It was in 2006 when my family and relatives made our first visit to the La Mesa Ecopark one weekend.
I read about the place from newspaper clippings and I thought we could check it out. Besides, the park was located in Fairview, Quezon City which was also fairly close to our apartment.
Quezon City typifies urban sprawl and frankly, I was not expecting too much from the weekend trip. The plan was to let the kids swim in the pool for a few hours, have a quiet picnic then go home in the afternoon.
We were pleasantly surprised though because the park has so much more to offer. There were massive, decade-old trees, carefully manicured gardens, flower terraces, orchidariums, pathways, bike trails, a nice large pond, and lots of open spaces for picnics.
It was a pleasant discovery for us, and it seems that the government was serious in maintaining the so-called nature preserve. The parking area is a bit far from the grounds, and vehicles are not allowed inside the 33-hectare "forest."
While the kids enjoyed swimming at the pool, the grownups relaxed in a nice picnic spot shaded by the massive canopies of trees.
I was told that the park was previously a watershed site and a mere backdrop for the majestic La Mesa Dam.
But the city government and a foundation by broadcasting giant ABS-CBN decided to draw up plans to officially declare the area a nature preserve or an oasis within the city.
The popularity of the La Mesa ecopark may have multiplied ten-fold by now, and the last time we went there, a zip line; a paintball arena and other team-building facilities; boating; and rod and reel fishing have been added to the growing list of activities that the park offers.