Baguio City for the nth time

Feeling short of our 2 night stay in Bolinao, Pangasinan, we headed straight to Baguio City. GPS directed us to a route passing Lingayen then to La Union then up to Marcos Highway to Baguio. If it hadn't been for my GPS, I would have drove back to Tarlac then take the normal route via Pangasinan. The Lingayen route saved us 2-3 hours of driving time.

Baguio is a very special place for me and Mayfel. This is where we... uhmmm... by the way, did you know that Baguio came from the word bigjiw which is an Igorot term for a moss? Anyways.. let's carry on. We visit Baguio at least once a year even if we are already running out of places to go.

Whenever we are in the city, we stay at the Golden Pine Hotel. They are by far the most inexpensive hotel in Baguio with the best amenities that I know of. Rooms with AC, carpeted floor, bath tub, free WiFi, etc.

The next day, I decided to take Mayfel and the kids to the strawberry farm since it's one of the places in the City where they haven't been to and I also want to test how extensive my GPS's map is. I want them to experience picking strawberries but we were disappointed to learn that it is not the season, December is. So we just settled with a few photo-ops, bought a few strawberries and left. Guess we'll just be back in December then. hehehe

We headed back to the city and went to Camp John Hay for a few more photo-ops. But when we're there.. I can't seem to figure my way to the places I used to visit so we just stopped to withdraw cash, take a leak, take a few photos (including main image above) then went to Mines View Park instead for some pasalubong.

Mines View Park hasn't changed much for me to take photos. The only thing worth a photo for me now is the gigantic dog that welcomes you to the park. For P50, you are allowed to take 3 photos with the dog. I remember the last family picture we had with the dog a few years back, it was only me, Mayfel and Xyza then. Now, we have Ethan so we thought it would be a great opportunity for a new family photo.

We still have a few more hours till the sun sets, we just decided to drop by SM Baguio to buy a few things, relax and watch the sun set which also marks the last of our 5 day vacation.

Bolinao, Pangasinan - Revisited

2010 has been a very busy year for me and Mayfel and we were dying to have a short vacation to unwind and relax. We had a few places in mind but I decided to take Mayfel and the kids somewhere they haven't been to.

It's been almost two years since I've last been to Bolinao (see this post) for a business trip. Here is where I was able to use my first non-SLR digital camera and where I received the news from my wife that I will be a father for the second time so this place is quite memorable for me.

It was raining like hell and we are already delayed for a couple of hours from our ETA because my new GPS navigator directed us on a route with 20Km of rough road just because it is 8Km shorter that the normal route. When we finally arrived at the resort, it was almost 6pm. Because the rain is not showing any sign that it will stop anytime soon, Mayfel and I were already planning of leaving in the morning, though it will totally break Xyza's heart if we do, if the weather does not get better in the morning. Good thing, sun was up the next morning and we were had a chance to take the kids for a dip.

We took the kids for a short stroll at the beach for a few photo-ops. The water is quiet and shallow, you can literally walk about a kilometer off the beach and not get any part of your body wet except your feet. We didn't go too far off the beach though, it was too tiring to walk on wet sand and Mayfel was also too afraid to do so. She thinks a tsunami will hit any moment and we will have no chance to run! hehehe...

Breakfast not being the priority that morning, when lunch time came we were all starving. We drove 10 kilometers to the town proper to buy a few stuffs for Ethan then off to the restaurant that I read in a blog, Tummy Teasers in Brgy Arnedo. Their servings are big but very affordable. Mayfel loved their Kare-kare and says that it is the best kare-kare she'd ever tasted.

We were glad that we finally had a chance to have our vacation.. but.. we thought, "2 nights was too short".. so we decided to go straight to Baguio and stay for 2 nights more. :)

my new hobby..

It was in the summer of '94 when I won 2nd Place on a Photography contest on a Nationwide Leadership Training Camp by the Philippine National Red Cross for volunteers all over the country. I didn't get to see the 2 photos I took but I'd bet it was good, or else I wouldn't have won (unless there are only 2 participants and 1 of them was me). None of the participants on the activity was a professional photographer, this is our first time to ever use an SLR camera. After a very very brief session about how the camera works and a few descriptions about shutter speeds, apertures, proper camera handling, etc. We were each given 20mins to find our subjects and shoot. It took me around 5mins to find a subject that I like, not because I am good at composing photos but because I was not comfortable walking around with someone following me, the owner of the SLR camera we're using.

The whole experience gave me a glimpse about photography, got me excited and wanted discover more. But the cost of SLR cameras, lenses, films, developing and other photography-stuffs held me back. Several years, a wife and a daughter later.. I was reunited with my urge for photography, thanks to the good image quality of my mobile phone camera, the Sony Ericsson P990i. I received good comments on the photos I took on my trip to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte using my mobile phone and they are suggesting I get a DSLR. But I can't afford to buy a DSLR right now so I looked for a cheaper alternative, a point-and-shoot camera that has manual modes that would allow me to play with different exposures and settings. Then I found the Canon Powershot A590IS. It's no DSLR, but for a beginner like my, it would do. The A590IS has a manual mode that I hope would help me understand more about the technicalities of photography (shutter speeds, ISO, aperture, etc.) before I shell out a huge amount of cash on an entry-level DSLR.

A week after buying my camera, I had the chance to go to Bolinao, Pangasinan for an official business trip. The trip gave me a chance to try out my camera. The images I posted on this article are the first and the last of the shots I took during the trip using my A590IS. More photos of Bolinao will be on my next post (or you can just visit my Flickr page).