Quezon City, the Philippines

May 8, 2010

This particular summer had been a scorcher; I’d give my front teeth for some cool and breezy respite in this microwave oven milieu. Indeed, there was the wisdom in having more of the jungle in concrete jungle.

Shade and the City: La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City

Lucky me, I had been living in Quezon City, one of the leafier cities in not-so-tree-friendly Metro Manila, for years. A forest reserve called La Mesa Ecopark, tucked away behind a residential community and beside a landfill (of all places!), was just 15 minutes away.

It was actually a large swathe of area around the La Mesa Watershed, the water source of the metropolis that this forest protected. This sylvan enclosure was covered by both city ordinance and a canopy of trees. I had not been there before even though it was practically in my backyard.

There was an entrance fee of P50, less P10 for Quezon City residents. Practically peanuts, but it still felt like that Joni Mitchell classic where she bemoaned having to pay a dollar and a half to see trees in a tree museum. “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got till it’s (almost) gone?”

Wooden Bench in the Woods: La Mesa Ecopark

Oh, Joni would quit kvetching here. The trees were lush and gigantic. Eye-level ID tags provided both their common and scientific names (a nod to Joni’s tree museum?), but I had to cock my head 90 degrees to appreciate them in their entire splendor. Their tops loom overhead formed a capillary network of leaves and branches, a tenuous cover with a potent cooling effect. I could almost feel drafts of oxygen emanating from the trees if not for the breeze-less afternoon.

Even as I hung my head down and I still did not miss nature’s glory in the undergrowth. A small roadside creek supported a whole ecosystem in itself. Ferns, grass, weeds, moss, and tiny insects were practically begging to be macro’d.

Fern, Golly!
Circle of Life
Wearing Your Heart On Your Leaves: Corazon de Maria

And of course, the common but beautiful corazon de Maria stood out. Its distinct heart-shaped leaves grew just about anywhere so most people never gave it much thought, but this weed was unfailingly fascinating. Just how could a thing of such symmetry and cordate beauty randomly sprout in prosaic places like the roadside gutter?

All was not peaceful and quiet in the woods though. Other people always wanted to DO something in a place. I was just content to BE in it. There was a flurry of activity at the swimming pools, zip line, paintball field, rappelling wall, and lagoons. Commerce could not be far behind. There were bamboo huts and wooden stalls that sold everything from virgin coconut oil to native handicrafts.

Proudly Pinoy
Stairway to La Mesa Dam
No Camera Taking: Only in La Mesa Watershed

Other bloggers would have tried any of those activities, but what did I do? I made a beeline for the flower terraces instead. It resembled a hillside but it was actually the dam wall, cloaked by a field of flowers with dancing colors. Cutting through the middle was a steep flight of steps flanked by pink-flowering shrubs all the way up to the reservoir. The windless heat drenched me in sweat.

Two rows of perimeter fences kept the reservoir out of reach. Even “camera taking” was strictly prohibited. On the way down, I succumbed to flower power; I went fluttering in the sun-kissed field, hopping from one flower to the next like a jolly bee (good thing there were no real bees!). But deep inside, I was wilting in the heat, amidst all the blossoming.

Field Blanketed by Flowers: La Mesa Ecopark
The Colors of Crotons
Mamang Sorbetero (Ice Cream Vendor)

Even leaves could hold their own. A hedge of crotons could give any artist’s palette a run for its pastiche of colors. Blood reds, luminous yellows, and ink-blot patterns added drama to the veins and their ramifications on leaves such that they mimicked floral pulchritude.

Plants with monochromatic leaves, on the other hand, were planted en masse to form landscaping patterns. This artful use of plants had only been minimally employed in public spaces. Sadly, it was because people here had a penchant for vandalizing and stealing public property. Plants would never stand a chance.

Cropped Circle
Leafy Lounge

The water features were actually green, color-coordinated with the rest of the forest. For extra fees, you could either go boating or fishing. I did neither. I just took in the soothing sights with both my naked eyes and Leica lens.

A Creek Runs Through It: La Mesa Ecopark
Little Boats Should Keep Near Shore: La Mesa Ecopark
Boats by the Berth: La Mesa Ecopark
Boating at La Mesa Ecopark

Space issues and the economics of real estate development notwithstanding, it was undeniably healthy to have greenbelts to hold any city together, especially since urban areas were live-in spaces. Trees and flowers allowed urbanites to breathe and to think, not only under the stifling sun but also under the constrictive claws of concrete. I was my fervent hope that Quezon City would live up to its original plan as a green leafy city.

It’s Raining Roots
A Bevy of Bamboo
Green Jeepney at La Mesa Ecopark

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