Introduction
About 14 kilometers from Baguio city lays the intersection of the Ambalanga River and Tolbing Creek, people plunge in to the thermal waters from the Level 1300 produced by the Benguet Corporation. Roughly a dozen of mini resorts in the Poblacion of Itogon, Benguet attract tourists to experience the effects of these hot pools to refresh and/or benefit from its therapeutic effects. Examples of these effects include muscle relaxation, widening blood vessels and increasing blood flow to injured areas of the body (Balance, nd) and this is under the complementary and alternative therapy and some heath care practitioners recommend the use of these modalities to patients and attention is needed to be given to increasing content about complementary alternative therapies (Sohn & Cook, 2002). Last summer, a group of MA Nursing students enrolled in Advance Medical-Surgical Nursing III wanted to experience these hot waters and observe its effects to the body. So they decided and set a schedule to go to see the hot water spas in this so-called “Land of Golden Opportunities,” Itogon. They will also embark on other alternative modalities like herbal teas, massage and other options for a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, they also intended to promote these techniques and recommend for its improvement.
The Trip The trip was set on the 20th of May and a week-long planning was done to ensure smooth flow of travel and activities. The participants are the enrolled students of the Advance MS III under the MA Nursing Program headed by their instructor Ms. Haydee Grace Tumbaga. The group then decided to stay during the night-before in La Trinidad, Benguet as of the the members of the trip owns an apartment. Finally, on May 19 about 6 pm, they all met in a mall in Baguio City and then went to La Trinidad for the diner and overnight stay. For the dinner, they had a large pot of Pinikpikan – the traditional chicken