And when they are not able to farm, they stay indoors and pray for a change in the weather. Indoors is the only safe place on the islands during typhoons. The Ivatans build their homes of rock and limestone, and the walls can be more than a metre thick. These little fortresses have thatched roofs that, amazingly, don't leak or blow away. The islanders use a special thatching technique that has been passed on for generations.
Local bankers eat here, as do police and town hall staff.
A stranger taking a table at Mrs Garcia's is quite likely to be invited into an islander's home. You will be an object of curiosity wherever you go, which takes some getting used to. When the crabs start marching ashore and climbing into our gardens, we know there will be a big storm. Today in Basco there is cause for celebration. The first chartered vessel for months has just berthed.