With the new contest up from Steem Photos, I decided to join. Although I was thinking of the trip we did in South Korea in 2019, I don't have the photos with me, they are left at home in Bohol so I ended up with Benliw Dam instead because it is truly a wonderful place, it's nature-filled, not touristy yet, and most especially, it offers a picturesque landscape! Let me share it with you.

Back in early 2021 when my baby was about to turn nine months old, I thought of visiting Benliw Dam and having his photoshoot opportunity there. It's an hour away from our house and my husband agreed with the idea so even if there was a sign of rain on the day of the trip, we still pushed it.

Now comes the rain as we arrived at the location. It was not even a simple shower but was a huge downpour. It was around three in the afternoon when we arrived and I was worried it might not stop.

I could literally see the ground wet and already starting to flood. This is a dam so it is evident that water can rise when there's too much rain. I could also see some locals just passing by the dam into the shore because the rain was too much to handle. They were about to go to the mountain opposite to the dam.

Thankfully, the rain had stopped and the beauty of the mountains before us just showed up and was magnified! I could still remember my jaws dropping as I watch the dark clouds slowly lifting away and the landscape revealing its glory.

It's very ironic how this place had shown us such beauty when just a few minutes ago, it displayed a devastating rain and it felt like we had no hope but to look at the view, it was somehow as if the rain came to cleanse it and now, we have cloudy skies with the mountains displaying its beauty!

It was actually a family trip because when I told my parents about our plans, all of them tagged themselves along and so the image above shows my sister-in-law and her son looking at the beauty before us.

I was glad that we had brought with us some puzzle mats and clothes which we used for the photoshoot and so Matti didn't get wet while the shoot was ongoing.

Matti was very cooperative during the shoot. It didn't take long before I wrapped it up. The rest of the time we spent just appreciating the beauty of this place. The mountains look really majestic and so I praise God for this creation.

I also took photos of the family and my other nephews and nieces. They were all supportive during the picture taking.

And of course, the husband did another photo with Matti being carried in the air! And our theme for that photoshoot was genius baby. We brought with us some encyclopedias and other thick books which my niece enjoy flipping and reading when we were done with the photoshoot.

When the sun was about to set, and we were just eating our snacks, we had a mini picnic too at the dam, the golden colors of the sun came shining through and we appreciate the place all the more. I highly recommend that Boholanos visit this place. Today, it is still not very well known but soon, I hope that other Boholanos would also be able to witness its wondrous beauty!

Let me leave you again with some of the photos of Benliw Dam! This is located in Benliw, Ubay, Bohol, Philippines.