September 21, 2024, Baguio- The sweet young woman was ecstatic that I had come to view and purchase several of her creations. My goal is to support indigenous artisans, around the Philippines, as I have over the years with Dineh and Hopi people. So, the wood carvings and knits of the Ibaloi lady were right in keeping with that goal. A couple of them will be for K, and one or two will go with me to Arizona.

Ili-Likha Artists’ Watering-Hole is primarily a gathering place for artists and visitors, with several restaurants and cafes. Ili-Likha is a hybrid term: Ili means “village”, in Kankanaey, one of the Igorot languages, and Likha means “create”, in Tagalog. The craft shop I visited, on the first floor of this tree-house like structure, had everything I wanted from this first visit to Baguio. Heaven on Earth, with its vurgers and other vegetarian treats, is right next door. Having had a sumptuous pizza wrap, at Pizza Volante, about 30 minutes prior, I contented myself with a refreshing cold glass of tskolate. (You guessed it, it’s chocolate!)

This evening, enjoying a lovely dinner with my hosts, at Rosevilla Transient House, I left the door open for a return visit to Baguio, later in my hopefully-extended stay in the Philippines, which would let me be in the country until October 26. If so, then my first beeline would be to Tam-awan, which is actually not that far from the guest house. Tam-awan is a living history site, much like many we have in North America (Old Sturbridge, Colonial Williamsburg, L’Anse aux Meadows, Lincoln’s New Salem, etc.) It is certainly an effort well-made, as the Igorot nations deserve to be recognized for the strength and beauty of their culture. They largely resisted the Spanish, and were in fact never completely subjugated-even by the Japanese, during the occupation of 1941-45.