Showing posts with label Baguio City. Show all posts

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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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Mt. Pulog...Earth's "Bald Pate"

Posted on Friday, 8 August 2014



Mt. Pulog…earth’s “bald” pate
By Apolinario Villalobos

For nature lovers, climbing a mountain, though tedious, is a respite to release tension and pressure from daily routines. The Philippines is pockmarked with elevations for this purpose, from the lowest, Taal Volcano, in Batangas of Luzon, to the highest, Mt. Apo between Davao del Sur and North Cotabato in Mindanao.

The first time, I climbed Mt. Pulog (poo-lag), I just thought it would be an easy climb, in fact, just a trek, when the organizers informed us that going up to its peak would be a breeze on “clean” trails. Mt. Pulog, with its height of 9,623 feet above sea level, is the pride of the Cordillera mountain range. Nevertheless, we were told that the climb would just be easy.

The climb, organized by PAL Mountaineering Club, was made in November 1979, when the trails leading to the mountain’s peak were not yet so much trodden by local as well as foreign trekkers. As it was my first time to climb the mountain, I was excited no end, for I have already seen photos of its spectacular terrain that leads to its peak – treeless protrusions, endless field of grass, interspersed with flowers and dwarf bamboos, and thin wisps of clouds that hide some portions of neighboring lesser peaks. Mt. Pulog, in the vernacular connotes baldness, an appropriate name, considering the aforementioned description of this peak.

From Baguio City, we embarked on a four-hour drive to Ambangeg, an old logging camp, for a trek to Lebang Lake, where the trek to the summit was to start. Along the way, we were fascinated by mountainside sceneries – all breathtaking, including those of the Binga and Ambuklao dams. The continuous upward trek to Lebang Lake was arduous and a knee-buckling experience.  It was all the way up, that required rest every fifty steps in my case.  We were however, compensated with the view from the winding road that we were trying to tame. Finally, at seven in the evening, we reached Lebang Lake under the boastful glow of the moon, relieved, especially when we met Apo Usok, the mountain’s “sentinel”, who had spent more than fifty years of his life in his smoke-blackened hut.

We immediately opened our cold packed dinner for a few bite, as the cold to which most of us were not used, practically, penetrated the double layers of shirts we wore, on top of which as the final layer was the parka. We took time to visit Apo Usok who told us stories about the mountain, while enjoying sips of gin that we brought to counter the bite of the cold night. Those who did not have enough strength to pitch their tents, spent the night in the comfort of Apo Usok’s hut.

The following early morning, we assaulted the peak which was shrouded yet with clouds. On our way up, the clouds seemed to follow us, while gingerly finding footing on the slippery trail that winded through a forest of elfin pines, and clusters of wild strawberries. We found relief in a cool spring that we found along the way, where we refilled our water canteens. We could not help ourselves but get delighted by the ring of forest that girded the mountain, for the surprises that it gave us. One moment, we were groping our way through a fog, and the next moment, we were out in a clearing practically carpeted with grass, flowers, and dwarf bamboos! 

The most touching moment was when we were trudging on the carpet of soft peat moss that wound through moss and lichen-covered trunks of gnarled centuries old trees. In an instant, the fatigue that overwhelmed me during the first hour of my trek disappeared. As if on cue, the fog thinned out when we reached the border of the forest from where the majestic panorama of the summit enfolded. Everything was green with the undulating blades of grass, all the way up to the waiting bald pate crowned with a thin lace of cloud. The only distraction to this seemingly endless vista was the winding trail. It was just a great scene to behold!

We were all overcame with awe, everybody was emotional. We solemnly walked in a single file towards the summit where some ribbons of clouds covered us up to our knees. There was a general feeling that it was not a trek, but rather, a “pilgrimage” to a “high place” where we were to meet Him, to pay our homage. At the moment we set foot on the summit, we felt a strong attachment to Mother Nature, so that we were reluctant to leave the grassy pate, when it was time to trace our steps back to Lebang Lake.

On our way down, we picked up candy wrappers, empty cans of sardines and soft drinks, cigarette butts…every sign of the modern time that we found along the way, and which the unscrupulous “nature lovers” dropped, to be brought down to where they belong – the garbage can. Our group has been espousing the dictum, “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time”.

(Aside from Ambangeg, another way towards Lebang Lake, where the trek to the summit starts, is via the village of Ellet, onward through the Abukot sawmill, from where a logging road can be followed towards the lake. The best time to climb Mt. Pulog are during the summer months of March and April, however, “heavy traffic” of trekkers is expected. It is important that climbs be coordinated with the Baguio City Tourism Office, to check guidelines updates on restrictions as regards the rules on the mountain’s preservation.)