It was only about four (4) years ago when I finally said to myself "I'm never going inside zoos again ever!" But prior to this, I'd be lying if I deny the fact that I enjoyed and felt a thrill crawling my spine when my friends and I walked and toured around this zoological park in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. It's famous not just because of what you can see inside but because the owner of this is a renowned national politician back in the day and even recently in his town/province.
I could remember why I felt exultant whenever I'm inside zoos. From grade school until highschool, school field trips would always include zoos in the itinerary. In Cebu, there's a famous one called Crocolandia. On every field trip, well at least in my school, we would always drop by Crocolandia so kids could see crocodiles, birds, and ostriches. Growing up, I thought it was just normal that some animals are enclosed in huge metal cages and in high concrete walls; how could kids figure out that there's more to what they see, more to the entertainment they experience firsthand? I'm glad I've figured that out now.
Let's get back on track! This famous zoo I'm talking about is Baluarte Mini Resort and Zoo or simply Baluarte. Baluarte when translated in English means bulwark, a defensive wall, or rampart. Before the Cebu Safari was opened, if you're from Cebu and if you want to see lions, tigers, zebras, and the like, the nearest zoo I could think of is none other than Baluarte. Honestly, that's not near! It's 1.5 hr plane ride plus about a 4-5 hour bus ride. Well, the point is Baluarte's popular. That's why when we had our backpacking in Ilocos Region, we made sure we won't miss this place. Lo and behold, we saw what we were dying to see in person, tamed lions, tigers, zebras, and a lot more.