Some of the lucky residents—and their visitors from the lowlands—would whimsically describe the climate in Baguio as Christmas-like
Images by the author.
While the rest of the tropical islands are sweating it out during the amihan season, the lucky residents of Baguio City are enjoying the natural airconditioning of cool and coolish temperatures throughout the day and night. Some of them—and their visitors from the lowlands—would whimsically describe the climate as Christmas-like.
Linger around the fireplace—no artificial fire here, every flame true and natural—at Baguio Country Club or BCC (as in Baguio’s Christmas Country) as soon as the hour after dinner sets in. Across the street, an Oriental Winter Wonderland complete with sudsy “snow” entertains children and grownups with further fantasies from anime pop culture (with cherry blossoms, torii arches, etc.), Christmas carols filling the chilly air, and a timely staging of the Nativity complete with the Three Kings. What a sight, cars waiting to inch their way in to drop off their passengers, at all hours from opening in the morning to closing when all kiddies should be in bed.
Each weekend that brings Christmas closer to our hearts and homes will see more and more people crowding into Baguio. Can’t we have more cities like this one settled primly on a mountaintop? According to Mayor Benjamin Magalong, now on his second term, the city has practically reached its limits, all 57,000 square kilometers of it. From hereon in, development will need to be vertical, ergo his program to develop 6.3 hectares to locate 25 condominiums to shelter 2,000 families. Legally speaking, the maximum height for building in Baguio used to be eight stories, said the mayor, but since Tuba has been found to be safely away from the earthquake fault, “we may now build up to 12 to 15 stories.”
People who have been to Baguio at least once in their lifetime eventually dream of moving up, literally, to the “city of pines,” as it was once called, or at least to build their second home there. And why not? It’s almost a garden city, where fresh flowers sold at the market are ridiculously cheap (compared to their prices in Metro Manila) and they last longer, too. The once leisurely pace of life is no longer what it used to be, vehicular and pedestrian traffic being the bane of every highly urbanized city, but hotheads in the airconditioned city have learned to adjust and go with the flow.
Can’t we have more cities like this one settled primly on a mountaintop?
As a garden city, Baguio has parks not just for walking and strolling but also for horseback riding—for the kids, that is. The former US base, Camp John Hay, now the home of The Manor and Le Monet hotels, are a few minutes from the Country Club; all three share the same sky. On a clear crystalline night, look up at the sky and catch a silvery moon shining down on the two golf courses, all tenderly green and promising.
As Christmas fast approaches, it would be easy to imagine Santa Claus and his reindeer preparing for a visit—would they make Baguio their first stop in the Philippines? Why not? It’s cooler here, Santa!
