Radio programs from Tuguegarao if garbles, reach Batanes. Their language too, also called Ivatan, reveal their origins. It is prepared with Spanish pidgin and is spoken with the tonal musicality of Chinese languages. The Batanes folks depend mainly on small-scale farming and fishing for their liveligood. A modest farmland planted to root crops, vegetables, and fruit trees is a common possession of the average family.
Income is supplemented by raising dairy animals, hogs, and poultry on the side.
Points of Interest Batan Island. Contains the capital town Basco. It is the most accessible. You can circle it in three hours. On gentler beaches you may pitch a tent and let the world go by.