Legend of Y'ami Island

If you know your Philippine geography, then you should know that the northernmost island in this archipelago is Y’ami Island in the province of Batanes. This small island, also known by its modern name Mavudis Island, is separated from Taiwan by the 200-plus-kilometer Bashi Channel. On a clear day, one can supposedly spot Taiwan from Y’ami.

Y’ami is a remote, rocky island. To illustrate its remoteness, there’s a story that goes around saying that there was once a young man from Y’ami who wanted to marry a girl from the main island of Itbayat to the south. Y’ami is so remote that the man supposedly went to Taiwan, flew to Manila, then to the Batanes capital of Basco, before riding the boat to Itbayat. The story is almost certainly an urban legend since Itbayat is closer to Y’ami than Taiwan is, and because the official website of Batanes says that only the islands of Itbayat, Batan, and Sabtang are inhabited.

Mavudis (or Mavodis) is the Ivatan name for the island and means "low".