Trifter

I felt a little bit dizzy. The bus was snaking the mountain highway. Although still half-sleep after seven hours trip, I peeped at the window. The pines, the deep ravines, the clouds hanging low…we were in Baguio.

           Baguio City. I have been to Baguio several times. But Baguio’s magic is different depending on your companion/s. My husband and I left Manila at 1 am on board Dagupan Lines. The fare was cheaper compared to Victory Liner. The bus was freezing! We reached Baguio before 7 in the morning. Immediately, since, I still remember the routes, (although it has been six years since my last visit), we went for a walk along the Session road, going to the Cathedral, took a few pictures then to Burnham park to rest for a while and to gather our thoughts.

           Baguio is an idyllic place. Shops are still close at seven. There were still few people walking and not in a hurry. After having coffee at a nearby Mister Donut, we went to the market. The market was just about to wake up. Since it was April and peak season, all the hotels downtown were fully booked. We were lucky to get a transient house at the Cabinet Hills for P250/head even for half a day.

 The place known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines no longer catered to the American expatriates during the American Rule. The mountain city is open to all who want to have a brief respite from the heat. But Baguio, with its long history of subordination and struggles under the American Rule is now open again to real estate developers. The city that is designed for only 25,000 people now holds 300,000 residents as of 2007 survey.

Before three o’clock in the afternoon we’ve been to the tourist spots in Baguio, except Philippine Military Academy and the Grotto and the Mansion. He did not like to go there. We spent most of our time exploring the city on foot, taking time to notice the influx of Muslim migrants and merchants in the city selling silver jewelries and fake DVDs. I remember during my first visit in Baguio on 1995, there were local women Igorot knitting sweater while you wait at the stairs leading to Cathedral and at the Burnham. Now they were gone. Mines View Park is where the tourist can get a view of the city. It was an abandoned mine of the Ibalois (indigenous tribe in the Philippines). Until the 1990s there were still kids climbing the deep ravine to catch the coins from the tourists. The tourists found the kids’ agility of catching coins another tourist attraction. Fortunately, laws for the protection of children prohibit this kind of activities. Many years back, I witnessed how the kids like lizards climbed the rocks without fear just to catch the few coins.

After a while we went to Tam-Awan Village which is a project of Channum Foundation. It showcases the Igorot culture. What is remarkable in the park is its location in the forest. The igorots different houses are there and the visitors can stay overnight or days for a more in-depth experience of Igorot culture by living in any of its houses.

The foods at the café were very good at a very low price. Sipping cordillera coffee while listening to the rain up in the mountain was truly a divine experience. Mountain rice which is truly organic is delectable.

But what makes Baguio a real jewel? The people. The people who continuously exerting all their efforts to preserve Baguio as a haven for the rich cultural heritage of their ancestors. Ben-Hur Villanueva, the old visual artist who lives down the Tam-awan Village in Pinsao is one of the great Filipino artists who makes Baguio come alive with his sculptors known all over the world, but sadly, a virtual unknown in his country.

In spite of the heavy rains in the afternoon, we still enjoyed the sceneries and promise to go back and bring the kids with us next vacation.

We took a van on our way out to Baguio at 9 in the evening. We were heading for La Union and from there we would go to Vigan City.

 It was an exhilarating day. Although a vacation far from our dream vacation, it gave us time to reflect on the changes and challenges we have to face in the near future. Like Baguio, a place once owned by the Ibaloi is continuously evolving, facing the challenge brought by modernization…even though it may mean some serious environmental damages in the very near future.

          The cold embrace of the mountain breeze lulled me into deep slumber. As we went down, the blurred image of an Igorot woman waiting for a tourist to have a photograph with her for P10.00 lingered…and I thought I heard a sounds of gong echoing in the cordillera mountains…saying goodbye and welcome.