Baguio...Paradise on the Sierras
Posted on Thursday, 4 September 2014
Baguio…paradise
on the sierras
By Apolinario Villalobos
Without the initiative of Judge William
Howard Taft, Baguio would not have been what it is now. It would have just been
left to bask in the sun as an ordinary mountain-top village. But Baguio is fated
to become the summer capital of the Philippines, despite its almost
impossible-to-reach location…a good 5,000 feet above sea level and
approximately 250 kilometers from Manila on a land transport.
In July of 1900, two members of Judge
Taft’s Commission blazed a trail to this mountain village directed only by bits
of information from Spanish account “of a pleasing and temperate climate
offering opportunity for delightful condition of life”. The two members of the
Commission, Luke E. Wright and Dean C. Worcester, set out on a boat to San
Fernando, La Union, then took to the road by horseback via Naguilian Trail. It
took them two solid days to reach a place of rolling hills and a little valley
where the climate was ideal.
Because of the long and tedious travel over
Naguilian, a shorter route was proposed and an engineer was engaged to lay out
a plan. The first and the second proposals were rejected. A third proposal by
Col. L. W. V. Kennon finally earned the approval. Ten thousand men and a budget
that went beyond one million dollars finally opened a new route to the future
city. The road, named after Kennon reached its earmarked site in January, 1905.
Landscape architect Daniel H. Burnham and
his assistant Pierce Anderson visited Baguio in December 1904 to prepare an
extensive plan for its development. What was envisioned during the visit was a
city that would hold a population of fifty to one hundred thousand people and
an allowance was made for an estimated growth of twenty five thousand more.
Burnham’s plan included business and commercial centers, residential districts,
army posts, a hospital, government center and a country club. The plan was
followed to its minutest details, and churches, convents, playgrounds, parks,
driveways, shrubberies and bridle paths were also appropriated spaces. For his
effort the city’s premier park, was named after him, the Burnham Park.
The incredible plan of the Americans,
carved a city out of the pine-covered range of the Cordilleras. But their
vision’s span was not stretched beyond fifty years. Baguio today is bursting to
the seams with escapees from the lowland cities’ dust, monotony, heat and din.
The allocated area for expansion is not even enough to accommodate the surge of
lowlanders who grab every opportunity to have permanent residency or just a
couple of week’s transiency.
A good rising time in this city is when the
sun has thrown ample amount of its warm rays to dispel some of the fogs that
normally envelops it. A big cup of locally grown coffee could help perk one up.
Once the tummy is warmed, the next best thing to do while still at the
breakfast table is gobble a bowl of “chopsuey” made up of fresh vegetables,
finally, downed with a glass of fresh strawberry juice.
The road to the Mines View Park should not
be forgotten which is just about ten minutes on a jeepney from downtown. From
here, a commanding view of the valley and pine-covered mountains can be had.
The park is practically covered with stalls selling colorful handmade products
from woodcarvings to cloths. From here, one may go down to the Wright Park in
front of the Mansion House, the President’s summer retreat. It is known for
year-long bloomers, an array of temperate flowers that literally brightens up
the surroundings even during damp days. There’s a man-made lagoon surrounded
with pine trees, and horses are available for ride at a minimal fee.
A jeepney may be taken from Wright Park
back to downtown for leg stretching while strolling around the Burnham Park. It
is neatly laid out and greened by fragrant pine trees, regularly trimmed shrubs
and made colorful by clusters of daisies and begonias in almost every corner.
It has a lagoon for boating at a minimal fee. Burnham Park has always
maintained its image as the city’s twin in popularity. Just as the rice
terraces are to Banaue, the Burnham Park is to Baguio.
On the northwest of the park is the City
Hall, majestically built on a slightly elevated area flanked by evergreens. For
a breathtaking view of the city, it is best to go to Mirador Hill, with its 225
steps that lead to the Lourdes Grotto. Another significant landmark of the city
is the Bell Church, brilliantly ornate temple which stands for the universality
of god. The church is named after the bells on top of the ornamental gates and
consists of pavilions that hug the hillsides with pathways flanked by dragons.
For silverworks, it is a must to visit the
St. Louis University Silver Shop. Responsible for the spread of the craft in
the city are the Belgian nuns who combined patience and perseverance with
artistic touch in teaching any local interested in the trade. The pioneers used
tweezers, but today, modern equipment are used to produce intricately designed
jewelries.
Asin road, a southerly deviation of
Naguilian Road, on the city’s western edge is where hunters for cheap
woodcarvings should go. The road is lined with shops of carvings that take
shape in a matter of a couple of hours in the deft hands of the natives.
As in any city, the best stop for
discoveries in Baguio is its market which is filled to the rafters with fruits
in season, antiques, baskets, brooms, wood carvings, silver filigrees and
jewelries, fresh vegetables, handwoven blankets, even pre-owned apparel. In the
market, one can discover a stall that sells “tapoy”, sweetish, though, potent
rice wine. The most authentic “dinardaran”, a dish based in pig’s blood, and
“pinikpikan”, chicken cooked with its curdled blood due to continues “soft”
beating until it gasps for its last breath can also be had in the market.
The lucky visitor may stumble upon the
small antique stalls in the market, items such as old Spanish silver pesos,
WWII relics such as Japanese watches and gold-rimmed eye glasses, and centuries
old Chinese porcelain wares.
Due to its strategic location, Baguio has
become a jump-off point to other interesting places in the Cordilleras, such
as the Mt. Pulag (9,623 feet above sea
level) and rice terraces of Benguet, and Kabayan for its centuries-old mummies,
as well as, the nearby La Trinidad Valley for its garden fresh vegetables and
strawberries.
The highlight of the city’s attraction is
the yearly, month-long celebrated Panagbenga Festival, held during the month of
February, during which the flowers are at their fullest blooming season. The
festival showcases the traditions of the different indigenous communities and
their products at the Burnham Park where visitors who failed to get hotel rooms
are also allowed to pitch tents for the duration of the activities. The
celebration includes exhibits, games, shows and the famous parade of floats
fully-decked with flowers.
The Philippines’ Shangri-La is believed to
have been known among those from Benguet as “bah-giw”, meaning “moss”, and
among the Ibaloi, as “bagyu” which connotes as submerged aquatic plant.
Whatsoever its name in the past was, Baguio may well be called an eternal city
where one could stroll in bliss unmindful of the passing time. It will always
be the last mountaintop resort for everybody…and, a special one, too.
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