Strawberry Farm - La Trinidad, Benguet

We wake up early to visit the strawberry farm in La Trinidad. We never been into a strawberry farm and this will be our first time to see a strawberry plant.

Strawberry picking is done early in the morning when it is cold. Exposing the picked strawberries to the sun can soften the fruit and can rot it immediately.

They will cover the strawberries too when it rains to avoid damage to the plant due to physical contact of the rain water. This is how sensitive and delicate they are to grow.

So if you want to pick these strawberries on your own please be careful with the plant. You have to wake up early and check the weather. Even if  it is cloudy, you still need to go there early or else you will not be able to pick the best ones. Some may have taken it already and you will just have to pick what was left behind by "early birds".

See these people behind me? They love picking these strawberries too. That is why you need to be out while it is still dark and beat them to this place. May you get all the best berries down here.

We choose not to pick those berries on our own. Why? They double the price, that is why. Besides, picking the first few ones should be the best experience ever but picking to full your basket is tiring and time consuming. Plus you will be damaging the bush because you are not an expert. You paid more because it is your first time, right?

Outside the farm are souvenir stores with vendors selling strawberry fruit, the famous Sagada oranges and other fruits and vegetables.

Yes, there are also vegetables on this farm. If the weather is not suitable for the strawberries to grow, they plant some vegetables instead.

All in all, this has been an amazing experience. Being with nature is always a wonderful experience. Farming requires a lot of hard labor but after seeing the fruit of your labor blooming like this, a sweet smile will creep and lit up your face.

"Kindness and Compassion had cause more people to believe in God rather than words alone."

Botanical Garden - Baguio City

We were suppose to familiarize ourselves with various plants and flowers but we end up dressed like native Igorots. We enjoyed the feeling of being one of them for minutes and this is what matters most.

We looked beautiful together. The Igorot's clothes lessened the cold that we suffered that day.

We arrived around 7:00 in the morning. The fog was very thick specially on the garden but we were brave enough to stroll and bear the chilling temperature.

We started scanning the area searching for the most beautiful flower but below caught our attention. The fact that the garden is not in full bloom during the month of December dissuade us from wandering around. Our attention was drawn to these colorful clothes and ornaments.

Here comes Chief Aureo with his lovely princesses.  From left - Princess Anabel, Princess Virginia, Princess Marde and Princess Asteria. We should have been the greatest Igorot clan to ever lived, haha!

The crown prince was in Sagada together with the crown  princess. You may meet them some other time.

And what is this? Oh, No! Princess Virginia was taken away by an alien. If we cannot stop this, our culture and heritage will be forgotten. The influences we can get from this alien will slowly abolish our beliefs, values and tradition. (This is just a drama for fun, please do not take it seriously even if you can relate to it.)

We were delighted by the photo shoot we had. We were early and the guides are not yet available. It is time to go and check the next destination.

"Be an instrument in showering God's blessing to others, let Christ's love course through you."

The Lion's Head - Baguio City

They say that your trip to Baguio is not complete without visiting the Lion's Head. I guess this is because this statute is located at the entrance of Baguio City using the old route. A new road was constructed to provide better and safely access to Baguio City. Marcos Avenue is now the public road towards Baguio City so the Lion's Head can no longer welcome you to the city of pines. We now need to take a special trip to greet the Pines' King and complete your Baguio trip.

The Lion Park is located along the famous Kennon Road. This road was obviously named after its builder, Col. Lyman Walter Vere Kennon. His head was also carved in stone and was also placed along this road but the mighty head of the lion overpowers the head of the late military engineer.

This is how deep and how high the cliff along Kennon Road. We can never ignore the curve, wavy and bend lane drifting all the way down from the top of the mountain. Climbing up can never be easy and is always a challenge. One miss turn and you will fall off the cliff. Thanks be to God for keeping us safe.

It is reasonable to just close this road during rainy days. So when it rains, you can never complete your Baguio trip and you need to come back again when the sun is smiling over this mountain ranges.

We looked not that happy looking at this big stone. We were obviously not a fan. 

Tourists keep on coming. Thanks to Davies for repainting the most famous stone in Baguio. But I am not expecting the color to be like that. I imagine the head to look like an ancient one. Something that can scare off the intruders.

"Almighty Father, restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous spirit."

Camp John Hay - Baguio City

Another famous mountain resort in Baguio City is Camp John Hay. This place is very large and the taxi will just park and wait on this area. Souvenir shops and restaurants are also found on this area.

We need to climb up on this mountain and may need to trek to another hill to get to the museum, cemetery, butterfly sanctuary, golf course, manors and other facilities available on this camp. I am with a senior citizen so trekking is a big NO. There we go again, another reason why I should go back to Baguio is to explore Camp John Hay...

Inside Camp John Hay is STARBUCKS and it is up to you to imagine how cozy you will be while drinking a cup of coffee inside this shop, haha! But remember that there is no PUJ allowed inside Camp John Hay. It is also hard to find a taxi inside this mountain resort. You need to pay extra amount (fifty pesos) if you want the taxi to wait for you or you need to pay an hourly rate (200 pesos per hour) to secure a ride. For convenience and if you can afford, you better rent a car or van to roam around Camp John Hay. I will not advice you to stroll around because the beauty spots are very far from each other. 

The Top Tree Adventure is now famous inside Camp John Hay. We were excited to be here!!!

We were not able to explore again even if we were already at the entrance. We know and accept our limits.

See the stairs below and you will understand why we stop our track here in spite of the laughter and shouting we heard from the inside. This place is not for old folks, haha!!

All we did was picture taking at the entrance. At least we were able to document our journey around this area.

Need to do some personal stuff while roaming around this camp? Yes, the place below are the cheapest option you can get. We cannot just do it anywhere even if you are the only people around. We are ecotourists after all.

 "Love bears all things; believe, hope and endure all things for your love. Love should inspire us to give the benefit of the doubt."

The Mines View - Baguio City

Known for it's spectacular sunset is the Mines View Park in Baguio City. In a good weather, the landscape along those magnificent mountain ranges is perfect. Just check on the photos down below, it is amazing even without the sunset. 

Sad to say, we were not able to wait for the sunset. Baguio City has a lot to offer and our stay is unfortunately short. We need to keep moving to cover more area.

So there it goes again, another reason why I should go back to Baguio is to see the famous sunset at Mines View Park, haha!

Mine's View Park is also full of vendors just like any other tourist spots here in Baguio. The price here is better compared to other sites according to the blogs I read. There are lots of flowering plants for sale but we are an airplane away so we can only took photos as souvenir. 

This huge dog is also famous at Mines View Park. Almost everyone, especially children, paid twenty pesos just to have this dog on their photo. I paid too, and so here we are together on our once in a lifetime photo session.

I never thought that my father loves dog but he is paying too. There are lots of Saint Bernard dogs, one even wear pink accessories just like the white horse below.

But I did not choose the pink horse even if pink is my favorite color. I chose to ride the bigger stud because of my weight. She is so pretty and not worth to take my burden.

"When God gives us times of plenty, we can save some for times of low, just like an ant"

The Wright Park

One of my unexplored part in Baguio that is hanging on my wish list is this park. My plan is to ride a horse here but then time is always the constraint. The weather too is not helping. This is one of the reason why I should go back again to Baguio. Some day, my plans will be duly executed.

This shelter is located inside the Wright Park. I am not sure what is this for but visitors can take a rest and relax on this area. The street located right across the mansion is the entrance of this park. This is a long walk away and you can be exhausted.

Tourist are crossing to and from right on this path because this separated the Mansion from the Wright Park. All around are pine trees standing long and proud towards the sun. It is best to ride a horse from Wright Park and enjoy the lush forest from the back of the beast, wow!

"Always pray to God for help, no matter what."

The Mansion

Welcome to "the mansion", the official summer residence of the president of the Republic of the Philippines. The ground was impressive but we were not able to get inside. 

Haha, we better head up to another tourist destination in Baguio. Let's go and continue the fun! 

"Submit to God."