On the third day, we decided to go to Baluarte, a zoo located outside the city center that was created and funded by Gov. Chavit Singson. The zoo allowed most of the animals to roam freely, so if you're unlucky, you might just get attacked by an ostrich.

For a zoo with free admission and is open to the public, it's very well-maintained, and Didang even commented that it was more well-kept than Manila Zoo. We saw an assortment of birds, some camels, deer, alpacas, ostriches, ducks, peacocks, snakes, etc. We had a field day taking pictures of the many different animals, and because they were generally allowed to roam free, it was fun to watch. The ducks, for one, migrated from the little pond they were swimming in to the shaded area in the open field (where the ostriches, camels, and deer were). One poor duck was left behind in the pond and was quacking, presumably trying to find where his (or her) companions went to. Soon, the ducks were back in the pond, swimming.

And yes, it was yet another hot, hot day.

The zoo also had a butterfly farm, and Didang, fearing many flying things above her head, refused to enter. I went in, and it was both fun and scary inside. It was also monumentally difficult to take a picture of a butterfly, and I only had one good shot of it.

There were also several road signs pointing us to see the "Lion and Tiger." Yes, singular, though later signs were leading to the "Lion and Tigers." We assumed there was one lion and several tigers, and we were right. However, even after following the directional signs, we still couldn't find the lion and tigers. We guessed (correctly) that the tigers were the ones in cages near the entrance, but we were still looking for that elusive lion. Finally, one of the zoo workers, probably overhearing us speculate about the whereabouts of this lion, told us that the one lion in the zoo had died a while back. Aww.

Perhaps one of the most puzzling details at Baluarte was the dinosaur replicas near the Baluarte sign inside the zoo. I didn't understand why they needed to include that, but okay. Also puzzling (and disappointing) was the actual Baluarte sign at the entrance, which promised zebras, elephants, and bears. None were in the zoo.

Still, it was a fun morning spent at that zoo. It looked like more stuff was being built, so I can only assume they're bringing more animals in. Hopefully, they'll replace the one lion the zoo ever had.