If there is something in the metro that is not in Batanes that we definitely did not miss, that would be vehicular congestion and heavy traffic. Yes the next destination is not really that far off, but when one realizes that we were on a cogon tricycle that doesn’t sport a three-digit top speed while running on cliff roads that are just roughly six meters wide for most part, it would be easier to appreciate how convenient mobility in Batanes is. As people familiar with Batanes would put it, life is laidback in this island paradise, hence no need to rush.

From Chawa View Deck to Mahatao Church, it didn’t take more than five minutes.

Established in 1787 under the tutelage of the cardinal saint Charles Borromeo, the San Carlos Borromeo Parish Church in the town of Mahatao, commonly known as Mahatao Church, was founded and administered by the Order of Preachers. Having withstood more than two centuries of natural and man-made tragedies, it was declared in 2001 as a national cultural treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

When we arrived in the church, there were locals flanking the entrance of the church, mostly women, who were looking after some children playing in the church patio under the early sun. We excused ourselves and entered the church, seeing for ourselves its antique beauty preserved in simplicity.

We offered some prayers, then we exited the church through its right door, leading us to the churchyard garden. There, a tree enveloped in ferns caught our attention.

Apart from its architectural antiquity and preservation, Mahatao Church also features something that is interestingly unique: a library of hardbound books, which at first is not as appealing, until you realize that the books are actually blank and it is up to the visitors to write something into them!

After writing messages, we headed towards the church patio where Kuya Bhong and Kuya Joaquin were waiting for us. Kuya Joaquin then offered to take our photos on the façade of the church. Of course, we obliged to the offer.

It was almost 09:00 AM when we left Mahatao Church. It was a unique experience, especially the part where we wrote on blank sheets of a book that would in turn become part of the history of a place that is historical in itself already.

The best way not to find the bed too cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is.

St. Charles Borromeo

It was as if a reminder, if not a challenge at all to do so, that in the journey of life, the opportunity to write on a clean slate—on a tabula rasa—is always there. It was as if an allusion to the patron saint of Mahatao himself, St. Charles. Unless it is the time for us to go to bed colder that it is, then we always have that chance to write our story anew.