The 1st Acute Asthma Attack in 2011!

I'm a regular guest at the Manila Doctors Hospital.  Been checking in at least once a year for the past several years.  It used to be such a pain getting through all the medical procedures, the observation period at the ER, the hours of waiting for room availability...but i somehow adjusted to it.  And when I do get admitted, I never felt the need for a room companion, it's enough that my friends help me check in and get settled and then i'm on my own.

The doctors, nurses and hospital crew are nice and some are definitely good-looking but this is what I always look forward to...

My own hospital room party!!!

The 6th Padyakan sa Bataan!

I would like to congratulate the participants, the sponsors and the working team of the recently concluded Padyakan sa Bataan.  Another successful year with hundreds of registrants, the year being unique for we had several foreign riders who tried to test our local riders.  The English, French and Chinese riders gave their best but the Pinoys stood out. (woot...woot!)

See you all next year!

The Loved Bunch!

If we could only freeze time to prevent them from growing up.

Davao City: Crocodile Farm!

After the Philippine Eagle Center tour, I asked my friends to drop me off at the Crocodile Farm...

Entrance fee is quite steep at P150 but knowing how much a kilo of chicken costs, I relented.  At least I get to pay for one crocodile meal. :-)

 And the Farm's resident star...Pangil.  I would like to suggest to the park management to include petting of Pangil as a bonus...just to make the tour interesting. lol!

And there were more crocs...

But there were other animals too...



Check out his extra hooves



I had fun that day...thank you! :-)

Davao City: The Stars of the Philippine Eagle Center!

Guys, I would like you to meet some of my feathered friends at the Philippine Eagle Center...


Zamboanga and partner

















Aling Naty






















Dakila

















And my favorite feathered celebrity is...


Pag-Asa:  Child of Junior and Diola




Pag-Asa



The First Eagle.

Back in 1971, a 26 year old businessman by the name of Arturo Garcia watched nonchalantly as a vendor walked past him with a basket in tow. Spying what looked like a fluffy chicken in the makeshift cage, he asked to see what was inside.

The fluffy chicken turned out to be an eaglet. The trader explained that it came from some hunters in the mountains. They had shot an eagle, they said. But for days after the shooting, another eagle was seen repeatedly returning to a tree in the vicinity where the first one had fallen. They surmised, correctly, as it turns out, that there probably was a nest with an eaglet in the tree. Retrieving it, the hunters then gave the chick to the trader to sell.

Arturo asked him how much he wanted to part with the eagle. “300 pesos” said the vendor. “Too much.” said Arthur. Finally, for the then princely sum of 250 pesos, the businessman owned what was then known as a “Monkey Eating Eagle” which he named “Vic-Vic”

Taking it home, he put the bird in a cage under a huge mango tree. His niece, DOT Reg. 10 Director Sonia Garcia, who lived next door, remembers the cage expanding as the bird grew in size, until the pen surrounded the tree.

About a year later he received a note from Charles Lindbergh, the famous American Aviator, asking whether he would be willing to give up the eagle for conservation efforts.
Faced with a note from the great man, he said yes. Much to his surprise and delight, Charles Lindbergh flew in all the way from his residence in New Jersey to personally receive the eagle from him. Mr. Lindbergh then turned it over to Jesus Alvarez of the Parks and Wildlife Commission.

Vic- Vic, who turned out to be a female, was entrusted to keeper Gonneforte Culiao. Mang Goning named her “Diola” after the woman who supplied him with the chicken meat to feed his ward. Diola remained with the Philippine Eagle Center and in January 15, 1992, hatched an egg that bore Pag-Asa, the first captive bred Philippine eagle in the world ! Within the same year, she bore another chick named “Pagkakaisa.”

Even after her death, Diola still never fails to awe visitors as her stuffed remains, with her impressive wingspan, is on display at the Philippine Eagle Center.

*This story originally appeared in the Asian Spirit in flight magazine and has morphed into several versions that was picked up by another in flight and local mags.

Davao City: Around the Philippine Eagle Center!

I first set foot in the Philippine Eagle Center 10 years ago, Im just glad that I got the chance to visit it again.  Let's take a tour...

We walked to the grove after parking the car.

And so we followed the arrow that pointed to the crocodile patch...and there we saw a huge Estuarine Crocodile.  I did not know that crocodiles are nocturnal.  I thought that they barely move because of their weight, apparently, they do all the moving, roaming and hunting only at night time.  But I know for a fact that they open their mouth to cool themselves and that they do this to regulate their body temperature especially when they are not in the water.  They don't perspire since they don't have pores so they open their mouth. :-)


Guys, I want you to meet Gold Dipper.

Just a few steps away from Gold Dipper's territory, we found these birdies...



Crested Serpent Eagle























Grey Headed Fishing Eagle



White Bellied Sea Eagle





















I was so kilig when I saw this for it's been 10 years since we last saw each other.

But these cuties stole my attention for a little while.  I know that they are nocturnal and their heads can turn 180degrees (or is it 360?) but can someone please tell me why they sleep standing on one leg?



Grass Owls
















And the monkey pit is still there...home to a number of long-tailed macaques.  Remember that the Philippine Eagle was then known as Monkey-Eating Eagle?  I wonder if the monkeys were...well...food.  lol!

And there's Diola's Forest.  I will talk about her in the next post.

The entire park is bursting with colors...

 

And I had a couple of really close encounters...I LOVE!


Don't touch my birdie!

















An albino python!