 2
Batanes Day 3
Batanes Day 5 

13 Assassins (2010)

13 Assassins is a period movie set in the latter years of Feudal Japan. The era of the samurai is on the decline as peace reigns over the land. However, Lord Naritsugu has been abusing his power as the half brother of the shogun and has gone to pillage and rape women. Fearful of his power should he join the council, a senior government official Doi Toshitsura hires the samurai Shinzaemon to assassinate Naritsugu. This is after a woman who has suffered from Naritsugu's abuses was presented to him. The cruel lord cut her limbs and tongue and this caused her to live in misery and to request "Total Massacre".

Shinzaemon did not waste time to gather loyal and able samurai. Before departure, he had 11 under him. While in the forest, they rescued a man who claimed to be descended from a line of samurai. This man was to be the 13th member of the group.

To trap Naritsugu, Shinzaemon bribed the Owari clan to block the Kiso pass under its domain. This made Naritsugu to take another route which will lead to a small village where he and his men were trapped by the 13 assassins. Fighting ensued. One by one, the assassins fell until only Shinzaemon and his nephew were alive. Shinzaemon fought his erstwhile dojo sparring partner Hanbei who was loyal to Naritsugu while his nephew fought two other samurais. In the end, Shinzaemon killed Naritsugu and he himself was also killed by the latter's sword.

When the nephew went back to the destroyed village, he was surprised to find the 13th member still pretty much alive and can still jump up and down.

The movie ends saying that 23 years later, the shogunate fell thus the beginning of the Meiji Era.

This movie tells a lot about the relationship between leaders and their subjects. A leader is supposed to protect his subjects from harm and danger. If the leader instead abuses his power and rules with cruelty and oppression, he must be brought down. Another important thing in this movie is the unity and loyalty of a group and each person's cooperative effort for the achievement of a common goal.