Amongst the things we did during our escapade in Vigan was a visit to Baluarte, a resort and mini zoo owned by Singson, one of the prominent politicians in the country. It was a special request by my young niblings (nieces and nephews) who wanted to see big cats, deer, and giraffes among others.
We didn't do any research about the place so we were clueless about what to expect. It was unplanned, after all. On arriving, we spent some time at the shops just along the parking lot buying some hats. It was a very hot day and some of my family members didn't have something to cover their heads.
Anyway, we found out that pets are not allowed. We have our wee pup with us and we were informed that we could leave him with the zoo staff if he has a cage. The husband was not keen on doing it because he knew our Anyongi would be unhappy so he chose to stay in the car to keep our furbaby company.
Here's the entrance to the ticket hall. There were no ticket windows or so but a bunch of people standing behind a small counter and some posters around of how much one would pay to get into the place.
The fees were okay but they kind of tricked us, lol. I say so because we later found out that children were exempt from the entrance fees but the staff charged us anyway. I realized that we paid for 17 people and they only gave us 12 tickets. They didn't even give us the stubs, they took them all away before they let us in. They're sneaky bastards, I say. My brother commented they might be needing the money so we should just consider it as a tip or something.
There are two packages for the fees:
Package 1️⃣ Php 150 ($3) per person to see a few stations including the Safari Gallery.
Package 2️⃣ Php 300 ($6) per person to see the big cats, Trophy Room, Crocodile Park, Terrarium, and other animals.
We took the second package and were allowed into the shuttle area. We were asked to wait for our number to be called because they needed to assign us our shuttles. While waiting, we took the chance to take a look around.
We saw camels inside fenced areas. At least 3 camels in each cage. Some were without roofs over their heads and others did.
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Visitors are allowed to feed them. The grass was provided for free.
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There were quite several animals roaming in the area freely. More deer, goats, and...
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Did I mention Ostrich? Yep. There was one amongst the horned animals. They told us this one was friendly so we took our chances and took photos. It's even taller than us!
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Our number was called and we boarded the shuttle. We were supposed to have 2 shuttles (13 people in each one) but the staff were wicked and only gave us one. It was enough for us but it was kind of packed and those who sat at the center found it hard to take photos.
My sister said it was our fault that we didn't say a thing even when we knew it was not supposed to be.
Anyhow, at this point, we are now starting the adventure. The area is vast for sure. At least the animals have plenty of space to roam around.
Looking back at the waiting area, we can barely see the animals. We met some sheep along the way too.
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At least there were some trees. And I spotted a giant Dino somewhere.
We saw more Ostrich along the way. Their tent is already worn out. It's just good they had a large trough for their water supply. I imagined they needed a lot on such a hot day.
And the Dinos, their shadows I have shared previously. Oops, almost missed that head! We were still on the shuttle and we missed seeing other animals like the Peacock because the driver just couldn't slow down.
He took us straight to the Safari Gallery without any word of where we should go next. My niece's hat got blown away and he didn't even care to stop. A terrible driver, I must say, hence there was no tip for him, lol!
Anyway, here are some shots from the Trophy Room. More were shared here.
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Coming out of the gallery, we took the chance to get up close to the lion. We were told he was newly bathed so if we wanted to have photos with him, we needed to wait until he got dry. We were about to leave when they changed their mind and said it was okay.
It's not free by the way to have a photo with him. They charged us $12 for a few photos with him.
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Then we rode another shuttle. We were thankful that it wasn't the same driver earlier. He drove us down to the next spots. We passed by some Zebras and parrots. No decent shots were taken though. I may upload some videos next time.
We saw a tiger and a white lion (Panthera Leo) along the way. Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. I got them on videos but I'm yet to edit them.
After the quick stop, we hopped back into the shuttle and the driver took us to where the giraffes were. We saw horned animals taking shelter from the heat under some trees.
And finally, we met them. There were other visitors already when we arrived. There were deer too, photobombing people, lol!
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I took this shot while we were still in the shuttle. The giraffes seem to know how to pose, noh?
This lady is so pleased to have a pic with them. She was obviously thrilled but I had to conceal her face.
Then the kids started the feeding experience. Some zoo personnel are selling sliced carrots which visitors can feed the giraffes with.
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It was time to go, but first, a quick moment with this friendly one. Although I have been to a few other zoos, this is where I had close encounters with various animals, - deer and giraffes among them.
This is already very long so I may share the continuation of this visit on another day. Thanks for coming along.
All photos are my own. 26012024/20:35ph