City on the Mountain Top

My ever organized hubby is having a hard time dealing with what is locally known as “Filipino Time”. This is the exact opposite of a “New York Minute”.   It’s more like the Mexican “manana” - in other words, it may happen tomorrow.

We prepared to leave the beach resort and move into the mountains. The time of leaving was discussed with the resort owner and we were convinced to leave a little later than planned, so we could get a free trip to the bus. Well, later turned out to be, well, later. We had to wait for a certain employee to arrive, who was late, and then for him to get ready and then get the tricycle prepared, and for the resort owner to get ready as she was accompanying us to town….etc. By the time we reached the bus station, our number one choice of bus was already gone. Number two choice meant changing buses in the next city.  But off we went, and the transfer to the next bus went smoother than expected.

Or would have if that bus hadn’t sat for almost an hour in traffic and then had issues with its transmission. Traffic was unbelievable in the city. Despite our driver leaving no more than one foot of space between us and the van in front, motorcycles and pedestrians would press in between. So even if traffic did move, we didn’t. It took over 45 minutes to move just 1 kilometer.

So we changed buses again, luggage and all, and it was probably the best in the end. If the second bus had transmission problems in the city, it never would have made it to the top of the mountains. The road was steep and winding, and with other heavy trucks and smaller vehicles on the same two lane road, gears were shifted often. The view was spectacular with mountains and valleys all around and the occasional glimpse of the coastline far below.

Our hotel was in a beautiful location, right beside one of the biggest parks of the city. We were on the 5^th floor and had a great view of downtown. It was New Years Eve when we arrived, and so we took a quick shopping trip for food and wine and settled in.

The park below us was filled with people.  There were children with horns and noisemakers, teenagers with firecrackers, and hundreds of adults. They were getting ready for a party, and we had the best seat in the house. As I do every year, I wanted to stay up until midnight, but had little hope of succeeding.

However, at 10:30 there started to be fireworks across the city. It started out sporadic, a colourful bloom in the night sky here and there, always accompanied by the startling bang of gunpowder. It was not always in the same place. There are no safety requirements for fireworks here, so almost everyone had a display in their own backyard, or on the streets.  We even saw people in an apartment down the road set some off from their balcony.  The pyrotechnics became more and more frequent until 11:30 when the larger hotels and malls started with their own spectacular shows. Then it was a constant light show, all across the skyline of the city. I have never seen anything like it. I couldn’t turn my head fast or far enough to see everything. It only started to slow down after 12:30, but the younger groups continued with their noisemakers. Bags of firecrackers would be thrown out into the street, stopping traffic for several minutes. I was grateful we had a solid window on our balcony door to close out the noise, however slightly.

We were out early the next morning, and I was very surprised to see how quickly the cleanup had been done. The people paid to be street sweepers were working hard and garbage bags were all piled along the curbs.

Baguio City is located right on the top of a mountain. Because it has an elevation of 5000’, it is a favorite spot for Filipinos in the hotter summer months. It is cooler than the valleys and lowlands, but far from cold.  Kind of like San Francisco, you are always going either uphill or down and so it’s a great place for walking.  My hubby spent his university years here, but after 40 years, there was little to recognize in the city other than the slant of the main street. So we got to discover it together, doing the museum, the market, and all the tourist spots.

It is going to be a little longer before we come down out of the clouds, but we will be leaving the city shortly. As much as we have enjoyed Baguio, we are looking forward to seeing the wilder side of the mountains.

W