Day 11

It seems like we've been gone forever, but it's only day 10 of this fantastic journey. We are now lodged at the Benguet Pine Tourist Inn which is right in front of the Burnham Park, the center of Baguio city. It's clean and quiet. It includes breakfast but we're expecting virtually nothing for us vegans because they reportedly serve eggs, ham, sausage and rice only. No veggies or fruits. Before deciding on this place, we had fun checking all kinds of cheap lodgings and came upon some really seedy places, including several where patrons pay by the hour.

Our previous lodging here in Baguio was the loft of the 5th floor of a building called Vocas. The owners have a son who is an artist and you can see in one of the pictures how artful he is. We stayed here free as Shant knows the owner, but we couldn't stay the whole time. We set up a tent in a small space above a restaurant. This place had the balcony overlooking the city center.

Baguio is pretty much the same as any big city here in the Philippines -- crowded. But it is very pleasant as it is pretty high up in the mountains. Ole has been gorging on guayabano (also known as sour sop, a tart fruit like a cross between peaches, guavas and strawberries which cost 15 cents a pound) and pineapple segments, which are 10 cents each. I've been really enjoying papayas, the many different kinds of bananas, chicos and local pastries mainly made of sticky rice, coconut, brown sugar and sesame seeds and rice cakes. Our lunch or dinner would mostly be rice and very lightly stir-fried greens, such as sayote or water cress. We sometimes bring fruits for dessert and the carinderia's (food stall) management does not mind. People here are very accommodating.

Ole has been spending time with Shant teaching him how to use a laptop which we brought for him. Shant is learning fast and they have covered quite a bit including how to do email, browse websites, download programs, etc. We installed open source programs for email, sound recording and editing (Shant is a musician), and chess, Shant's hobby.

We probably will stay in Baguio one more day and then move on deeper into the interior, where the native tribes live. We hope to see some rice terraces and experience village life. I am looking forward to visiting a weaving shop. In the guide book, it says that one can watch the women weave table cloths and napkins, jackets, purses, etc.