December 20, 2007 – Thursday
7:00 in the morning, the group met in front of the AMV building. It was a tiring afternoon because last night was Paskuhan and we all arrived home late. Jokeh was the first one to come and next to her is Anchelle. I arrived at 7:15am and Sarah followed me. Pia was the one who brought the car and driver. We leave UST at 8:00 am.After an hour, we arrived at Island Cove. The first thing that we do is to search their zoo where the Crocodile farm dwell. The place was fine and there were many tourists in the place. Unfortunately, the zoo was not yet opened at 9:00am and the guard told us that the zoo would open at 10:00am. The group decided to take pictures while waiting for the opening of the zoo. It was stunningly hot in the place so we decided to go back to the car to eat our brunch (breakfast and lunch) in the car. For your information, Island Cove prohibits foods in their place. Nevertheless, with the aid of some useful tactics, we secretly ate inside the searing car and that is a secret.
At 11:00am, we went again to the zoo so that we could start to shoot and go home early. There was an entrance fee of 70.00 pesos. I am really burning and my group mates also feel the same. It was an open place wherein you can find horses and other animals that are freely roaming around the place. My group mates were bothered about it and hoping that they cannot harm them. I find the place very interesting because of its unusual and welcoming ambiance. Tigers were the first animal that we’ve seen in the place. All I can say in that time is – GO USTe! It really makes me proud to be a Thomasian. Next to the tigers were the ostriches, the birds, and the rabbits. The Crocodile Farm is still at a distant. We enter a butterfly garden wherein we enjoy chasing butterflies. We also took our picture there with a help of a kuya who is approachable enough to do us a favor.
At 11:30am, we finally reached the crocodile farm. They welcome us with a smile and Jokeh starts to convey our purpose in visiting the place. Manong Boy was the head taker of the farm. According to him, he’ll try to give his best to help us in learning some information about crocodiles that we need for our documentary film. The learning starts when he picked a baby crocodile, which is according to him, is seven years old by that time. He took off the plaster that was wrapped in the crocodile’s mouth and gave it to us. We were of course very nervous about what he did but after saying some tactics that could help us to carry the baby croc we still remain afraid and unconvinced. But Anchelle give it a try for the first time and the experience, according to her was okay. It was a little bit cold and you’ll just feel uneasy after holding it for a minute or two. Among our group, only Jokeh did not carry the baby croc. She was really afraid and we can never do something about it. Our next stop is on the different pen wherein there crocodiles were classified and distinguished. There were a lots of questions during the trip. In every pen, Manong Boy discussed about the crocodiles in their farm. He also answers our questions simultaneously while walking. The fifth pen is where the large and mature crocodiles reside. We stop on the fifth pen to start the on-cam interview. The monkeys that lived in the middle of the croc farm really fascinate us. We even get a chance to feed them by means of throwing bananas. According to Manong Boy, those monkeys serve as an attraction to visitors who come to visit the croc farm. Truly, the monkeys serve as our entertainers as we begin to crave for a siesta. At 1:00am, we already leave the place. As a token of our appreciation to Manong Boy, we gave him two UST ball pens. Actually, we really forgot to bring a token that is why I just offer my ball pen and Jokeh’s ball pen instead. I also wanted to say that I have broken a preserved egg of a crocodile because I admit that I am careless during that time. Manong Boy accepted my sorry right away and it really bothers me a lot up to this very moment. Manong Boy also helps us to go back to the parking lot by means of a van service. We thankfully say goodbye to those people who welcome us and we all promise to go back there if after sometime. At 3:00 in the afternoon, we arrived at UST and we all parted ways, tired and sleepy.
