Day 3 – PMA / Tam-awan Village / Lourdes Grotto

We left early to get a chance to see the cadets doing the drills in Philippine Military Academy but later found out that it’s Christmas break. First stop is the Cadet Hat – after the entrance of PMA, you will see the big mock up of a cadet’s gear where we posed. We also had good photo opportunities at the Relics Place where the old canyons and military tanks were displayed.



Aloysius enjoyed this site as he sometimes play soldier. We proceeded to the Museum but it’s still close by the time we arrived, so we just finish the tour of the PMA in the carefully manicured and full of flower gardens, the sun dial clock, the tree house and the display of military aircrafts which the kids enjoyed. We had lunch at The Grove inside PMA before we proceeded to Tam-awan Village.



Tam-awan Village is one of the search results I found on the internet when I googled Baguio City attractions, it’s also the reason why we were looking for a map because it’s not along the way going around the city. Tam-awan Village is a cultural preserve & living museum showcasing authentic traditional Ifugao huts in a replication of their original setting in the Cordilleras. We were intrigued by the Garden in the sky description of the place and we also wanted to check out how high the site is because according to the internet it has incredible views of the mountains and even the South China Sea. When we got there, all of us, including my mom and dad (seniors) decided to try the Eco-trail (hiking for non-hikers like us). It was a nice but exhausting experience. Before you reach the peak and experience the view, you have to go by narrow and sloping trails. It was challenging because we are not used to trekking and we have kids with us. Imagine, Kyle and Miggy hiking and me wandering with Alexus in a baby sling.

“FOG YOU”

We also had an odd incident, after reaching view deck 1, we followed another trail leading to view deck 2 which was higher and more challenging. True enough, we braved narrower, stiff trails and sometimes we used branches to hold on when the path is slippery. On our way to reaching the peak, I heard Miggy shouting, “mommy, mommy” because he was so excited to see the fogs or maybe it was clouds. But the seniors including me couldn’t make another step because it was slippery. All we could do is shout “Lucky Me, Sweet and Spicy” to hear the echo. We were surprised to see the sign – No Trespassing, Private Property when we look up – it was a wrong trail after all…We were so tired following the wrong trail, we didn’t bother look for the way to view deck 2. We were laughing on our way down, commenting on lack of signage and cursing “FOG YOU” for this experience. My kids first hiking experience including my one-month old baby.

We had a minute browsing the Arko ni Apo (artists nook) and saw an artist while doing a tin craft – amazing! After that, we proceeded to Lourdes Grotto then headed to our place along Loakan to rest. What a day!