while we basked under the glowing sun in the philippine military academy, we drenched ourselves with rain showers in the mines view park. and these two happened only in one day. come noontime, baguio was all covered with foreboding dark rain clouds that i reckoned, were considerably nearer to the land than what i am used to. baguio's elevation is after all, 1,610 meters.
did the rain totally spoil our mood? uhm, not really...
of course, there were a good number of food stalls to deviate us from fully moping due to the weather. we however, only gave in to steamed corn on the cob because we just had our lunch in session road before hopping into a jeepney to mines view. but to be surrounded with plenty of food was enough to cheer us up. do you also get that feeling of food-binge crave when the weather is cozy cold? please say yes so that, i won't feel any weirder than what i already am.
mines view park's setup is quite ingenious. the arriving visitors go a separate path while those leaving, go through the alley, sandwiched with tiny shops selling a variety of baguio souvenirs. it may be intentional but it's also a good way to help out these sellers. the competition looks tough as they sell almost the same items and i think, the thin line that separates them from one another is how willing a seller will be to agree with your bargained price.
my mother has a special way with words that haggling can be considered to be one of her expertise. although, we had a good wisecrack out of the process as she sometimes bargained using our dialect, cebuano. this was actually the case in our entire trip. well, having spent all our lives in cebu, speaking in cebuano then became second nature.
quite obvious from the park's name, mines view, the main offer of the park is a breathtaking view to the mountains where there's said to be gold and copper mines. with the kind of visibility above, we could only wonder where exactly.
but even with the misty view, it was very exhilarating that it evoked a mountain fairy-like revelation from me as i enjoyed the fresh drizzle rain on my face. i really miss the feel of the rain from the mountains since it's a perfect kind of feeling to be tucked underneath the blankets or be snuggled in the couch with a cup of warm drink. rains in the city just don't give me that. it's probably that mountain rains carry an extraordinary fresh scent from the damp lush environment -- the trees, flowers, and even the rotting leaves on the soil.
lastly, we were elated when we encountered a st. bernard dog in its enormous size! above photo is one of the only two family photos that we had in baguio. the other one was in PMA with the help of my flimsy handheld tripod, a loot from daiso. lol
st. bernard dogs in baguio become a business opportunity since visitors just can't help not to get mesmerized with the dog's adorable face in its larger than life body. a number of shots cost as Php50 and i hope the handlers take good care of these dogs. they very well deserve it.
other thing that i wanted to do was to wear the traditional ifugao clothes and my suggestion that all of us wear these clothes, was declined by my father. :( i never got to wear one because it rained incessantly. to think, it was very cheap at Php10. :(
but it was all good. we had a few good laughs in the whole experience. there's no way that we can control the weather. might as well enjoy the ride and while we're at it, dance in the rain.
*there's no entrance fee to the park.
o-O
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