The Batanes Story

I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶a̶l̶s̶.̶ ̶ I have simple requisites for rather "fancy" life goals. Case in point: I want to go to Paris to hug (and not even to eat!) a brown bag full of hot, freshly-baked baguettes. Never mind that the Eiffel Tower's standing right behind me, asking for a selfie. I want to go to New York to take the subway in a trenchcoat and Manolos--looking like I'm in a rush just because. Haha. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I got to tick off another simple item from my list, and that is to wear a vakul in Batanes. Yay! The vakul is a headgear made from abaca that is designed to protect Ivatans (Batanes locals) from the heat and the rain. It goes well with the kanayi (vest) and the backpack, don't you think? The whole ensemble's so "abacard" (hahaha get it? 😛). Too bad the kanayi's actually for men. With one clear objective in mind, I felt so accomplished already after having tried the vakul. But-...