Over Pantal River and Deaf Survey in Salapingao

As we volunteer in teaching deaf people, we decided to visit an island barangay which we haven't visited yet before. Of course, our seniors have been there, but it is the first time of our batch to do deaf survey there. That island barangay is Salapingao. It was considered as an island because it's surrounded by river waters.

Dagupan City is formerly a swamp land, by which land reclamation was done which made up the land area, including the city proper. There are a number of island barangay in Dagupan City aside from Salapingao. The city was also surrounded by rivers and the sea. It actually reminds me of Babylon, which was a city surrounded by the Euphrates River, minus the sea.

We had our meeting place at Dagupan City Plaza, and pairings was made. To get to the island barangay of Salapingao, we have to travel by boat starting at Pantal River.

Pantal River is a big part of the economy of Dagupan City. It is where fishes are imported and exported to and from other towns of Pangasinan. The picture above is where the boats are located for passengers to the island barangays.

The port area is at the back of the Magsaysay Fish Market. That market is where the trades and selling of sea foods were sold. When we passed by that market, the ground was clean. At times, it is slippery as the grounds are wet. The facade of the market is on the other side facing the Downtown area, and close to Dagupan City Hall and the park.

We left the port, and we paid around Php20 each, if I am right. The water of the river has slightly lousy smell so it is important to have alcohol to disinfect because you cannot avoid getting water sprinkling on you. That area of the port is also the most polluted because of the market, and crossing the river is Barangay Pantal, one of the most populated barangays in the city.

We have to cross under the bridge to reach Salapingao. That's the Pantal Bridge as it traversed the Pantal River linking the land area at the other side. The bridge was constructed as part of the De Venecia Highway, a diversion road which minimizes the travel time and traffic in the city proper.

There are a lot of fish pens in the island barangays taking advantage of the river's produce. Not sure if it's legal though because there are a lot of fish pens removed before causing floods in some places, and clogging of the river.

Each of the island barangays has a mark which barangay is it. Finally, we're close to the port of Salapingao.

As we reached the barangay, we started searching for deaf people. With my partner, I haven't found one. While the other groups haven't found any deaf people too. They were told there are deaf in certain residences but those individuals has different conditions, which is Down Syndrome. Still, we had fun with the survey, and we left the barangay at noon time to buy our lunch.

As we reached the Magsaysay port, we bought our meal, and headed to our friend's house. There in the picture above, we're traversing the Pantal Bridge.

We reached the house of our friend where we had our lunch. Took some rest afterwards, and at mid-afternoon, we had a bonding which many foods are prepared. It was tiring but fun, something we haven't experienced since the pandemic.

I went home in the evening, and I am surprised of the cupcakes in the table.

I had chosen cookies and cream which is quite sweet. This is better than the frosting of the other cupcakes that we bought from other bakeshop.

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