Taste The Summer
By Raneil Antonio Ibay
The dawn slowly breaks the cold night as we step out of the van, camera and tripods in hand patiently expecting the coming of another amazing Baguio sunrise.
It’s around 4AM when we arrived by bus. Chito, Raymond, Gina, Rosy and I were met by Manong Ronnie, our driver and tour guide and take us to a 24-hour diner for an early breakfast. We then met up with Rellie, Kenneth and Michelle who came by car and we were off for a day of shooting in the City of Pines.
The cold easily burned out as the day progressed, hinting a taste of the summer to come. We visited timeless tourist spots such as the Baguio Cathedral, Wright Park, The Mansion, Mines View Park, Good Shepherd, Baguio Botanical Garden, Burnham Park and Tam-awan Village.
Tam-awan, a haven for local artists is an excellent place to view and buy local art and souvenirs. The food at Tam-awan was also superb. Tuyo (dried fish) with Lumpiang Shanghai, fried egg and mountain rice plus a mug of mountain coffee really hit the spot.
Of course a trip to Baguio wouldn’t be complete without going to the market and the ukay-ukay. Chito, Raymond and Rellie went for the Ukay-ukay while Gina, Michelle, Rosy and I hit the market. The market offers delicious local delicacies, local handicraft, amazingly cheap fruits and vegetables and anything you could possibly think of. Just beware of dishonest vendors with faulty weighing scales and pickpockets and you’ll be all right. The Ukay-ukay is a great place to find bargains of one-of-a-kind apparel.
Tired and weary after 2 days of shooting pictures in the Philippines’ Summer Capital, we went back home knowing fully well that this was just a taste of things to come and that there will be more of this trips to where our heart fancies during this hot and hopefully endless summer.
