Ma Dahls invited Inang and Marvin to her birthday party in Laguna last weekend. After the party, we visited the Makiling Botanical Garden inside UP Los Banos. The kids came along, together with Kuya Drei, Kuya Zyg and Ate Epay.
The place was sizeable. I admire my 73-year old mom for having the energy to tour the place, including the uphill climb. Ma Dahls and Uncle, both younger than her by at least 3 years, asked to be left behind when we went up the Eagle's Lair. I just call it that, but it's officially the Center for Philippine Raptors. The name sounds scary already, don't you think?
The place is maintained by the Philippine's Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It's as raw as it can be, dry leaves every where, exotic birds squawking from a distance. I was always on the lookout for snakes since the place is a heavily dense forest. I'm into fear of snakes nowadays, I suspect they make the weird noises coming off from the ceiling. Our nanny saw some snake skin in our garden, a python as huge as my arm was caught in the gutter of our back door neighbor while a poisonous snake was caught in the front yard of our next door neighbor.
Located at Mount Makiling, the botanical garden is a real treat for the kids. Lois enjoyed trekking the steps, even toddler Carlos had a nice time walking by himself. Once we got to the top of the trail, we were welcomed into a different world. I've never heard such bird sounds, and the birds themselves are impressive. They're huge. I saw one stretch his wings, I think his span was as wide as mine. Really. And there were like 20 kinds of eagles up there. I never knew the Philippines had as many. It's really cool – another global warming safe zone.
Flower Power
Another favorite in the garden is the Kapa-Kapa (Medinilla Magnifica) flower, indigenous to the Philippines. It was used by former Philippine Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor as the official flower for one of the international events held here. The pink-lavender color of its big petals are very feminine. The administrator said it's the only flower with such shade, in the world. It's size makes it outstanding, you wouldn't miss it from a mile. It is these wonders which earned the flower the distinction of Queen of England Award when one English botanist traveled here in the country and saw the lovely flower.
Ma Dahls would have wanted to plant it in her garden, but administrator said it needs high altitude and foggy climate so it wouldn't thrive in the low land. Some beautiful things really require some effort to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment