Life in a Northern Town Part 2
by rick olivares
Barangay
Canaoay, San Fernando, La Union
613am
I am up early. It’s a wonder that I am considering I
went to bed around 12:30am tired and severely lacking in sleep over a two-day
period. I guess deadlines will do that to you.
I’m half tempted to chuck writing and head for the
bench and well, stare out to the sea and lose myself. I think of Ernest
Hemingway and the thrall the sea had on him. I’ve never really tried writing on
the beach. I guess, I sit and daydream. Even at my age I still do that
(although once in a while because reality is not so bad).
I’m writing about the top foreign players to play
college ball. I am also writing a travelogue about this trip up north. I’ve
been known to write two things (sometimes three) at the same time, jumping from
one piece to another with my mind ablaze with ideas and thought.
Around 730am, we have breakfast of longganisa, fish,
sinangag, tomatoes and fruits. I feel like I could eat all day but I am already
bloated.
We finish eating and talking by 815. We have to leave
for Baguio before 9am. And as usual, traffic inside the city is bad. We arrive
one hour late at Teacher’s Camp where Team Lakay is doing sprints and weights.
Teacher’s
Camp, Baguio City
1030am
Eduard Folayang wasn’t at the gym last night but he’s
here today and we get to talk some. We stay for two hours shooting material and
interviewing fighters.
Many of these fighters have been given scholarships
to the University of the Cordilleras where they get to train with Team Lakay.
Some of them are taking up Criminology as they either want to become soldiers
or policemen. They tell us that in the north, the cops and men in uniform are
highly respected. It sure is a far cry from the way cops are seen in Manila.
Nevertheless, I am proud of them.
Ambuklao Road,
Baguio City
1230pm
We’re having lunch at the Tiñio residence. We relish
the invite as the food is said to be always good and we want to see the
spectacular view that was mentioned last night.
Being the highest point of Baguio, when the weather
is bad (typhoons), it can get pretty hairy. Twice have trees on the property
been struck and split in half. The lightning strike doesn’t end there, it
travels up and doing short-circuiting everything. According to Gaby Tiñio, one
of the sons and who now lives in Baguio full time, when the weather is
horrible, if you place your hand on the glass, you can feel it vibrate.
We’re outside the garden taking photos of the
mountains and the valley beyond. You can really hear the wind from up here. The
garden is impressive but ore so the view. One of those mountains beyond is Mt.
Pulag.
The Tiñio property lost a huge part of land when the
side of the hill fell down into the valley due to erosion. They had to spend a
huge sum to cement the side of the mountain to save the house. After hearing
that story, I wondered about those home, favellas we called them a day earlier,
along Naguilan and elsewhere in these mountains. Do the homeowners ever
considered erosion?
That should be a huge concern.
Baguio
Public Market (at the foot of Session Road)
330pm
No way are we shopping at SM. They aren’t the good
guys by any chance. Instead we bought fruits, rice, and pasalubong at the real
Baguio City stalls.
Good Shepherd is out of ube so we bought the next
best brand, Tantamco’s. We also bought 2 kilos of red rice from the Kalinga
Apayao region.
You really have to be mindful of your environment when
shopping here. There are pickpockets and even snatchers. So we walk in a line
and I’ve got everyone’s six.
We don’t stay too long. We head back to La Union. It’s
past 530 when we get to Canaoay and we’re like three hours behind sked in our
shoot for Jay-R Esquivel. It will have to do tomorrow.
I cap off my day with a beautiful shot of the sunset.
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| Our breakfast of longganisa from Vigan, fish, tomatoes, and eggs. |
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| The Sagada oranges I bought at the public market. |
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| One of the shots I took from outside the Tiñio residence at the top of Ambuklao Road. |
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