BAGUIO

Living in Cebu for 23 years has gotten me used to the regular 24°- 26° celsius temperature. So I was really surprised when I went to Baguio for the first time. The temperature that day was probably playing between 19° or 20° celsius so one can just imagine how cold it was that day.

It was a beautiful Sunday. I and the rest of my friends arrived there at around 11:00 am via Victory Liner Bus. We were supposed to go to SM Baguio right away to leave all our baggages but since it was almost noontime and most of us were already starving, we all agreed to go straight to one of the affordable inns along Session Road.

After leaving all our belongings, we decided to go to the Strawberry Farm. That was where we bought a pack of strawberries and cups of strawberry-flavored taho. We eventually went to the Good Shepherd Convent. We stayed there for a couple of minutes, taking pictures of the place and strolling around the park. Afterwards, we walked down the road and headed to Mines View. Somebody told us that the foods were pretty affordable so we decided to take our lunch there. We stayed at this open-air resturant so we were enjyong the view of the city from the top while eating sumptuous pork adobo and sinigang na baboy.

From there, we went to the stalls and stores just across the road to purchase some pasalubongs for our friends and relatives back in Cebu. We bought some shirts and caps for our pamangkins. While some of us bought some belts and wallets for our friends and other relatives. I was really surprised when I realized afterwards that we spent almost two hours there trying to figure out which store sold the cheapest stuffs and which should be bought for whom.

Unfortunately, it rained hard that afternoon so we decided to go back in the inn. We waited until the rain stopped so we could go to our next stop. It was almost 5:00 or 6:00 when the heavy rain turned to drizzle and since we thought that we could not stay there for the rest of the afternoon, we went to SM Baguio and had our supper.

It was Monday when we decided to visit the rest of Baguio city. We went to Philippine Military Academy that morning. After taking some pictures, we went to the Mansion and then to the Wright park and then to Camp John Hay then to the Teachers’ Camp and then lastly to the Botanical Garden. Afterwhich, we went back to the inn, packed up and went home brining all the wonderful memories of the city.

Well, If there is one thing that I didn’t like about the city, it would be its location. It took us three hours to get there from Subic and another four hours back to Subic. Sitting, in the bus for that long can be really draining; but when I finally reached Baguio, well, quite honestly, it was all worth it.