Treasure Find 32 -- There's More in Ivana's Honesty Store

BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC:

Honesty Store.  At first, it sounds strange to me.  But when I saw it on TV,  heard it on radio and read it on newspapers, it fired up my soul to pursue my life long dream of going to Batanes and search for that wonderful place. 

And when I finally made it to this heavenly place, I made sure that visiting the "legendary" Honesty Store will be part of the itinerary!  So right after my journey to Sabtang Island, we went to Radiwan, Ivana where the said store was located.  And finally, I found the Honesty Store!

The Honesty Store / Coffee Shop is owned by Ms. Elena Gabilo.  The difference of this store with the rest of the sari-sari stores in the Philippines is that the customers can buy from the store without the storekeeper / owner.  The customer just needs to serve himself, either prepare his own coffee, buy goods and put his money in a box.  In fact, he can even make a change himself.  He just needs to write down on a notebook what he bought from the store.

Treasure Find 23 -- Journey to the "Lost" Island of Sabtang (Da Best Sa Batanes part 4)

BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC:

Batanes...blessed or cursed?  Its isolation from the rest of the country preserved its pristine beauty but at the same time somehow kept it away from progress and life's advancement. 

There's no doubt, Batanes is among the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, places on Earth.  The prehistoric violence on Earth's soil and the province's eventual geographic location molded the magnificent beauty it possesses now.  As it's away from the effects of too much modernization and the wrath of pollution, Batanes was able to keep its natural gifts and the peaceful way of life of its people.

But while they are isolated, some things are left difficult to do.  Going back and forth to Batanes is costly, on the average, one must allocate around PhP 30,000.  Sometimes, one may have the money but the goods are not available in the islands.  If the weather is not good, ships won't dare to sail or go to their place to bring the things they need.