Stranded in Baguio
So what do you do when you find yourself stranded in Baguio? Make the most of it! Baguio , being developed mainly for tourism has many things to offer. Even if you’ve been to the city several times, you will always discover new things to love/adore about Baguio.
My colleagues were determined to push through with our plan to spend the long weekend in the highlands. A month earlier, I already set the date for the Sagada trip because there’d be 2 regular holidays falling on weekdays so it’sgonna be a longer weekend. That long weekend, too, coincides with the APO Gamma Pi’s 40th Anniversary post-celebration. It was in my plan to drop by the party before going up to Sagada.
August 23, Tuesday, there was a storm lurking in the Philippine area ofresponsibility but it didn’t show off any threat the next few days, until Thursday, when authorities began issuing warnings and signals in various places in the north where tropical storm Mina was projected to fall. I began to feel anxious because somehow I’d be responsible for my companions’ safety. Once the storm grows strong, it could cast serious damages on the Cordilleras, and most probably we won’t make it to Sagada.
Indeed, the storm ruined the plans of every vacationist spending the holidays in the north. For the whole weekend, our group was stuck in Baguio. Naturally, we were saddened. We wanted to go to Sagada and Baguio’s supposed to be just a stopover (so I could go to the APO event). Seriously, I felt guilty because we would’ve made it to Sagada if we didn’t stop in Baguio. The following days, thereweren’t any trip to Sagada.
The series of unfortunate events actually started when we found out that all Victory Liner trips going to Baguio were full and that the next available trip was 7am. I don’t plan to wait that long, sayang ang oras, so we looked for other options. Good thing Genesis bus at Avenida opened a trip for chance passengers.
It was already raining when we passed by Pangasinan. It was rather stormy when we were in La Union and while going up, the heavy rains and strong winds pounded the bus. Thank goodness we reached the Baguio safely.
Day 1
There was a power interruption in the entire city when we arrived. We checked in at Sta. Theresa Inn, settled down, and since it was stormy, we all took a nap. By 11am, I woke up feelinghungry so I had to wake my companions up. We headed to 50’s Diner for a super heavy brunch. Extra-heavy because most of my companions didn’t have an idea on how servings the restaurant serves. The guys even had double -meals!
After pigging-out, we decided to go around despite the on and off rain and strong winds. We roamed around Porta Vaga mall where there are very few stalls that were open and dropped by the Baguio Cathedral as well. Obviously, we needed divine intervention because the storm is strong. We had to stay longer at the church because we couldn’t cross to Porta Vaga due to nonstop rain and wind. I didn’t even bring a jacket, just a thin sarong. (I intentionally did not bring a jacket dahil wala nang space sa bag.)
We’re already wet anyway so we continued braving the rain down to of Baguio City‘s famous Wagwagan spots–Bayanihan. I wanted to buy a footwear for the night’s event, unfortunately, almost all of the stalls were also close because of the power interruption. From Bayanihan, we went to Dane’s Bakeshop for another food session because Diana wanted to try the eats at the infamous bakeshop. We kept ourselves warm with coffee, mami , lugaw , siopao and various breads. I wasn't even hungry. Such glutton. We left when we heard that power was already restored. The freezing afternoon was cruel and worst, when we arrived at the inn, they were still using a generator, so I had no choice but to bath in ice cold water. One of the few things I hate about Baguio.
Photos: Diana Alarcon
My colleagues were determined to push through with our plan to spend the long weekend in the highlands. A month earlier, I already set the date for the Sagada trip because there’d be 2 regular holidays falling on weekdays so it’s
August 23, Tuesday, there was a storm lurking in the Philippine area of
Indeed, the storm ruined the plans of every vacationist spending the holidays in the north. For the whole weekend, our group was stuck in Baguio. Naturally, we were saddened. We wanted to go to Sagada and Baguio’s supposed to be just a stopover (so I could go to the APO event). Seriously, I felt guilty because we would’ve made it to Sagada if we didn’t stop in Baguio. The following days, there
The series of unfortunate events actually started when we found out that all Victory Liner trips going to Baguio were full and that the next available trip was 7am. I don’t plan to wait that long, sayang ang oras, so we looked for other options. Good thing Genesis bus at Avenida opened a trip for chance passengers.
It was already raining when we passed by Pangasinan. It was rather stormy when we were in La Union and while going up, the heavy rains and strong winds pounded the bus. Thank goodness we reached the Baguio safely.
Day 1
There was a power interruption in the entire city when we arrived. We checked in at Sta. Theresa Inn, settled down, and since it was stormy, we all took a nap. By 11am, I woke up feeling
Photos: Diana Alarcon
