As the month started, along with my girlfriend and friends, we went to the province of Aurora. I am not at home, that's why I am offline most of the time for 3 days. It was a tiring travel because of the back pain as a nodule appeared after an unpleasant travel experience. However, I had a lot of fun with the trip.
Our first stop was in Maria Aurora, a town from Aurora Province, where we visited the old and grand balete tree of Ronquillo Balete Eco Park. It was also called The Millennium Tree because of its long life, though it's been there for more than 600 years. It's height is around 65 meters but it could have been higher without the typhoons ravaging the area. The province of Aurora is a typhoon-prone province as it faces Pacific Ocean, and it is usually where typhoons make landfall. Still, the tree has withstood any destructive storm, and remain erected.
From a distance, you will think it's just a huge tree. But if you look behind its existence, you will be in awe how it remained standing for centuries, and with such a height.
We arrived there at about 7am. Only few people are there at that time. But as time progresses, tourists are coming in. I can sense it is their first stop as they visited the province of Aurora. It's a long weekend, which was taken advantage by many people.
Up close, you can see the huge trunks and roots. That could've have protected the tree amidst the extreme typhoons which ravaged the town.
People are allowed to climb the enormous trunks and roots of the tree. But everyone should be cautious when climbing to avoid falling down.
I didn't climb the trunks and roots because I have fear of heights. I can't even have a tight grip, and my back pain won't allow me to climb.
You can climb as high, but that measure is fine. Those are my friends, while the one in the middle is my girlfriend, @shula14.
Looks creepy isn't it? It actually reminds me of those trees from fictional stories such as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and other creepy films. Well, there are beliefs that "enkantos" or some scary supernatural beings live there. I don't believe in such though.
You can actually go inside the roots and trunks of the tree. However, you will pay another entrance fee of about Php15 (10 for children), aside from the same entrance fee when entering the eco-park. According to those who went got inside those trunks, you can see nothing but roots, and darkness. Good thing I didn't pay an extra free to just try and see what's inside.
Place of coconuts
These are coconuts for suman and buko pie. If you travel around Aurora, you will notice the numerous coconut trees from the stretch of the elongated province.
Aside from the Balete tree, there's a pasalubong center where you can buy some of the delicacies of Aurora including buko pie and suman. I am unable to capture what's being sold, but to be honest, some of the products sold are also sold in other places.
These are coconut seedling. The will grow even they were not planted in soil. Some of these even fall from the coconut trees, and will grow by itself. I am not sure if these trees are being sold though.
There's not that much you can do in Balete Eco-Park. It needs more amenities as you can only try the "Thomas and Friends" train in just a short distance. There's no tour guide who can bring you anywhere im the compound. The lot was still huge for a garden that can bring beautification of the park. Surely, it will attract more tourists.
Still, it is worth visiting as you can see the old and huge balete tree. It is among those tourist spots in Aurora Province, and the town of Maria Aurora. When planning a tour over the province, you can start the tour by visiting the eco-park. It is accessible, and it is located in Barangay Quirino. As mentioned above, there's an entrance fee of Php15 for adults, and Php10 for children and senior citizens. The same additional amount if you want to enter the roots of balete tree.