July 9, 2010

City in a valley

A view of Marikina City and the mansion-like homes around the Capitol Hills Golf & Country Club under a bright blue noon sky filled with puffy little clouds. The city of Marikina is built in a valley between the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range and the ridge which marks the boundary of Quezon City. My father used to tell me how this fertile valley—a river runs its entire length—used to be nothing but rice fields. During the worst of our annual typhoons, the Marikina River always breaks its banks—good for paddy field agriculture but not for human settlements. In fact, Marikina City was one of the worst hit cities in Metro Manila during last year's devastating Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana).

Marikina Valley seen from the Capitol HIlls Golf & Country Club


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20 comments:

JTG (Misalyn) said...

Good morning Ms. Hilda.

Nice capture. I really like the puffy clouds against the blue sky. Parang hindi sa Pinas.

Oh! I remember typhoon Ondoy....sa TV ko lang napanood. Sobrang devastated ang kalagayan ng marami nating kababayan ng panahon ng bagyo and even after ng bagyo. I remember my co-officers of Pinoy Forumers Society telling me kung paano sila halos maiyak sa kalagayan ng mga kababayan natin habang nag-aabot sila ng relief goods.

Youth_in_Asia said...

It's been a while since I've stopped by, but now I have a lot of material to look through. Beautiful shot. There's so much depth to that photo.

James said...

Very nice shot. I love those big clouds.

Anonymous said...

May time and life continue to treat all of them kind. And yes, a city is surely able to change a farming area...as on the outskirts where we live some 30 years ago where only goats and sheeps to see, beneath Orange trees...a nice Friday for you.

daily athens

Anonymous said...

look at that skyscape. thanks for educating me about marikina. nature is just being nature when the banks overflow, since water is meant to irrigate the fields, eh?

brattcat said...

a gorgeous vista, hilda.

Al said...

I haven't been to Marikina for a long time now, the last I was there was during our Field demonstration in Rodriguez Sports Center during high school days. I miss Marikina knowing that it's just a few minutes away from here taking the C5 road.

Ken Mac said...

looks hot today

Rajesh said...

Great view of beautiful landscape.

Unknown said...

i pass by Manggahan floodway everyday and i've read that it was constructed to specifically protect Marikina from flooding. unfortunately, it wasn't enough during Ondoy. great shot!

Regina said...

Such a lovely view.
Happy SWF Hilda.
Enjoy the weekend .
"Regina"

Cezar and Léia said...

Bonjour sweet Hilda!
Wonderful shot from this city and beautiful sky.
So sorry about the devastation caused by Ondoy.It's a tragedy, always sad.
Hugs
Léia

Olivier said...

superbe panoramique pour le ciel du vendredi

Anonymous said...

Terrible to hear about the devastation. Love those puffy clouds - so summery.

Dani said...

lovely shot.

Have a great weekend

Ebie said...

A great view and vast expanse of the valley! It must be hot this day creating those huge clouds!

lewi14@gmail.com said...

Great sky-watch.

Lois said...

It's very pretty Hilda! Interestingly, we have a Capital City Golf and Country Club here. The homes around it are not so grand as these appear to be though!

Max-e said...

Nice shot Hilda and interesting facts. We have also had a proliferation of golfing estates in this country, not the places where I would like to live though. It is also interesting that people never learn about rivers. In South Africa, what is a dry water course most of the year round can become a mighty river in a few hours and cause great devastation.

George said...

I can understand why someone would want a home in this beautiful setting, but that doesn't make it a wise location. I love the clouds floating above the valley.