Baguio

When we went on our recent Outreach to Bagiuo, we were fortunate to stay at the Ambassador's Summer Residence.

It's a beautiful place in the mountains around Bagiuo.   The air is fresh and cool year round and there are lots of trees.

I got to stay in General Yamashita's room - rumor has that it's haunted - although no one came to visit me.

The grounds are gorgeous!

It was even cool enough to go for a morning run! Something I haven't been able to do in hot and smoggy Manila.

In our free time, we explored the town on the top of the mountain.

I even got to dress up in native dress.  The Igorot people in this region are known for their weaving, amongst other things.


























There were also lots of places to shop - I got some great woven items.

They're also known for having the best local style brooms.

I love visiting local markets!

It's a beautiful place - I can't wait to go back with my family!

Outreach

One of the primary reasons for having Embassies and Consulates around the world is to provide services for American citizens. Usually the American citizens make the journey to the Embassy or Consulate for services. But - in a country with a significant amount of American citizens living in large communities further away, sometimes the government comes to them in the form of an outreach.






I was fortunate to go with a team of colleagues to Baguio for an outreach.



Baguio is a six hour drive from the Embassy, up in the mountains of Luzon Island.

Kennon Road winds it's way up the mountain and it's a rather treacherous stretch.  Rocky mountain walls on one side and a rushing river on the other.  We were very grateful to have a driver who was so experienced.  Especially when our car broke down on the way up to Baguio.

Some people would be upset about having to wait on the side of the road for several hours until a taxi could come down the mountain to get us.

But our great team just took it in stride and used it for photo ops - even though it was raining.













And one enterprising colleague whipped out her craft basket and made us a set of matching bracelets.  We call it the "Kennon Road Collection"!

Finally we got to our destination and had a well deserved relaxing meal together.

The next morning we were up bright and early to begin our day of providing services to American citizens.  We processed passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, provided notary services and information about veterans affairs and social security.













It was a long and productive day.







We ended with some special cocktails and pizza!

The next day we headed back to Manila.  We again had cause to be grateful for our skilled driver.  We headed down the mountain - this time taking the Marcos Highway hoping for better luck.  But - once we got on the expressway, we blew a tire.  Thanks to our great driver, there were no injuries and the tire was quickly fixed.

All in all - quite an adventure!

Dampa Style

Since the Philippines is a country with more than 7,000 islands, there is of course a lot of fishing and seafood.    The best way to experience it is to do it "Dampa Style".    Not only do you get great and very fresh seafood, you also have a lot of fun experiencing a very Filipino way of eating.

Dampa is basically going to a fish market, picking out your fish, and then taking it to a nearby restaurant where they cook it however you like.  But - it's so much more than that.













There's a very large dampa area in Manila - right next to Manila Bay.  There are about three long warehouse type blocks that are filled with individual fish shops.  Strolling through in the evening to pick out your dinner is an incredible experience.










The vendors call out to you promoting their various fresh fish and shellfish.














There are fish you've seen before, and then fish you've only read about or seen in pictures, and then fish you've never seen before.












There are beautiful scallops still in the shell.




















And different types of clams.

Odd looking fish in tanks.

We picked out some clams and a big lobster.

We also picked out a Stone Fish to try.















The guy pulled it out of the tank and proceeded to butcher it for us.

And then we went across the way to the rows of restaurants. We found one that prepared the fish Chinese style and had a great feast!

Hidden Valley

Manila is a pretty intense urban place.  There's not a lot of green space and there's a lot of traffic. And unlike our last post where we could cross the street and be at the beach, in Manila it takes a 2 hours drive or more to get to a beach you can enjoy.

So - when our Brazilian friends invited us to check out a somewhat nearby day resort that had volcanic pools, we jumped at the chance.









Hidden Valley is about an hour and a half away from Manila (provided you leave early and avoid most of the traffic).  We drove south along the expressway (SLEX) and eventually got off and drove through many cute towns.









As we strolled through the resort to the first set up pools, our friends pointed out all the changes that had happen because of the recent typhoon.








Many trees were down, but it was still quite beautiful.

























Hidden Valley has several groupings of natural springs pools.

The water is slightly warm - which is quite refreshing.

There are also a number of waterfalls.  Some of the pools even have bubbles coming up from the bottom.

And of course all the fun made for a restful drive home!

Half a Century

I had a milestone birthday this month.
Usually as a Leo, I insist on celebrating my birthday the entire month.






But this year - in light of my milestone - I think I'll just celebrate all year.  

There are lots of things I'd like to do or learn or experience to mark the beginning of my second half a century.

 In addition to exploring this region and nearby countries (Thailand, Vietnam, China),

I also am planning to learn to scuba so that I can really check out new territories.



The Philippines has many wonderful dive spots that we will check out.











I spent the actual day in spa mode - a full day of all the pampering possible at the local spa.  It was very lovely and relaxing and I left feeling like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz before meeting the wizard.













And then I had a wonderful dinner at a new spot with my family

- and an Aviation cocktail.


A great way to begin!

WIDTOTO

There are a lot of acronyms out there that have become part of the regular language.  Words like scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus), snafu (situation normal, all f'd up), and fubar (f'd up beyond all recognition)  I particular like ones where the word has become such a part of regular language that the acronym origins have been forgotten.  Posh (port out, starboard home) comes from British travellers on their way to India and the importance of being on the correct side of the ship for each leg of the journey.

So - I thought it would be fun to create a new acronym and see if it could become part of regular language. The word I came up with speaks to the common practice that when something electronic isn't working and you can't figure out why, turning it off and then back on often fixes everything.  So - WIDTOTO - when in doubt, turn off, turn on.

Let's see how long it takes.