Whymsical Batanes Islands

Photos by Farl

Farl has one of the amazing photo sets of Philippines in Flickr. His Batanes set is simply enchanting. Every picture is accompanied by details of the shots and the story behind the picture.

From Batanes.gov.ph:

"Batanes province comprises the northernmost isles of the Philippines. The island of Y'ami is only 224 kilometers from Taiwan. The Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean and China Sea meet, separates the islands from the rest of Luzon. The three major islands of Itbayat, Sabtang and Batan, are the only inhabited islands of the small archipelago. About half of its area is hilly and mountainous.

Typhoons on a northwesterly path regularly sweep through the islands from July to October although rainfall is heaviest from August to November. Batanes, as a whole, enjoys a pleasantly cooler climate because of its greater distance from the equator. From December until February, temperatures may dip as low as 7 degrees Celsius."