Baguio City
...Baguio Escapades...
Baguio City has kept most of its charms despite the onslaught of urbanization. It is the the regional center for the Cordillera Administrative Region. Famous for its flowers and the annual Panagbenga Festival, Baguio is also considered as the educational center of the north with the presence of such educational institutions as St Louis University, UP Baguio among others. The ambience of the city makes a conducive learning environment for students, writers and scholars.
We’ve heard that the company where we are working is going to establish another delivery center in this city, owing to its growing importance as an outsourcing destination in this part of the country being one of the Ten Next Wave Cities. Baguio is a favorite destination for outsourcing companies due in part to its cold weather condition, hence a saving in terms of energy expenditure.
Our first stop that cold February morning was the handsomely built gothic cathedral of the Lady of Atonement also known as Baguio Cathedral.
After that, we dropped by Volante, a homegrown pizza and restaurant, to eat our first respectable meal in almost 48 hours.
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| A Baguio street scene (Session Road) two days before Panagbenga |
After roaming around the streets of Baguio, we decided to go to the Lourdes Grotto at one of the uptown barangays of the city (Dominican Hill). Before going up to the Grotto you can actually see these tiendesitas lining up the street side. So one may check out their souvenir items. Here you can see a collection of Cordilleran and Ifugao apparels, arts, and crafts perfects for souvenirs and pasalubong.
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| Baguio Heritage Hill and Prayer Mountain |
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| Flowers at John Hay |
Convergys, "the No.1" outsourcing company in the country has a sprawling edifice inside the John Hay Estates. The Estates, a special economic zone which covers the whole of Camp John Hay and its forest reserve, is administered by a government owned and controlled corporation called Camp John Hay Management Corporation, a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
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| Convergys Baguio at John Hay Estates |
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| La Trinidad, Strawberry Country |
Who would ever thought that going to La Trinidad to perform such mundane task as picking strawberry would turn one's seemingly monotonous day into something that is--well--exhilarating? Well, I'm exaggerating somehow; but that's how I see it looking at these pictures. The members of the National Football Team stirred up a varied mixture of emotions in this once placid strawberry country.
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| One fine day at Benguet State U |
When in Baguio, don't miss the Good Shepherd Convent. Located in the general area of Mines View Park, the store offers a variety of products from strawberry and ube jams to peanut and cashew brittle. These products are the handiwork of the Sisters of Good Shepherd Convent and part of the proceeds of the sale of such products would help send to school select Cordillera girls.
We took a short stop to Mines view Park but the condition of the place at that time left so much to be desired. The throng of people just left a little space to take a breath. It would be best to visit the place on ordinary days.
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| Mines View Park |
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| The Home of the Philippine President in Baguio |
The most anticipated part of our stay in Baguio City is Panagbenga Flower Festival. Here is a video presentation of the pictures taken during the float parade to the tune of the Panagbenga Hymn. Watching the Panagbenga was an arduous task requiring you to wade through a sea of people. Nonetheless, seeing the parade of different varieties of flowers was one of the most rewarding part of our visit to the City of Pines.
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