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Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Eco-adventure Trail at Tagaytay Picnic Grove

The last time Sam and I were at the Picnic Grove, we saw a wooden bridge but didn't know how to get there.

Since then, Sam has gone back and now she tells me that to get there, we follow the path through the picnic tables. I wasn't able to guess that before as the path goes down the hill.
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Once we've come to the bottom of the path, I know it's called the Eco-adventure Trail because of this sign:
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The path goes upward again from there, and I found myself taking a breath after some time, wondering when the trail will end.
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Before long, we realized we had to cross a suspension bridge to finish the trail.
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I am not fond of suspension bridges as (1) It sways, and (2) I fear that the wood is old and rotten, therefore it might break while people are crossing it. It didn't help that kids before us were stamping their way across it.

Despite my fears, I did cross it (I'm the person who went snorkeling even if I don't know how to swim, remember?).
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The end of the trail is the other side of the Picnic Grove where you find the nice cottages and the View Deck Restaurant. As the name suggests, on top of the restaurant is a view deck:2006oct 077

As in all places in Tagaytay that has view decks, this place allows you to take a nice picture of Taal Volcano.
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Tagaytay: Residence Inn Mountain Resort and Zoo

On the way to Sonya's the bus passed by a zoo. Sam and I decided to visit it next.

Residence Inn Mountain Resort and Zoo is small and more of a petting zoo. At the entrance, they sell fresh fruits and other food that the animals eat ... the animals that could be fed that is.

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Parrots and cockatoos are the first animals you'd see. Some of the birds are actually out of the cage - tied loosely to their perches. Visitors can take pictures with these animals.

Past the grotto, you'll find the monkeys and apes.
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This is one agitated monkey. It screams at you when you stare at it too long.
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This zoo actually surrounds Residence Inn. Personally, I wouldn't choose staying at an inn which is in the middle of a zoo. How much sleep can one get if you could hear the growling of the big cats, chirping of the noisy cockatoos/parrots, and the noise the hyperactive monkeys make? Maybe the air conditioned rooms filter out the sound... maybe.

The last time I visited a zoo was when I was doing a paper for Ecology during my college freshman year and had to go to the Manila zoo. I found the place depressing because I think the big animals do not have enough space to stretch out/roam in their cages.

The animals' quarters are much smaller in Residence Inn.
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The rooster and the peacock roam the place freely - they didn't need cages.
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The hen roamed freely too. The pony was tied and kids can have their picture taken with him.
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Seeing the llamas made me think of the Sims2 computer game.
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At a lower level were bigger cages. Sam and I were both afraid of the steep hillside stairs that we never got past the owl cage.
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Near the entrance is the building where the reptiles and fishes are.
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This snake looked bored.

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This fish has an odd hump at the back.

2006oct 062A tiger cub is also at the entrance ... but visitors must pay to take pictures of the tiger. If you do pay, the handler allows you to have your picture taken holding the cub.

Return to Sonya's Secret Garden

When Sam and I started talking yesterday over the phone, we were planning to just go malling today ... but I joked about going to Tagaytay ... which is why I was up early today so that we could arrive at Tagaytay before lunch. We don't own cars so we used public transportation ... as usual.

2006oct 028If deciding to go to Tagaytay yesterday wasn't last minute enough ... how about texting Sonya's Garden for lunch reservation while we were on the bus? You don't just walk in there ... you have to reserve a table. Placing a reservation via text will do. Hope they don't remember that last year I also made a lunch reservation about one or two hours before the timeslot I requested.

Sam has never been there so I decided that we eat lunch there - my treat. It's funny that although her mom has been there more than once, maybe knowing Sonya personally, Sam has never set foot in the place.

As Sonya's popularity hinges on word of mouth and it is not highly advertised, the bus conductor was not familiar with the place. Sonya's sign along the highway is not that big ... so there was a 50% chance that we'd miss seeing it. I was so worried we'd miss the sign that we got off the bus about a kilometer early. At first I thought Sonya's was nearby from where we got off, so we walked along the highway for a few minutes. After asking around we realized we needed to ride a jeepney.

2006oct 029After asking around, someone told us our destination was in Buck Estate. I forgot that Sonya's is located there. We had more luck finding people who knew where Buck Estate is than people who know about Sonya's Garden. Sonya's is not along the highway, so once you reach the entrance to Buck Estate, you take a tricycle to Sonya's.

Things to remember when commuting to Sonya's from Metro Manila: Ride a bus that passes through Alfonso Cavite. Go down at Buck Estate. Take a tricycle to Sonya's. If you are already in Tagaytay, there are jeepneys that pass through Buck Estate.

The menu's still the same from the last time I was there: You start with a bowl of salad greens with a variety of dressings/toppings to choose from. You mix your own salad. Fruit juice and bread baked from Sonya's bakery is served with the salad. Next comes a bowl of pasta, with two types of sauce and three or more toppings to choose from. Fried (?) sweet yam covered in caramelized sugar (camote cue without the stick and cut smaller) and sweet banana rolls (fancy name for a smaller version of the common turon) would be your dessert. They serve tarragon tea with dessert (hot water with a fresh sprig of tarragon).

Visited the garden after lunch.

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Some plants were a bit shorter/smaller/had less flowers than the last time I was there. I told Sam that it was lovelier before the typhoon. There was a wedding reception being held in one of the "pavilions" and I realized that had the whole place been reserved for a wedding, we wouldn't get any table today. Sam is a wedding coordinator, so she's now added Sonya's to her list of wedding reception venues.

Near the entrance, Sonya's has its own bakery,
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souvenir store,
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SPA
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and you can even buy potted herbs.
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I dragged Sam towards the cottages nearby - last time I was there, only my niece and I were able to look at the place. When we returned bringing my brother and sister along, the gates were shut and we were told only those billeted inside could go in. Sam's lucky now that the gate's open (magic gate - sometimes it's open, sometimes it's not hehehe!).

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Very relaxing place ... we plan to stay in one of the cottages in the future.

After taking all the pictures we want/can, we left for Tagaytay. Finding a tricycle to take you from Sonya's back to the highway takes some time though.
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See next blog entry for what we did next.

:-)