Baguio

One of the places we have wanted to visit while here is a city named Baguio  It is one city everyone says is a must visit. So while on break we decided to go. It is a 6 hour drive north and it is in the mountains. It is a learning experience every time we travel. So much culture to learn about and it is great. Baguio being in the mountains is about 15 degrees cooler than Manila which was great. I even had to wear a sweater. One of the ordinance worker couples in the temple live in Baguio ( they work one week a month) and invited us to stay at their resort . They were super to us and made sure we saw as much as we could while there. They came and met us as soon as we arrived and took us to the park in the center of town. It is the first real park we have seen in the Philippines. All the ones in Manila were turned into malls. With the cooler weather it is a great place to be. This is a big week in Baguio and they were getting ready for a flower festival this weekend. We are standing in front of a flower landscape contest entry. Baguoi was originally built as a vacation place for American Service men to escape the heat . What a good start to our stay.Thank you Brother and Sister Tiru.

Next they took us to the resort of another member he is a Bishop his wife is really the one who has grown the business.. It was called  Neverland mountain Resort. It was built up the side of the mountain. You had to be a hiker to get there. It was huge and beautiful. They had several swimming pools that were huge. The water was really cold. 

Looking up to the top of the resort.

Looking down on the pools.

Baguio a city built in the mountains and they are covered with houses  some places there was no room in between them.

Tiru's Resort. It is called Elizabeth's Fantasy Resort. Our room was on the 3rd floor on the right. It was a really nice place.

They had 2 big pools but the water was freezing. If you look over the fence to the left. There are squatter houses. A huge contrast.

Elder and Sister Call, Elder and Sister Roundy, Elder and Sister Hawkes,
Brother and Sister Tiru, President and Sister Wong and our tour guide ( the Tirs's son in law)  Sydney. He is a Brazilian educated and joined the church in Japan, taking Americans on tour in the Philippines . How is that for diversity. He did a super job. 

Mountain side view

This art work was made by using a magnifying glass to burn wood to make the picture.

We went to Tam-Awan Village a Nepa hut village was built to  preserve indigenous customs. Up in the mts. and by the rice terraces many people still live in huts like these. This hut is supposed to be a special hut good for fertility. You can still pay to sleep here and the fertility God is supposed to help you conceive.

Top View of Tam-awan village.

This picture is out of order, but this is the view over the fence of Tiru's resort. It is a squatter house built right next to Tiru's only separated by a fence.

Mountain side view of Baguio.

Looking down on the Village from a hike up the hillside.

We at3e lunch at this 50's Diner. They had big hamburgers and shakes.

We visited one of the most famous places the Philippine Military Academy. Kind of like visiting Westpoint.

More hillside views.

Closer view of the quality of the homes.

This neighborhood is a little nicer.

Strawberry fields. First introduced by Americans and is the only region cool enough to grow them in the Philippines. They are a big draw.

This dogs head is painted on a rock on the side of the mountain.

The worst part of our trip was when we were about to leave Sister Hawkes tripped and fell and broke her collarbone and had a huge bump on her head. She ended up staying in the hospital overnight for observation. She will be sore for awhile but should be okay. I could write a book on the experience starting with the ambulance ride to the hospital stay. Everything is so far behind it is hard to describe. This was the best Hospital in Baguio. She is being wheeled outside coming back from xray in this picture.

All of the white and the other structures you can see here are a cemetery on the hillside.

View from the top of the mountain passage we will go through. Being from CO this is not as impressive to us than it is to others.

A Rock Lion 

A lions head chiseled into and painted on a rock coming our of the mountains.

Cobs of feed corn drying in the street.

Brother and Sister Capaton . We stopped at their rental places they own and got some free mangoes. That was great except it was 3 hours out of our way!! More valuable than the fruit was the pictures of typical Filipino people and their kitchens. It is like camping out forever.

This kitchen sink is outside of the sleeping part of the house.

The people who live in the houses . It is their kitchens I took a picture of. They were thrilled when I took their pictures.

The stove

Another view of their stove

A typical elementary school. They all look alike and their is one in every village you drive through.

School kids in uniform.

Another shot of the school

More girls in uniform. They were excited when they saw me take their picture./ Filipinos love to have their pictures taken . It is flattering to them.

Stuck in traffic. A two lane left hand turn made into 8 lanes of chaos.

Trikes add greatly to the traffic problems.