Baguio City, the country’s summer capital, is situated 1,500 meters above sea level. It is one of the few places in the Philippines with a cool climate. It’s always eight degrees cooler in Baguio than in the lowlands. Baguio was developed during the early 1900s by American colonial officials who sought for a mountain retreat away from the heat of Manila. One little known fact is that the original city plan was modeled by architect Daniel Burnham after that of Washington D.C. Its name derives from bagyiw, an Ibaloi word for a moss that grew in the mountains’ damp, swampy areas.
Along Marcos Highway leading to Baguio is Marcos Park with its enormous concrete bust of the former president. Jutting out of take mountainside within viewing distance of motorists, the bust was said to be the first in a series of busts memorializing he different presidents of the Philippines. Unfortunately, portions of the bust were blown up a few days before New Year’s Day of 2003.
