My son, Juneau, is a huge Diego and Dora the Explorer fan and has this interesting fascination with animals. This is probably what these two adventurous cousins have infected him with. So, I promised myself that I will take him to the zoo some time. Well, in Juneau’s word- animal center. Apparently, Diego’s family owns an animal center, so that’s what my son refers the zoo to.

Unfortunately, I’m claustrophobic and so picking a date is really a challenge. I have to make sure it falls on a weekday or else, I’d have a hard time squeezing myself into the crowd if we go on weekends. Luckily, my job follows US holidays and thank you, Mr. Martin Luther King, you made a Monday off possible.

The date? January 20, 2014

And there it was. January 20 was the date we have been waiting for! I was so excited, just as much Juneau was.

The place? Avilon Zoo at Rodriguez Rizal

Avilon Zoo is the most highly recommended zoo in the country. Its rate, at Php400 for adults and Php300 for kids, is relatively higher than its competitors but I can say that it’s all worth it. It is indeed a large place with so much to offer. Juneau’s eyes wandered from side to side and watched the animals with awe. I can see that the animals here are well taken care of with clean and nice smelling cages, unlike with the others. Their habitat, may not be as big as what they have outdoors, but in my opinion are spacious enough for them to roam around.

I was somehow disappointed that some animals were sleeping, like the bear, most likely because we went there around lunch and it’s their siesta time but when the orangutan, tigers, lions woke up, ah, it was such a marvelous sight to behold! The animals in books and TV cartoon shows came to life!

My personal favorite is the leopard (I actually touched it while it was sleeping….ssshhhh!!! Hihi. It was like touching a stuff toy). The way it walked was very fluid, so elegant and so quiet, despite its thunderous roar. The white tiger was equally regal and magnificent!

Juneau can’t fix his eyes on the camera, he always looks at the animals every time we take a picture!

It was such a fun-filled and informative day! Our feet were tired in roaming this wide park but seeing the glow in my baby’s eyes makes it all worth it.

The young and young at hearts will surely enjoy this place. I’m recommending this as much as the others do.

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