A trip to Baguio last week

A trip to Baguio….

 The sun comes up at 6:30.  The rooster next door has been crowing for about 30 minutes.

Breakfast is cereal and juice. Some laundry is set to soak. We pray and gather things for the day’s events.

 When we load the car, we always include some plants for Rose’ sisters. They are born to be gardeners too.  We will exchange these for some there to put in our yard.  We load the small cooler with water and ice in old Gatorade bottles.  It is already getting warm out. When the house is locked, I unlock the gate. There is an inside lock that holds both halves of the gate for cars together. There is also an outside lock for the small gate for people to pass through. We then drive 100 feet past our neighbor’s houses and go through the gate to the street. The street is about ten feet wide and paved with concrete.  It serves much of this neighborhood.  On the other side of the street is an irrigation ditch four feet deep.

 This morning there were few little kids playing in the street.  Sometimes there are ten or more of them. They always wave and shout hello.  The neighbors are friendly.  We wave and answer them.  At the corner is a gas station and a bus waiting shed.  We turn toward Urbiztondo and pass two tricycles and a cow.  A truck coming the other way has a heavy load of sand. At about four miles we cross the bridge over the Agno River. The water is low. Some boys are swimming. Others are fishing from a small boat.

We go through Urbiztondo and turn to take something to a friend who lives past town. About five miles out of town we turn into a narrow road into the barangay. Two miles further on we come to their neighborhood.  Here everyone seems to be related. Americans and their cars are easily noticed.  The little kids here shout and wave.  The adults and older youth often stare.  There are a lot of tricycles on the way. These are the motorcycles with side cars attached.  There are a few long jeeps and trucks on the road today.

 Our friend is a remarkable lady.  She was getting ready to go out selling soup vegetables and rice from a small trailer she pulls with the only four wheel ATV in the province. Street vendors are common. Her food is really good. She quickly offers to share some with us. Rose becomes her first customer for the day.

 After leaving there, we take the back roads to San Carlos.  The back roads are narrow. The main roads are wide enough for the traffic both ways.  Cars, trucks and busses are soon backed behind a slow moving tricycle.  It is going twelve miles per hour and so is everyone else in line behind it.

 Four miles later we have passed everyone in line and come to the town.  Then with a lack of communication,  I drive to Dagupan. The detour at Calisiao is no longer much problem.  We stop for gas. Then I find out that the trip to Dagupan was being postponed.  We turn around and take the road toward Santa Barbara and Urdaneta.  This is 27 kilometers away (18 miles). We get there in about 35 minutes.  On the wider highways we make much better time. We have been traveling for two hours.

   Rose and her sister want to detour to Villasis to get some herbs at the market there.  It is fifteen miles south toward Manila. The market there has more fruits and vegetables than I have seen anywhere.  Most of these I know of and have eaten often.  Some I don’t know what they are or how they taste.

 We buy banana chips and apples and some snacks.  We have juice and water in the car. The cr (comfort room) here is clean and neat.  This whole market is clean. There are some eateries. Here the traffic on the national highway is heavy. More trucks and buses.   When we get in the car, it is hot. We run the aircon on high for a few minutes.

Turning north, we go through Urdaneta. It is a small city with five colleges in it.  There are some great malls here.  Without the tricycles, it would seem like some of California. Most of the signs are in English. There is a Mcdonalds, a KFC and a Shakeys pizza place here.  Rice is served with every meal.

After Urdaneta we travel 20 miles north to Pozzorubio. (Spanish for red water).  Then through Sison. These towns are near the foothills to the Cordillera mountains.  The mountains can be seen ahead. They are five thousand feet high and steep.  There are clouds on top. We soon pass through the corner of LA UNION province and start up Kennon Road.  This is the most memorable part of the trip.

I would ask everyone to look online for Kennon road.  As we twist and turn and climb, we wind up in line with trucks and buses and jeepneys.  There are only two construction stops today.  They are rebuilding several stretches and cementing concrete barriers along the way.  With many cliffs above us and sometimes below us, we drive carefully. The road is much wider and the bridges better than what I remember from before.  It takes an hour to drive the forty kilometers to the top.

Finally after passing the lions head and the last steep mile we are at the “City of the Pines”.  Many of the pines trees are still here. The city has grown by ten times in the last forty years.  It is cool and misty here. The air is crisp. There are a lot of flowers.  And traffic.  And trees, even bamboo and mangos. 

The best map in the world and gps will do no good if you don’t know where you are.  Since Baguio is built in the top of several mountains, all roads go somewhere. I wish that I knew where.  There are many signs posted. If you don’t have a guide, you will be lost!!!    Rose’s sisters and nieces know the city well. It is like no other place I have ever been.  I could live here happily if I could afford it.

There is a mansion house for the Presidential Summer retreat. There is the old American recreation base called Camp John Hay. There are some nice hotels in John Hay today.  There is the tourist corner called mines view.  This is near where Rose and her family lived. On the north is Trinidad with the strawberry and vegetable fields. There are shops that sell fine hand carved wood items. Others sell beautiful silver jewelry. One notable one has hand woven clothes and accessories.  The market downtown includes modern stores. This fills several blocks. People have gotten lost walking around the market.  There are many street vendors. 

In Baguio you are often going up or down hill.  During the rainy season, you have to pay closer attention.  There is less traffic during the rainy season since more people are in the lowlands during school. There are many good schools in Baguio, including the Philippine Military Academy, a medical school, and an international school.  There is an airport further down the hill, but why would someone fly when they can travel Kennon road.

Too soon we have finished our deeds and set to return home.  We always look forward to the next trip to Baguio.  It is more than a vacation. It is an experience.