I'm pretty sure everyone of us has a story to tell related to the river. I, for one, have a long list of experiences since I grew up in Centro where our house was just a few steps from the river. I wonder if the river is still utilized to transport people and goods to the neighboring towns. Pawe, my father designed and pioneered the style of a boat with seats like that of a bus with an aisle for ease of reaching the back seats. Our motor launch was named ALIMAN (stands for Alice and Manuel, my parent's name).
My first vivid memory of the river was during my first grade or earlier. It looked vast and intimidating but attractive to little people who were always looking for adventures. It was in the river bank that we improvised, with some sands and cardboards, our first 'toboggan'. The cardboard ride was the best ever. The row of big boats (well, they looked big to us) tied to the posts of the river bank challenged our rowing skills. Looking back, we should have untied the boats and crossed to the other side of the river, that would have been more fun. On low tides, a small island grows in the middle of the river which was a pretty good source of 'BIBI' also known as tulya. Men.. those 'tulya' were really good. My mom would cook 'ginataang tulya' with 'lambo' and lots of 'kamias'. My favorite, though was 'crunchy bibi' but of course we needed tons of it because it shrinks down to half the size when deep fried. 'Basud' was our favorite get away. I always looked forward and tried to be nice all week, helping in the household chores so I can go with my brothers and sisters to our 'resort' in Basud. The swimming lessons were intense but I learned a few strokes after swallowing gallons of water (yuck!). And the bridge...let's not forget the awesome bridge. When the trains went by, the 'flying saucers' launched from the windows of the trains were plunging directly to the waters. Another yuck, remember the gallons of water swallowed and the appetizing 'BiBi' ? But anyway, I so love that bridge. When I went to high school in BCA, I had some classmates who lived across the river. I found out it was more fun crossing the bridge than attending the afternoon class. That bridge offered a lot of challenges. We ran and race to the other end but I tell you, avoiding those rotten slats was not easy. One day, as we were crossing the bridge the train came while we were just halfway. Oh boy, you should have seen how we clung to our dear life lying prostrate and hugging every possible slat that we can grab.
I'd say I had the best and most memorable experiences growing up in our little town, but I bet everyone would say the same. We left our town for different reasons but always come back having the same thoughts and ideas... RELIVE the past and ENJOY the present.
.jpg)