City of Pines

December 16, 2018; It has been awhile since we last visited Baguio.  Traffic was reportedly bad in Marcos high way due to the closure of Kennon Road to all types of vehicles.  Luckily, a newly opened bypass road from La Union to Asin in Baguio was already passable to light vehicles.  Only the brave and adventurous dared to take this path.  True enough, it was a good decision for us.

Before reaching the city proper, we dropped by at the Shrine of the Brown Madonna. The shrine is located inside a small cave along Km 7 of Asin road.  This shrine was inaugurated in the 4th of October 1986, during the month of the Holy Rosary and at the time we Filipinos would want to have national peace and solidarity.  The place was named Brown Madonna to symbolize the Filipino's brown race.  The sculpture of the Virgin Mary was 7 feet tall to remind the devotees that there are seven days of prayer in a week. A very solemn place to say our pray of thanks for all the blessings we had in 2018.

A visit to the Butterfly Sanctuary in Camp John Hay was a first for the boys.  This was the first time time they had actually touched a living butterfly.  Nowadays, butterflies are no longer a common sight in our communities mainly due to the lost of their habitats.  The caretaker had a brief lecture on how to help conserve the habitats of the butterflies and how they help our ecosystem.

We took a short cut in trekking the Forest Bathing Trail and found ourselves at the entrance of the Tree Top Adventure which was close for the day.

A small replica of the Statue of Liberty is found in the CJH that servers as a reminder of the American influence to us Filipinos and that the same influence is here to stay as part of our daily lives.

A visit to the City of Pines would not be complete without a boat ride and bicycle ride at the Burnham Park.  The park is a historical park located at downtown Baguio and was design by a Famous American architect.  It is located in the center of the city and everything was built around the park from the city market, Baguio Cathedral, and even the Session road leads to this park.

We also visited one of the country's most beautiful church structures, the Baguio Cathedral.  The cathedral sits atop Mount Mary Hill with a majestic view of Session Road and city's landscape.  It is one of the few churches in the country with twin spires.

It was truly another trip to remember.