Flowers of Baguio

Baguio is known for Panagbenga which is the Flower Festival held every February. When my family and I went to Baguio last January, one of the best things I saw there were the flowers. They are literally everywhere. On the last day of our trip, we decided to just walk around in the neighborhood of the transient house. Our hostess let us roam around the village and pointed us to the direction of the nearest playpark for our little one.

We chose to just walk around and just admire the view. How I envied the people that live in Baguio. I've lived in Manila for the rest of my life save for a few years we spent in Visayas when I was young. Those were some of the happiest years of my childhood. I loved the fresh air, the trees, and mountains, and the brooks and rivers, and all the other greeneries. But the best thing about Baguio in my opinion are the flowers.

I've shared a couple of the flower photos I took when we went to Burnham Park and the Igorot Stone Kingdom. I still have a couple of pictures in my phone that I still look at every now and then just so I could remember how it felt while we were there in Baguio.

I was especially happy when I saw the Benguet Lily. At least I think it was it. My daughter confirmed that it is from the book that she read, A First Look at Philippine Flowers. It was the first flower we studied.

When one goes on a trip, usually the last day is the most exhausting. Well, it is both exhausting and sad because you know it's the last day of your vacation and it means you'll go back to your normal life. But it is also exhausting because you just spent too much time, energy, and money during the trip. The morning walk in the village was such a breath of fresh air. Literally. I'd like to believe that the beauty of the flowers all around the village in our transient home gave me enough energy to bring me home.

I took all these photos using my mobile phone. I used to own an SLR a couple of years back but even then, my favorite subject is still flowers. Of course, next to my daughter, that is. I love photographing flowers because I love how vibrant they are especially during the golden hours. I love how the light touches them and how even when they are not yet in their peak beauty, they are still the most beautiful subject for photography.

This is my entry to the #pobphotocontest. Except for the Benguet Lily, I don't know the name of all the other flowers in this post. All I know is that they're beautiful and that looking at them brings me back to Baguio again and again.