MY SARISARI STORE

Hi to all my blog visitors,

Due to typhoon "Milenyo" I have no electricity and running water in my house.

I start to smell badly but what annoys me most is that I can't access the internet, update my blog or visit other people blogs.

I wasn't even able to recharge the batteries of my camera! :-(((

Of course there are worser things in life. Typhoon "Milenyo" destroyed a lot along its way and for sure some people are suffering much more than I do. Some people's houses were just blown away !

After some kids got enough of killing each other in the internet game "Counterstrike" I managed to post this message in an internet cafe (which is powered by a generator).

I don't expect to have electricity soon (internet access might take even longer). There are still pictures for one week in the pipe line who will load automatically.

Bear with me. 

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There are approximately 28,000 fisherfolk familiies that depend on the Lake as a source of Livelihood.

Fishpond development in Laguna de Bay (1982).

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In 1973, when fishpen culture of milkfish had just begun, 4,800 has. of the lake surface area were occupied by fishpens and fishcages. The technology which was originally for the small fishermen, attracted instead several businessmen and entrepreneurs because of promising high yield and profits. The area of fishpen increased rapidly to as high as 35,000 has. in 1983 or 1/3 of the lake surface. In addition, stocking of fishpens was not regulated.  This resulted in several problems, such as, reduction of open lake for traditional fishermen and navigation difficulties.

The huge investment cost involved in putting up a fishpen and the opportunities it offers, caught the interest of  big capitalists at the expense of small fishermen.  Thus, the fishpens in the lake area are now controlled by big businessmen whose residences are outside of the lake basin.

The clamor now of the small fishermen is the dismantling of big fishpen owned by corporations, the owners of which are politicians, retired military personnel and other influential persons with strong connections to the government.  Fishermen associations are pushing for the proper allocation of the allowable area to include fishermen cooperatives. 

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At present, the lake's most dominant use is fisheries. It is estimated that the lake has a potential yield of approximately 80,000-90,000 MT of fish annually both from the fishpens and open fisheries.

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Houses along the shores of Laguna de Bay.

The lake also serves as a huge waste sink for solid and liquid waste coming from households, cropland areas, industries, livestock and poultry production as well as fishery activities. Because most municipalities are not equipped with a sewerage system, pollution are carried through surface run-off to all the 21 tributary rivers into the lake. In addition, polluted waters from the Marikina and Pasig Rivers also flow into the lake.

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Today, Laguna de Bay covers almost one half of the total surface area of all existing lakes in the Philippines and ranks as one of the largest inland bodies of water in Southeast Asia. Based on the study conducted by the National Institute for Geological Sciences, the present surface area of the lake is 949 km2 and the average depth is now at 2 meters.      

Laguna de Bay is trilobate with three corporate bays: The West Bay, Central Bay and East Bay that converge towards the South carving out what resembles a large bird or dinosaur. The West and Central Bays are separated by Talim Island, the largest and most populated of the nine islands within the lake.

(Source: Living Lakes)

                      Laguna de Bay

Named after Ba-é [Ba-i or Bay], a town on its southern shore, Laguna de Ba-é is a brackish lake, 922 square kilometers in size, with the mean depth of two meters. Fed by rivers and streams from the Sierra Madre, it empties into Manila Bay through the sixteen-kilometer long Pasig River. It was in the town of Ba-é on the lake’s southern shore that the Augustinians, established their first Christian mission station in Laguna, in 1571. Hence, the lake’s name.

American cartographers misread the name "Ba-é", leading to the cartographic conundrum of some contemporary map: a lake that is a bay. By definition, a bay is a body of water, usually salty, with a large opening making it an ideal harbor while a lake, usually fresh, is encircled by land.

The heart-shaped lake, Laguna de Ba-é, is encircled by two provinces, Rizal and Laguna, and Metro Manila. To the east is the Sierra Madre, to the south are the volcanic mountains--Banahaw (2,177 mts), San Cristobal (1,470 mts), Makiling (1,090 mts), Atimba (654 mts), and Nagcarlang (629 mts)--and to the northwest the plains of Metro Manila.

This series will be in b&w. No real story line. Just a collection of pictures of a Lake which "mood & spirit " I only discovered a few weeks ago. Of course I knew about the Lake and visited most of the villages & historical churches along its shores (Antipolo, Cainta, Taytay, Angono, Binangonan, Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, Mabitac, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Longos, Lumban, Pagsanjan, Pila, Calamba, St.Cruz, Ba-é and Los Baños).

But being on a small bangka (boat) on the lake was a totally different experience. It is a wonderful, peaceful place and I recommend people to spend at least one day visiting the fishponds and have a rest on one of the many houses that were build on the lake. 

Hire a boatman (how much you will pay depends on your bargaining skills...) and make it a day long excursion. You can ask your boatman to bring you to one of the cottages build on the lake where you can stay for a few hours and enjoy the sights and the peace of the place. The caretaker(s) will probably enjoy your company. Bring your own baon (food) & drinks. People are very hospitable. I didn't pay anything to visit their cottages. It might be a nice attention to leave a little gift behind. Those caretakers are earning 2,000 pesos (USD 40)  a month...

The lake is full of fishes, so fishing is easy. If you enjoy fishing you might end up with a basket full of fishes that you catched yourself...   

(Source: Map wikipedia. Text: Lakbaynet)

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The cockfights last till early in the evening, and by this time our sabungero has had his weekly share of blood and sport. If luck favored him that day, he heads home with his fighter and his opponentIs dead rooster in hand. The family will feast on chicken tonight. Otherwise, he wonders what to tell his wife when she finds out what has happened to their savings.

The most fitting description of cockfighting, perhaps can be found long ago in the words of a noted fictionist: "You don't know Filipinos until you have seen some fellow who had trained a chicken for months, put it into a ring against another's rooster. He bets everything he owns on it...... If he wins, glorious; if in one pass his rooster gets its throat cut, then you will see how a philosopher takes disaster..."

(Source: Lester Ledsma. The Philippines' Premier Gambling Sport )

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This is the sad end of a proud rooster. It fought for its life but lost the battle. A "cook" will remove the feathers and the owner of the cock can pick it up when he goes home. It took this guy less than two minutes to remove all the feathers.

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The wounds are mostly pretty bad and those "doctors" perform some amazing operations.
I wonder how many of those cocks survive.