Reminiscing About La Trinidad and the Cordilleras
I have been working on a scrapbook album about my early working years, right after graduation from college. Looking at my photos from that time has brought back a lot of fond and funny memories.
My first job took me to La Trinidad, Benguet, home of strawberry fields and Benguet State University. It was the lowly sweetpotato that gave me 2 years worth of plant breeding experience and backbreaking work. But it also gifted me with foggy mornings, travels to and fro on unpaved mountain roads, clean cool air, unmatched views from mountaintops, visits to out-of-the-way towns, weekend jaunts to Baguio City, fresh vegetables, simple living and so much more. I went there because I needed a salary, but what I got out of it cannot be quantified. I LOVED that time in my life.
Not many people know what I did there or why I opted for such an unglamorous job. A lot of my friends worked in Manila after graduation, enjoying the corporate life and the night scenes of the big city. Me? I spent nights in tiny towns with no electricity or running water. I hauled sweetpotato cuttings for planting. I worked with farmers, the poorest of the poor, who couldn’t even afford to eat rice every day, so they had sweetpotatoes instead. My friends must have felt sorry for me, stuck way out in the boondocks of Benguet.
But the place and the job had its own charms. I don’t mean the fact that I had to wear muddy rubber shoes and boots on most working days. And I don’t mean the lack of a fancy night life (La Trinidad has a night life of its own, where every hour after sundown is happy hour).
It was what I saw, and tasted, and took in everyday, and the possibility of new things the next day, and the next week and the next month. The project took me to places like Buguias, Kapangan, Atok, Taba-ao, Pudong, Kayapa, all over the Cordilleras. I saw mummies, bubbling sulfur pits, unpolluted rivers. I climbed up and down the steep sides of rice terraces. I stepped out into kaingin farms teetering precariously on mountainsides. I visited an unexpected museum seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I took early morning outdoor baths, using water from cold springs. I inhaled fresh mountain air and watched fog settle down into the valley.
La Trinidad, Benguet will always have a special place in my heart. If you live thereabouts, you know what I mean. If the farthest you’ve ever been in Benguet are the strawberry fields, you’re missing something. Beyond the Benguet capitol are adventures and sights that not everyone is privy to.
I’m glad for those 2 years. I might never have the chance to go there again, but I have enough memories to last me a lifetime. And photos like these and these, taken by other travelers, will always take me fondly back.
Tags: Benguet, La Trinidad, Baguio City, Cordilleras, Philippine travel
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POSTED IN: Personal Experiences, Places to Visit
August 30th, 2006 at 1:06 am
i cannot sleep. it is now 2am central time in the u.s. i work nights from 1900 to 0400central for a major airline. i am manning the international call center for all the passengers of my airline company and listens to all their complaints and problems they have encountered while flying out airlin.i am an american filipino. we speak 65 languages at my office. i was surfing the net, blogs and so interested in checking blogs with pics back home. i came across ur blog and i hope u don’t mind the visit.
reading ur entry, i think u are the last of the breed who still have the heart to be working and loving what u do with the people in the hinterlands. all my nieces and nephews graduated from ateneo and all of them are in the states. they are telling me, there is a great percentage of graduates, upon graduating leaves the country for abroad. just like u said, some of your friends after graduating, went on their own to the city to savor the life and the lights, the intrigues and the dangers of the metropolis.i have two sons, who have chosen to be on their own now. the eldest is finishing his masteral degree in international business and trade and the younger one is in paris, studying at le’cordon bleu, aspiring to be a souz chef. how i wish they cud be like you, to have the love of the true essense of the your country and mine, together with the people that have made the phils. what it was now and before. you stayed, i admire u for that. you are the last of the breed. good luck and be happy with all your intentions in life.
i will always visit ur blog!
August 31st, 2006 at 12:02 pm
[…] Napasyal ka na ba (Have you been to - Sa Intramuros at Luneta (Intramuros and Luneta) Palawan, Vigan at Batanes (Palawan, Vigan, Batanes) Subic, Baguio at Rice Terraces? (Subic, Baguio and Rice Terraces) […]
August 31st, 2006 at 12:15 pm
[…] Reminiscing About La Trinidad and the Cordilleras By Maricar | Related entries in Personal Experiences, Places to Visit […]
August 31st, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Hi Mel,
Thank you for visiting. You are always welcome here.
My apologies though, if my post has caused some misunderstanding. I was reminiscing about my stay in La Trinidad many years ago. I no longer live there. Like you and many of our countrymen, life has brought me to other shores, to the U.S. specifically. But even if I’m no longer physically in the Philippines, I still have that “love of the true essense” of our country that you describe. I know a lot of our fellow expats share that as well. That is what I aim to preserve and share with others, here at Filipina Soul.
Thanks again for visiting! Always feel free to share your thoughts with us about the topics we discuss here.
September 1st, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Hi there. Baguio is one of the nicest place in the Philippines. And I’m not saying that just because I’m a Baguio Girl. I’m saying this coz it’s true di ba hehehe :)
September 1st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Yes, Baguio is a nice place. I’m sure those who go there every summer would agree. :)
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:26 am
i am considering travel to la trinidad from manila in early january. thank you for the beautiful photos. can you provide any suggestions as to the fastest and safest way to get to la trinidad from manila? thank you
December 22nd, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Hi Caytieb,
It’s been a while since I’ve been to La Trinidad. But when I worked there, I invariably took Victory liner from Manila to Baguio, then a jeep, or taxi depending on the time of day, to La Trinidad. I hope you have a good trip, and do share photos with us if you can.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Hi Maricar,
Hope this email finds you well. I just came upon your blog by chance. I too used to travel to the Cordilleras a lot with friends and officemates (Banaue and Sagada are favorites) although these were mostly “pleasure” trips. Sadly at present I haven’t had the time anymore to pursue this activity. You are right that there is some sort of charm (and magic) so unique to the place. Regards.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
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July 20th, 2007 at 4:37 am
Your blog has touched me deep. It is so heartwarming to discover that somebady out there still reminish about this place. I love photographing La Trinidad Valley from Tawang side and I never tire of doing so.
I have stumbled on your blog via myLot when I’m searching for “La Trinidad.” I am a Northern Benguet native and I now live in La Trinidad Valley.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
hi! i got inspired with what u wrote. im going to baguio city on the last week of april, and i wanna go further up north. i was thinking of going to banaue then to sagada. how long do you think it would take me to reach those places.i know its been so long. but im still hoping ull be able to read this. thanks! good day!
April 24th, 2008 at 6:49 am
[…] was drawn to this site because of the many photos of Benguet. Having lived in La Trinidad for two years, I still hold very fond memories of those mountains, rivers and the clean fresh air. Here are some […]