Views at Toti's

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Toti is one the two twins who are the youngest of Inocencio. On our first day here in Aringay we visited his house on Santa Rita East that is just across the main road from Santa Rita West where we are staying. His daughter Tessa and son Markus were there. We also met his sister-in-law since his mother-in-law is right next door. Unfortunately, his wife Nerissa is working in Hong Kong right now.

As a commercial electrician, I've been doing my usual visual scan of how things are put together. Electrical is much different here. Because of the humidity, most construction is concrete or masonry, so wiring is surface mounted romex. Uncle Toti is an electrician and has used his electrical knowledge to bring home the fish, literally. There is a picture of a device that is switched on to energize a copper wire that runs down to the river below the house. Turn it on when the fish are running, go down to the water and use a net to scoop out dinner. Because her mom is out of town, Tessa came down from Baguio City in the mountains to take care of the house on her day off. She showed me around, bubbling the whole time. We had our first ice cream here: chocolate and cheese. Their house is on a hill above the Aringay River, so the view is incredible. We could see the mushroom farming, someone's goat foraging, a small bamboo raft and men net fishing. I am looking forward to visiting more with Tessa when we go to Baguio on the 13th.

Rosario

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Photos

Toti
Didn't stay long. Had work to do. The women stayed and socialized and the men went across the street to hang out.

Tessa
talking to Juana and Inocencio

Ice Cream
Denver having ice cream at Toti's

Mural
Francesca in front of the mural on the wall of the balcony/outdoor living space

Tricycle
The most common form of transportation here. Sometimes people hang off the sides. Also used for delivering soda, water, etc

Tricycle
A view out the back of our truck on the way to Toti's. The vehicle is a motor bike with a sidecar welded to it.

Fish Beware!
Looking down from the balcony at the copper wire running down to the water

Fishing
Local men stretch nets around wooden stakes in the river and wade in to harvest the fish. The stakes are a permanent fixture all along the river.

Mushrooms
Not sure what variety. A local one I probably wouldn't recognize. The mounds are where they are cultivated

Raft
a bamboo raft poles out to the mushroom piles in the river