Come late afternoon, I decided to hike up the nearby Naidi Hills, northwest of Basco proper. Here, I had a unique view of Baluarte Bay, Basco, mist-shrouded, 1,009-m. high Mt. Iraya (Batanes’ highest mountain), the sunset and the rolling hills. The hills used to be the site of the Philippine’s tallest wireless communications facility, bombed by the Japanese planes on December 8, 1941. Only the base remains. Also on the hill are the damaged buildings and bunkers that used to house the communications facilities.
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| The bucolic Naidi Hills |
The hill is now home to the new 6-storey, 66-ft. high conical Basco Lighthouse (also called Naidi Lighthouse), one of 3 lighthouses proposed by former Congressman Florencio “Butch” Abad. Built in 2003, it is located a few meters away from Radyo ng Bayan station and standing on the same site of Basco’s first lighthouse. It has a view deck on the fifth floor. Beside it is an Ivatan stone house constructed of native materials and essentially of vernacular architecture. The hill is also home to grazing cattle. On one occasion, one bull gently prodded me to vacate the grass I was sitting on.
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| One of Naidi Hills resident cattle |
Naidi Hills: Sitio Diajang, Brgy. San Antonio, Basco, Batanes.
