Strawberry (picking Baguio - Style) Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet

As early as 5am gising na ko.  Super lamig talaga sa Baguio kahit summer. Kaya gaya nung first morning, sinamantala ko ang special day na ito.
While they're preparing breakfast, ako naman naghahanda na para mag jogging! I must prepare myself for something...

We started commuting around past 9 in the morning. Bitbit ang kanya -kanyang bag at tsinelas dahil alam namin maputik sa pupuntahan namin because of the rain the other night. Today, we will invade La Trinidad for our Baguio- style picking of STRAWBERRIES.

Red strawberries, isn't it so lovely! 

We hopped - in together at FX. Less than an hour asa Strawberry Farm na kami. Ang daming tao!!! Nakaka excite pala dito, you can feel the heat of the sun right on your face but still, you can enjoy your vacation kasi nga malamig. (eh hindi ba pag ganon, mas nakakaitim daw?!)

Medyo malayo ang location pero maganda naman. It's about 3km. from the city. The municipality has a land area of 8273.80 hectares, representing 3.16% of the provincial land area. The terrain is generally mountainous with springs, rivers and creeks. La Trinidad's valley floor elevation is at 1300 meters above sea level. Elevation ranges from 500 to 1700 meters above sea level.

Hindi sayang ang pagpunta mo dito dahil mae- enjoy mo ang dami ng tourists who also want to have their fresh picks and at the same time, you will enjoy the experience itself!

It is a unique experience for the whole family. You'd get to pick fresh strawberries right together with the farmers. You can bring it home or consume while on vacation in the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Ang tanong, bibili ba kami para ipampasalubong o sa daan palang makakain na namin to? hehe..mukang maraming masasarap eh!

Parang sa atin tong mga motor dito ah, kung maka asta at patalikod pa ang shots ha!

Btw, you are required to pay P10.00 for the entrance fee. 

So, let's go at mag harvest ng fresh fruits and veggies!

According to the locals of Benguet harvesting Strawberries from January to March is alot better, especially every month of March due to town festivals. So, kaya pala kahit parang khit anung panahon (in summer) mas masarap umakyat ng Baguio not merely because of the weather but for these colorful and sweet strawberries!

Right there, spotted two young strawberries. I named them, straw and berry. lol!

Ayun! At sa dinami dami ng tourists at namimitas ng prutas that time, aba! Akalain mong magkikita pa kami dito ng kabarkada kong si Vero. Na kapag asa Manila kami eh hindi mo makita-kita?!

Meet Veronica

Sarap talaga ng freshly pick lalo na sa tropical country tulad ng Pilipinas!

Si ate, todo pustura kasama ng kanyang fresh na fresh na Broccoli! Anyway, nice one ate!

Procedure:

You just have to pick what you want, have them weigh in and pay for it. Usually, the price is 2x higher compared if you buy in the market.  Simply because the tendency of some fruits will be ruined due to “amateurs” picking (strawberries are delicate fruits). Kaya there were few farmers who were teaching that time on how is the proper way of picking up of Strawberries. 

Ano? ah, so you're asking if we bought for ourselves? e di hindi! hehehe, kurips nga diba. Honestly speaking, I am not fond of strawberry. I just wanted to feel the experience and I did enjoy really! But we really wanted to buy vegetables that time for pasalubong but since we are 2- days away from going back to Manila, we decided not to buy muna and instead buy to the nearest market once we're going back home so it will not spoil.

We were having fun sa Lettuce...And dami! Ang sarap mag salad!!

The farm is unmistakably large in size.  Quite muddy because farmers of course, maintain the freshness of their plants by continuous watering (not to mention, it rained). That's why we brought along our slippers. Good thing, that time it was not raining kahit mejo un nga maputik pa rin pero keri namin ang mag tsinelas.

Finally, napuntahan ko na talaga ang mga famous must-haves tourist spots dito sa Baguio at isa nga jan ang farm na ito. Nagpicturan lang kami dahil ang ganda ng lugar..Simply irresistible!

After such, we decided to have lunch in the city. But before that, we washed our feet at the nearby stores with a corresponding rest room fees.

So, where do you ever see as big as this Strawberry on our back huh?!

Ilalaban ko to sa Guinness Book. Hahaha..The biggest ever! Hay..oh, by the way, La Trinidad is the Holder of the GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORD for baking the Largest Strawberry Short Cake! Anu kaya lasa ng bake strawberry cake?!

Before leaving the farm, we caught our attention by the ice cream vendor right before the farm gate.  He was yelling like, "Ice cream, Strawberry flavor"! And then, we stared to each other and run to the vendor to try the said flavor.  Wala talaga kami pinalagpas!

Hmn, first bite..Strawberry na strawberry! Obvious ba?! In fairness, masarap.. Tamang -  tama, ang init eh!