Tayabo Fiesta

Hi folks! As I said, I went to our province to experience again the barangay fiesta in my place after two years of being absent (hehe, dont ask).

"Tayabo" is the name of our baranggay, one of the 39 barangays which compose the city of San Jose, a city in Nueva Ecija province. Tayabo is home to the city's only nature park (which was formerly called Diamond Park because they thought a lot of diamonds were buried by the Japanese forces during the war, and some said because of the shape of the park, which I guess a better name yet insignificant to be called for the place). Agricultural products include rice, onion, tomatoes, chili, sweet potato, okra, and many more you can see in the "pinakbet" menu. Aside from that, Tayabo is the river water control for the city as it holds the reservoir for irrigating farmlands downstream of the barangay up to the city proper. The so-called "carayan" (an Ilocano term for a wide river with shallow water) caters to summer geeks who want to taste the cool flowing water from the river and enjoy the battle against the raging sun (ohh, I bet you should try, see picture on top left).

The "kubo" on the right side is constructed by the locals to shelter people from the heat (it cost 100-200 pesos only, and sometimes free if you befriended the owner, hihihi just an advice). Well, I always feel that I'm really home when we do picnics in the carayan. It felt like I don't have to care for anything other than eating "inihaw na bangus or tilapia", pork adobo, "mangga", "bagoong", and more. When I was in college, we often go there for some sem-ender trips during summer or just a casual hang-outs if we got bored from our school works, really great!!!

My family would always invite me to go there for some past time and relaxation, since they know that it is what I have come for from the exhausting Manila. See my lola and mom on the left photo enjoying the "hard seats" of the kubo, hehehe.

It was really cool and nice. After I got full of the food, I went swimming a couple of times. The water is not so cold, a little warm actually. But sometimes, you gotta be cautious because you might see some yellow submarine floating ahead of you, that's why you must be quick to make your move out of that killing submarine, hahaha, or else, you'll truly remember the place. Stupids kids are upstream, that's why, hehe.

We even brought our new dog (named Lab, since she's a labrador) but sorry, haven't shot her so cant show you. Though, I can show you my daughter Eryn (haha). She's going to be a year-old on the 25th, and she does really like to play in the water... cute...

Okay, I'll post again next time. I hope you had a great time reading this.