A Pleasant Drive to Animal Island

Cavite-Manila Expressway all to ourselves.

Sometimes, it's the journey that counts more than the destination.  This was the case a couple of weekends ago when we ventured a bit further down Roxas boulevard, and continued on to Cavite to visit Animal Island.  It was our first time to travel on the Manila-Cavite Expressway or CAVITEX.  Creatures of habit that we are, we tend to frequent only our usual stretch of Roxas, without any inclination to see what's beyond.  Sometimes, the nearer it is, the weaker the motivation to explore. I was glad  though, that on that particular Saturday we decided to try a new route. As soon as we were on CAVITEX  I was amazed at how quickly the scenery changed!  From urban pollution and congestion to wide-open space in a matter of minutes!  It felt surreal.  Ours was the only vehicle on the expressway.  It felt as though Manila Bay was unfurling its beauty for us, and us alone.   On one side of the road was the majestic horizon, where Manila bay flows into the wide open sea.  On the other side, was a stretch of water, where indigenous houses on stilts lined the coast.  The image of the fishing village triggered recollections from childhood.

Dwellings of fisher folk along CAVITEX.

Throughout the 1980's, we frequently passed through the old Coastal Road en route to Sangley Point in Cavite where my father was then the commander of the Naval Air Group.  When the Armed Forces was on Red Alert - which was often in those tumultuous times of frequent coup d'etats - my dad couldn't leave the military base, and we'd had to drive from Manila to visit him on weekends.  I remember the ride, done in still non-aircon vehicles, with the scent (or stench) of the sea serving as olfactory signposts along the way. Seeing this fishing village now, decades later, is quite comforting.  It is good to know that new developments further up the road - like the massive Mall of Asia Complex, among others, haven't completely displaced resilient pockets of older ways of life.  Beneath the massive electric lines, and billboards that dominate the skyline, these houses on bamboo stilts are visible expressions of our island Southeast Asian culture, a culture that tends to be overshadowed by the prevalence in Manila's streets of perhaps too many a fast-food franchise.   It felt good to be driving no more than 5 minutes from Manila, and not seeing a Macdonald's or Starbuck's at every turn (although the huge Jollibee billboard in the background was a a reminder that we're still just on the edge of city limits).  We were headed to Island Cove, to check out the zoo within the premises, called Animal Island.  To tour the place, visitors could either use their own vehicles, or ride the shuttle, or hire a horse-drawn carriage. Given that it was a hot day, we chose to use our own car.

At Animal Island: Guijo and Yaya Jen looking at an ostrich.

We drove by an aviary but decided not to stop.  We could have parked the car and walked around a bit if we wanted to see the birds up close, but we decided to continue driving around.  Animals like ostrich, sheep, and wild boar, were in confined in huge enclosures made of see-through wire fences.  Our kids enjoyed pointing at the animals from the comforts of our car.  At one point, Yaya Gigi, our new nanny, asked "Totoo ba yan?" (is that real?).  She was referring to a poker faced ostrich, with head held still, mouth closed, unmoving, staring straight at our car.    When we passed by the wild boar, and sheep, she didn't ask the question again. They were more obviously alive - munching away and flicking their tails.

The wild boar exhibit.

We finally rode up to Animal Island's Crocodile Farm at the far end.  We parked the car and walked up to the visitor's center, a spacious bungalow with a high ceiling and a thatched roof. It's walls are made of logs of wood - so it feels very rustic. There's a small store inside, sari-sari store like, with snacks and cold drinks for sale.  There's also a comfort room, that's on the shabby and neglected side.  To be sure, Animal Island is not pristine, and is overgrown in parts, and run-down in others.  It isn't going to land on the "Pride of the Philippines" list.  But it meets the objective of giving the public a space for observing animals.  Narra and Guijo were oblivious to the things I was looking at. They were looking only at the animals, and the fun stuff to play with.  While I was being a no-fun adult, looking at details.

The visitor's center for entering the Crocodile Farm at Animal Island.

There was a modest exhibit in the bungalow, and  there were also picture taking opportunities with a tiny croc (with it's jaw taped shut for safety), and a large snake (too big for comfort to carry near my babies).  There were a few wooden standees and a rocking horse made of wood that Narra enjoyed playing and posing with. 

Narra, my little butterfly.

Guijo, meanwhile, had no fear of touching the croc on display.  And he was likewise enthralled with the Iguana inside an aquarium.  Again, Yaya Gigi asked "Totoo ba yan?" (Is that real?).   It seemed to me to be a stuffed Iguana, the handiwork of a really god taxidermist.  Alive or dead I didn't like seeing him get too near it.  My fears intensified further when we proceeded to the crocodile pens.  I had this irrational fear that my kids may somehow fall into the water.

Guijo, the tiny Croc, and the stuffed Iguana.

It didn't help that many of the crocs were sunning themselves with their jaws wide open, with their sharp teeth displayed in full glory.  On the other side of the croc pens, is a little "island", more like a piece of land surrounded by a ring of water, called "Monkey Island".  It houses a few free-roaming monkeys.  I can't help imagine the scene in my head of monkeys being plucked by crocs jumping out of the water.  To be honest, this exposure trip to Animal Island was not boring. For me, it was unnerving. A certain mother's instinct kicked in, and I felt the sensation of protectiveness swelling from within me. I was on edge. Alert. Not relaxed, at all. I had my doubts about the safety features in the premises.  I was worried ostrich would spit, monkeys would scratch faces, horses would kick, crocs' jaws would snap, and dead iguanas would thrust their tongues out. 

When it was time to go, I felt relieved. On our way out of Animal Island, we saw this view of Manila's skyline.  We were on the opposite side of Manila Bay, and we could see our side of the city in the horizon.  It's hard to believe I live so near the bay, just a block down from the water!!  It is a daily fact I tend to forget when I'm negotiating lanes with buses and jeepneys.  We lingered a bit, on the intersection, to take in the view of our home from a whole new vantage point.  I could imagine how astronauts feel when they see the earth from space.  Haha - ok, it's no comparison. But it was a cool feeling, to see theshore from the angle of the sea, when one's used to seeing things from the angle of the shore.  So back we went to Manila via CAVITEX again.  We drove by the sea, in the wind, with the sunroof open. And had a pleasant drive. 

A view of Manila on the horizon. From the other side of Manila Bay.

The Pleasures of Singapore Zoo

Narra and I at the pygmy hippo's observation dug-out.

We were there for the kids. But we ended up enjoying ourselves as well. This, to me, is one of the perks of being a parent. It gives one the motivation to make time and exert effort to learn about the world all over again.  We do it to introduce our children to wonderful things, and in the process, we become enchanted ourselves.  Our afternoon in Singapore Zoo was full of "look at this" and "look at that" moments.  So well have the zoo's designers recreated the natural habitats of the animals on display that scoping the exhibits was truly a rewarding exercise in discovery.  

The exhibits have thoughtful lay-outs with strategic viewing points for zoo-goers at a respectful distance from animals.  There were also thrilling sections where animals were free-roaming, I couldn't believe my eyes!  The rainforest exhibit inside a gigantic aviary-like enclosure was one of my favorites.  Once inside, a mouse deer approached me and came within arm's length while I was walking on the foot path. A Philippines mouse deer!!! Back home, I've only seen these shy creatures in cramped cages in zoos outside Manila.  To find them here, roaming freely in lush surroundings, was a welcome surprise.  Just above our heads were crawl posts for all sorts of tree-dwelling creatures - like monkeys and lemurs. I had to wheel Guijo's stroller out of the way so we wouldn't be too near a lemur stationed right above the main walkway.  There were also birds, like multi-colored parrots to be found hiding under vegetation, we got excited when we unexpectedly spotted some.  There were also awesome fruit bats and lovely butterflies fluttering about.   I was somewhat scared to be wheeling my babies in a cage full of animals, but I trusted the Singaporeans with safety standards - I knew that when it came to controlling behavior through intelligent design, they know what they're doing.  

A lemur resting conspicuously above the Rainforest footpath.

Singapore Zoo, like the rest of Singapore, is carefully planned and thoughtfully designed - and perfectly executed.  The gently sloping inclines meant for strollers and wheelchairs were judiciously  integrated into the landscape, so intelligently and artfully, that one would tend to forget they're there at all.   And everywhere one looks, one would see meticulous attention to detail.  A stretch of land next to a foot path, for instance, was made into a delightful garden.  What could have been an otherwise negligible corner was transformed into a focal point with the creation of a pocket lily pond.  We came to the zoo to see the animals, but we ended up enjoying the plants just as much. 

At a pocket Lily pond by the reservoir.

The selection of plants for the garden was deliberate, guided as it was by an underlying agenda: to give a sense of place in the tropics and particularly in Southeast Asia.  On display were typical vegetables and fruit-bearing trees and shrubs from the region.  The "Bahay Kubo" vegetables were there, and it would have been an excellent opportunity to introduce Narra to the origins of her table food - but she was napping as we took our leisurely stroll.  With kids fast asleep, Oliver and I had the chance to focus on Mama, and share in her enjoyment at seeing flowers, shrubs, trees and fruits from her childhood - plants she hadn't seen in ages.  Mama Rubi is an outstanding cook, and traveling through a vegetable garden with her is profoundly delightful and enlightening.  She pointed at each leaf, and fruit, with unbridled enthusiasm, saying what they were, and what they're for.  She carefully inspected a vine that produced a cross between a patola and upo, and contemplated on whether it was more like the former or the latter.  There were vignettes of personal recollections too, of Mama's neighbors that had this tree, and that shrub, and where this plant once stood in which part of the garden in the home she grew up in.

Oliver filming Mama as she pushed Narra's stroller through the garden.

"Look at that - it's a Rozelle!" she said excitedly at a rich burgundy clump of flowers.  "That's what Haw Flakes are made of", she informed me. And I accepted this tiny bit of information with great interest - I loved Haw Flakes, and consumed them with reverence for 3 decades, without ever knowing what they were made of.  It was a moment of revelation!   That walk in the garden is special to me, it gave me a chance to marvel at my mother in law and get a brief glimpse of the depth of her culinary genius.  To know Mama Rubi is to cook with her, and since I don't cook - I miss out on the opportunity to bond with her.  I didn't expect that a short walk through a vegetable patch would offer me the opening I didn't know I was hoping for.  It was a perfect setting for a bonding moment, as we snaked our way through a garden by a lake, with overcast skies and a cool breeze, and we pushed strollers with the babies peacefully asleep.  

Guijo and I on the tram ride to the zoo's exit.

We realized we had walked the entire zoo without once taking a ride on the tram (despite the fact that we bought tickets for unlimited tram rides).  We hadn't planned on walking the entire park, but we ended up doing so because of the shaded paths through thick foliage.  There were some majestic old trees that towered above the rest.  They reminded us that a big part of the zoo's many inducements is its being in a true nature reserve with a thriving ecosystem.  Parks designed for tourism tend to feel somewhat contrived - and in some ways the entire island of Singapore can sometimes feel like one big well-planned theme park - but the presence of these huge, centuries-old trees in full glory makes me feel closer to nature.  I remember just standing in front of one particularly powerful tree outside the buwaya exhibit.  The sun hit the trunk at a magical angle, making its wood shine with deep and rich orange-yellow-gold tones.  Oliver and I admired it (we love trees), and we stopped for a moment to breathe.  Our day at the zoo had come to an end. We took the tram to take us back to the entrance. What a fun afternoon appreciating flora and fauna it was, even for the kids!