Burnham Park’s Update

Well, well, it’s faster than I thought.  The Burnham Park Lake is now being flooded to be ready to serve the public.  Yah, I went there this afternoon(January 25) to see what’s happening and I was amazed the renovation and cleaning of the mud was all done.  In fact Three days ago, I intentionally passed by very early in the morning, and I saw three backhoes working together to remove the mountain of mud they scraped from the floor of the lake.  Two backhoes were pushing the mud near to the third backhoe who was loading it into a dump truck.

I was thinking that it may take them about a month to finish everything, but barely a week passed and they are now putting water in the lake.  Then I remember, they triple to finish everything and be ready for the coming celebration of the Panagbenga this month of February.

To give you a better view and clearer picture of what is happening I took some images of the lake and around the park to give a wider picture of preparation the city of Baguio is doing to prepare the park for the coming 2013 Panagbenga.

Figure 1.  Non-stop machine working                              

       

This is my kid who went to visit the lake a week ago.













Figure 2.  Water pipes ready to bring water to the lake

These water pipes are connected to the water district outlets and are ready to bring water to the lake.














                                                                                              Figure 3. 


One of the pipes is already working to fill up the lake with water.














Figure 4.  I wonder how many hours needed to completely fill up the lake

                                          Figure 5.  Testing the waters

One of the boatmen with boating business at the lake maneuvers his

 boat 

Figure 6.  The victim

While everyone must be happy about the renovation and uplifting of the lake, these fishes must have seen something was fishy about the project even before it was started - they knew they will never live to benefit from it.










                                                                                       Figure 7.  One side only parking?

Nope.  These jeepneys are caught in a traffic jam.

                                                                                                                                                                          












Figure 8.  Please, fall in line                                                                              

Jeepneys queue due to traffic from end to end.

Figure  9.  Machine and human workers busy working

Men preparing the road to be ready, I believe, for the fast coming Panagbenga. Is this a caused for the traffic jam? I think it contributed but it's not the major reason.










Figure 10.  Another angle view of the lake

Figure  11.  G-d blesses you men for making our park's road better

Figure  12.  Oooopppsss, please, throw your garbage on the proper place

 

Figure  13.  Should I repeat what it says

Figure 14.  Businessmen are busy?

                                                                                                       Figure 15.  Emergency numbers

Figure 16.  People in the park

People love parks, but, I can't guess how many cares.

The Dap-ay of Sagada

 

One of the things that are very interesting to see in Sagada are the Dap-ays.  However, it seems that tourists, especially the locals are not attracted to them because, probably, they just look at them as simply as little houses that have no remarkable things to learn about.

Conversely, I cannot blame the tourists if their attention is not drawn into those small houses in the middle of the villages, unless they have a very inspective nature about things unusual in a place.  Furthermore, the guides may not be talking about those little houses because they are only interested to showcase the natural beauty of Sagada which are already known outside like, the Sumaguing cave, Lumiang cave, the hanging coffins, and other beautiful naturally made spots. 

What is the dap-ay and what are things tourists should know about it?

A dap-ay is a dwelling build especially for unmarried boys. Every village are supposed to have a dap-ay. However, most are found in Demang which have seven, there are five in Dagdag, one in Ambassing, and One in Patay. According to the people whom I asked, the nearest dap-ay to their home is the dap-ay where they belong.  Each dap-ay has its own "Bishop" or an old man being respected by the village.

The Dap-ay has two divisions.  One is the outside or front-yard where a fire burns and serves as light until everyone goes inside the house to sleep.  Then early in the morning the fire is again rekindled to keep the people warm.  The floor is made up of large flat stones put much closed to each other for a size of about 8-10 feet across.  Around it are stones put up in upright position serving as backrests.   The other part of the dap-ay is the little house that serves as a sleeping room.  Only the boys sleep in the dap-ay.  

 

The dap-ay plays a very important role in the people of Sagada’s lives.   One of the role played, especially in the old days, was it serves as a learning place for the growing boys of the village. The elders went there at night to exchange stories about current events, or experiences they had, and what they perceive about the future, or opinion about a present unrelenting issue. The youths listening from those stories gained wisdom from them.  It is from the dap-ay that they are molded to become real matured men – men who are responsible, who will be ready to face the challenges of life.

Related post:  Sagada:  New Summer Capital of The Philippines

 In the dap-ay, little boys also started to learn the skills of doing masahe(massage), gisgisto(slightly digging the thumbnails on the skin of the head), dagdagay(scratching the bottom of the foot using the ends of a pair of  sticks) and other techniques of making the body relaxed, or treat a lingering pain like backpain, headaches, and fatigue from the days’ works.

The dap-ay also serves as a courthouse of the village.  When there are issues or problems in the village, the elders will meet at the dap-ay to talk about what to do in solving the problem. 

Are dap-ays found only in Sagada?

 Dap-ays are also found in other parts of the cordillera.  But these days, the looks are already different from the old architecture designs.  Before, the roof of the house was covered with cogon and the walls were made up of stones, while today the roof is made up of galvanized irons.

Figure 1.  The dap-ay of Demang, Sagada 

This is the modern look of dap-ays today. Its roof is made up of galvanized iron



 

It is a pity that as the economic level of the people upgraded; the boys are no longer going into the dap-ay to sleep at night.  They no longer hear stories about their past histories.  The youth of today are no longer knowledgeable about their roots, and do not know the traditional practices, and culture of their forefathers.   

Figure 2. The frontyard of the dap-ay 

To know more about the interesting stories of the dap-ay, I suggest that tourists should ask their guides to bring them to one of the dap-ays and have them tell them about the significance of this into the life and culture of the people.

Figure  3.  Inside look of the dap-ay                                                               

The inside indicates that the place is not being used very much today.  There is only one blanket, no signs of bonfire for a long time, and the place is filthy.







Figure 4.  Pikong dap-ay(front view)                                                                                                         

Figure 5. Pikong dap-ay(backview)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Baguio City's Burnham Park Under Renovation

 

We went with my baby girl to Burnham Park late yesterday to let her get her walk as we have done occasionally when she gets bored at home.  As we got into the front of the lake, I saw a banner.  We walked to the banner so I could read what is written.  I was surprised that the park’s lake is under renovation. I did not notice it when we were walking towards the lake.  Though I saw materials for construction, it did not occur to me that the lake is under renovation, probably, because what was on my mind was the lake is in full business of renting boats to the people who want to enjoy its serenity.

When I look straight to the lake, I saw cranes, and backhoes in standby, and the lake has no water and the soil were excavated and partially removed.

I remember that we were here last January 13, 2013 and all the boats were all in business.   I had no idea this was coming.  That’s what happen when one have not tuned in to the radio or TV for years to know what was happening around and those that are bound to happen. 

Anyways, if you’re a tourist planning to come up to Baguio City, or a local resident on the outskirts of Baguio City, planning to go there to enjoy the lake, this shall inform you that you’ll be frustrated.  However, all the other recreations for children like biking, and the others are all working.

Here are some images you will see if you want to go there:

                                                
                                         Figure 1 = A banner about the Burnham Lake renovation

                                         Figure 2

                                          Figure 3  = Equipments at rests

                                         Figure 4 = The boats are grounded

                                          Figure 5

                                          Figure 6  I guess these duck-boats are eager to swim

                                         Figure  7

                                         Figure  8

                                         Figure  9