The Baguio of my youth

My family and I spent last weekend in Baguio for our annual family trip. The last time we went my granddaughter was just six months old and was not able to enjoy it as much. Now she is a full fledged bustling toddler and had a far better time. Everything was new and exciting to her and she truly was in awe of seeing everything for the first time — the horses, the pine trees, the log cabins — she was truly amazed. It reminded me of how I used to see Baguio when I was younger. How excited I would get to go there via those long trips up the winding Kennon Road (the only way to the City of Pines back in the day).

Thinking about it now, it saddens me a bit because I have noticed that going to Baguio no longer thrills me the way it used to in my youth. I suppose that is one of the many vagaries of life — growing old, and having “seen it all” before. When I was young, our family’s few trips up North were a source of non-stop excitement for me. I remember my mother would bring out the sweaters from the closet and dress us up in layers to prepare for the chilly weather that was always a respite from the Manila heat. We would board our old model car and she would fill it with snacks of pandesal, fruit, coffee, and clear water straight from the tap (no purified water back then), and we would head out for the long journey.

No matter how excited I was, it was sometimes a challenge for me to stay awake during the trips back then. We would leave at the crack of dawn, when it was still dark and the voyage was much longer than it is now. Over 8 hours on the road would be difficult for any child to stay awake through, however I did my best because I wanted to see the farmers tilling their fields, the carabaos on the road, the people selling their fruits and vegetables along the way, and the children walking to school in the many provinces we passed. It was such a pleasure to see our ricelands and the mountain surrounding the farms and small houses in the glow of the rising morning sun.

I’ve been reminiscing a lot lately and I think that’s a normal thing to do as you get older. I realize that we were a simple folk then, living in the midst of a rebuilding country ravaged by a long war that cost thousands of lives. It was peacetime and the Philippines was beginning the healing process of recovering from the Japanese occupation. The sufferings of our past made us appreciate everything we had, especially trips with the family to Baguio City.

Baguio has certainly been through a lot of changes over the years. Located in the province of Benguet in northern Luzon, the city has become a center of business and commerce as well as the center of education in the entire Northern Luzon. It was established by the Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. The name of the city is actually derived from the word bagiw in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet region meaning ‘moss’. With a high altitude of 1,500 meters and the nice chilly weather, it became known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines in 1903 and was incorporated and chartered as a city in 1909, celebrating its centennial last 2009.

The city definitely has a rich history, and this is only the recorded history of the past 100 plus years. One can only imagine what Baguio was like before it was established by the American colonists. I still remember seeing a lot of local cultural influence in Baguio when I would visit as a child. By then though it was a mix of both Philippine tribal and American influences, and the city had already become a veritable melting pot of cultural diversity with authentic native costumes and handicrafts on one end, and an American base complete with imported goodies on the other end.

That didn’t matter to me. In fact, I was always excited to go to Camp John Hay, as I am sure many of my contemporaries were in their trips to the city when they were younger. Though initially beginning as a Communications Base, Camp John Hay was used a place of R&R for the Americans who loved the cooler climate the city had to offer. Since then it has grown into quite the tourist attraction. We stayed there quite a few times over the years and played games and enjoyed fun activities. When the base was turned over back to the Philippines in 1991 it still remained a popular tourist attraction and eventually became the home of Baguio Manor, a golf course, and other recreational establishments.

Even to this day, I vividly recall the Baguio of my youth. And though at heart it is still the same city I loved as a boy, physically it is so different. One of the changes I noticed right away was that it is no longer as pleasantly chilly as it used to be before. This can probably be attributed to climate change and to the loss of a bulk of the city’s natural pine trees, but the nice cool weather is no longer as cool as it was before. In fact, at times it can even seem a bit hot. When there is a nice breeze it is reminiscent of the Baguio of the past, but I do find myself missing those thick sweaters we used to wear whenever we would visit.

Even some of the tourist attractions seem less exciting to me. Mines View Park seems smaller and Wright Park much less attractive than it used to be. And of course, let’s not forget the major industrialization that has occurred in the past 40 to 50 years. Big commercial businesses have cropped up all over Baguio and little attractions such as a small Benguet coffee shop selling traditional barako along Session Road can barely compete with full commercial coffee joints churning our lattes like there is no tomorrow.

I am not against industrialization. I realize that every city has to grow and expand and businesses offer city residents more choices and more jobs. It just saddens me to see the Baguio of old disappearing little by little. Cultural antiques and native costumes are still being sold to tourists, but even those appear to be lessening every year we go. I guess the city is slowly evolving with the times. As I mentioned earlier, I may have been slightly sad as I pondered on what Baguio meant to me in my youth but my granddaughter had a wonderful time. For her this is what Baguio is and she is just enjoying all the city has to offer - horseback riding, delicious homemade strawberry jam, pine trees, batirol chocolate, fog, and many things she does not see back home in Manila.

I guess in the end it all boils down to perspective. It is hard to continue comparing something to the standard you were used to as a kid. As a child you have a bigger sense of wonder and everything is exciting and fun. I guess we lose a bit of that as we get older. As for me, I enjoyed spending time with the family, of course, but I’ve learned that the Baguio I love the most will always be the one I hold in my memory.