New Year in Benguet

Four days. That was all we had. Actually, we had 6 but the first and last were spent traveling to and fro Manila.

Here’s a rundown of what we ended up doing in Benguet:

Wednesday, Dec 29th: Our executive cyclist decided to do his epic ride and checked out some organic farms along the way.

The Ambuklao Challenger

From Baguio Country Club, he pedaled all the way to Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya or Ambuklao Road.

A view from the top: : B-R-E-A-T-H-T-A-K-I-N-G!

Baguio Mountain Organic Farm Corporation

Steep roads

Binga Dam

The Crazy Epic Ride

Thursday, Dec 30th: Brought our big group to BenCab Museum in Asin. We did an article about this place last year when their organic farm had some rice paddies, taro and herbs only. This time, the farm had carrots, baguio beans, and greenhouses for strawberries, too.

Carrots

BenCab Beans

“Lunch Bags”

On our way out, we spotted a nice pair of Ga’dang earrings at the museum shop but forgot to buy it when we saw BenCab in the lobby!

Friday, Dec. 31st: Brought Pinoy Organics kids to La Trinidad to pick some strawberries. We were so disappointed when the first few farms we visited were charging us P500/kilo! Last year, we paid around P250/kilo.

We moved farther down the road and met Mercelyn, who charged us P400 for 1.2 kilos. Yes, it was still expensive but she was very accommodating and gave us extra berries.

Time to buy some souvenirs! We went to Narda’s and fell in love with two bags, a poncho and a pack of organic peanuts. We’ll share more about this side trip in a separate article.

Next stop, Maharlika Center. We were told that this is the place to buy Cordillera antiques, artifacts and handicrafts. We were brought to a parking lot where we met John Ngumawen, an antique furniture dealer. We asked him if he sells Ifugao accessories and he led us  to his parents’ shop where we found this beautiful beaded purse!

Ifugao Purse

Saturday, Jan 1st: Last day to shop! Around 9am, we sneaked to Baguio City Market to buy coffee for pasalubong. We forgot that vendors open around lunch time on January 1st. Umali’s and Garcia’s were both closed so we decided to buy Ikat placemats and napkins instead.

Next stop was Good Shepherd Convent and Training Center where we met a strawberry taho vendor in the parking lot. It was good but we prefer the taho we bought in La Trinidad which had more and bigger strawberries.

Strawberry Taho

All in all, the trip up north was fun! New discoveries and more reasons to visit again. We’ll be back soon, Benguet!

p.s. Forgot to mention that, yes, we found our Ga’dang earrings in two antique shops! Sold!

Ga’dang Earrings

Can you share with us your must-do list when you are in Benguet?