It's a DAM fine day!

It was a special non-working holiday in commemoration of the death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino, who was assassinated and was considered a hero by some because he opposed Martial Law. Then his widow Cory Aquino became president after the EDSA Revolution that kicked out Marcos and his Martial rule, and was the first woman president of the Philippines. Unfortunately, she is battling cancer at present.

Rix's friends planned a day out to La Mesa Ecopark where the La Mesa dam is located. I was expecting an ordinary park, a flat park like Rizal Park but is overlooking a big water reservoir. I was wrong! Where we parked our vehicle was far from the actual site and we had to hike, not just walk, to get there. I was not prepared for the upward trail, I should have worn sneakers and brought a hat and a pair of shades. Oh, my poor slip-ons! Anyway, it's a jungle out there, kinda, that surrounds the trails. There were many, many people milling about: family groups, school groups, pre-nuptial groups that were playing with their children, conducting field trips with games, posing and taking pictures, respectively. We went as a family - I brought my Elhaym along, plus a nice camera to capture moments and nature.

We chose a spot in the stair-like clearings and laid our blankets and food and sat down. The earth where the grass is on was soft and dirt stuck to the sides of my footwear. Oh, my poor slip-ons! The grass was wet, so my pants became moist as water seeped through the blankets that were not water proof. And then there were ants - black ones, red ones, tiny ones, big ones. I was so afraid they would take a bite out of Elhaym. That is the picnic enemy number one! After filling our tummies, we rested for a while then proceeded to burn the calories with a leisurely stroll around the park albeit laden with heavy things on our shoulders. We went around once, climbed the steep staircase to the first landing and to the side where bed of flowers were, rested and took some pictures. Then we climbed again to the next landing and took some pictures again.

Soon, it's time to head home because there were so many dragonflies, and they said that those are a sign that it's going to rain. So we went down and hiked, again, to the parking area. Oh, my poor slip-ons! It was a nice experience over all, although there were downsides of being outdoors, like the ants and being burnt a bit by the sun, I forgot my and Elhaym's sunscreens. Oh, well!

Here are some photos that I took of nature.