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Mandy Navasero Batanes Photo Safari joins Nice Travel

12/21/2008

On Feb. 20-23, 2009; March 13-16 and 27-30 and April 3-6, Photographer Mandy Navasero’s love affair with Batanes beats again. This photo safari is the most popular trip for the young and the young at heart, for adventurous travelers both local and foreign enthusiastic to see Batanes while learning fashion, portraiture, architectural, naturescape, jumpology and abstract photography the unforgettable Mandy Navasero way. It is learn-by-doing with passion and excellence.

Navasero graduated with a BA in Professional Photography major in Advertising and Illustration.

Registration is done at Mandy’s Studio at Room 227, LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air II, Makati City or call 8991767 or e-mail mandynavasero@yahoo.com. All payments, whether in cash, credit card, should be made to her partner agency Nice Travel and Tours Inc., located at the 3rd floor, NAESS House, 2215 Leon Guinto St., Malate, Manila, or you may deposit to Nice Travel and Tours at UCPB S/A 110-108077-5. Please fax copy of deposit slip to 896-3208. You may call 526-6363 and look for Jo for other inquiries. You may also e-mail nicetvl@i-manila.com.ph.

Mandy has fallen in love with the bucolic, scenic and incredibly picturesque Batanes that she holds her summer photo workshops from 2006 to present. For participants, each visit is a special bonding both with nature and with new friends in the group. “Batanes is one of the 100 places you should see before you whine,” Mandy says. A spectacle of nature, Batanes brings the era of romanticism and a place where you can take photographs to your heart’s content for awesome scenes are just everywhere. Excitement is non-stop as you pass through rough shorelines, rocky mountains, the emerald hills, the sea that turns green and blue beneath the sky. The sky that is like a celestial spectacle of the earth’s canopy at sunset, and the stone houses that line the streets in Sabtang that seem frozen in time.

Quite surprising, there is such a place as Honesty Store in Ivana. It is a coffee shop where you can purchase souvenir items like t-shirts, garlic and onions and of course , a cup of coffee. Payment is done by listing what you have bought, and wrap it with your money, then drop in a box. Nobody would check if you have dropped the exact amount equivalent to the list of purchase. That’s where your honesty comes.

Lunch of coconut crab and other native dishes is at Morong Beach, a beach off the beaten path. It’s a long ride from Sabtang Port down the winding roads. The beach is fine white sand dotted with broken blue corrals. Another lunch is served in Malboro Country where its edge embraces the sea.

The stay at the Batanes Seaside Lodge & Restaurant is not about luxury and elegant room service. It is a trip to friendship where people chat in the dining room, talk about the day’s shoots and destinations while waiting for the critique of Mandy on their pictures.

Necitas Alconis of the Philippine Information Agency will lecture on the history and cultural heritage of Batanes. However, a luxurious accommodation can be arranged by Mandy Navasero and Nice Travel and Tours Inc. at Fundacion Pacita Abad, that can accommodate 22 guests, all rooms have view decks facing the Pacific Ocean, with panoramic windows. The place has a rich view of the sea and the touch of the morning breeze.

Mandy Navasero Photo Safari organizes for photographers and non- photographers jointly with Nice Travel & Tours, Inc. to travel destinations here and abroad.