RIVER SOCIALIZATION

RIVER SOCIALIZATION AREA. Photographed from the river bank near the old dakit tree on November 2, 2009, this half-kilometer stretch of river, from the lost sandbar to the area of the third "intusan" across from where we left for our dry run tour, was the most popular river socialization area for the residents of Sitio Ilawod of Barangay Caraycaray until the 1990s, before the piped water system reached Caraycaray and the Ilawod area. Here the local residents took their baths, washed their laundry, fetched water for domestic use, and socially-interacted during any or all of these activities.


In my childhood, some young people would engage in swimming contests along this stretch of river at high tide, among them an uncle, now dead.


Photo by Rolando Borrinaga