The Seafood Mecca: Province of Capiz (Trip to Roxas and Panay)

This blog is dedicated to my travel buddies, my Tita Ma'am, and Tita Anna; the women who inspired me to travel so my 80-year-old-self can reminisce about narratives from expeditions that I can one day tell the world about.

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First written: July 29, 2023 | 4:33 pm

Before I start writing about our

entire Capiz: Roxas, Panay trip,

I’d like to tell you that I’m actually

writing this in the middle of the ocean.

You read that right, middle of the ocean.

Wanna see my view from here?

Just kidding, I'm riding a 2GO Cruise ship! :P

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I'm back home!

After almost 2 weeks, I finally got the time to continue this blog (I procrastinated) :P

15 days ago, my family and I went on a trip for 9 consecutive days. During those times, we visited Roxas, Cebu, Panay, Ilo Ilo, Panay, San Joaquin and some more places that I have yet to mention. Productivity surely found its way into our trip, and for this blog post, I'm going to share our journey through the Seafood Capital of the Philippines, Capiz.

Let me provide you with a list of the places we visited there:

Roxas City

The Ruins of Alcatraz
The Edge
Culasi Point Lighthouse
Ang Panublion, Roxas City Museum
Escapade
Birthplace of Former PH President Roxas
Side Market
Cafe Terraza
Panay River
Capiz Provincial Capitol

Pan-ay

11. Sacred Heart of Jesus

12. Santa Monica Parish Church

1. The Ruins of Alcatraz

Picturesque view at the top of the walls

Something that's long been broken into pieces can never appear beautiful again, they say.

But who would've thought that a breath-taking destination in Roxas City has proven that assumption wrong?

In Brgy. Culasi, Sitio Nipa, Roxas City, Capiz lies the beautiful Ruins of Alcatraz. According to our tourist guide, the place was initially built to serve as a resort but due to some reasons, it never came to be. Nevertheless, the place still made a sound since it holds quite a unique impression. It has gigantic walls facing the ocean of Roxas.

Attack on Titan inspired walls :P

To reach the top of the walls, there are a few steps you need to take. Eventually, a green pasture will greet you 'Hello!'. You'll surely be amazed with the view you'll get from above.

Picturesque view at the top of the walls

2. The Edge

Scenic snack bar in Roxas City

100 stair steps.

That's how much steps we needed to take in order to arrive at an over-looking snack bar in Roxas called, The Edge. I'm not gonna lie, the journey was tiring but the view once we reached the destination paid all of our sweats away!

Apart from the scenic places in this City, one thing that I love about are the people themselves. Just like Ilonggos, Capiznon/ Hiligaynons are also very sweet when they talk. Their words are melodies to the ear.

Our little tour guides are testaments to the precedent claim.

Meet Roselle and Ondoy.

Picture of Roselle and Ondoy

These little kids seem little, yet they know big facts about their birthplace and are able to make profit out of guiding tourists around. They were the ones who took our pictures and were very good at it, We were amazed!

My favorite photo from our Capiz Trip

(Roselle, Ondoy and Friends)

I also took the chance to take a picture of them together with their friends (who were also touring another batch of tourists) because I found them cute just laughing together and catching up like adults. The main tourist guide who accompanied us was Kuya Rico and these kids went with him. Apparently, whenever there's a main guide who visits the places in this Barangay, a little boy and girl goes with the guide because they know more about the places around here since they live nearby. I really admire how hardworking they are regardless of their age.

3. Culasi Point Lighthouse

Tita Ma'am's Gen Z pose at Culasi Lighthouse

After The Edge, we took the trail leading to their Lighthouse.

Trail towards the Lighthouse

You can really tell that the place is rich in scenic views since during the walking session that we had to go through, we came by this place:

Breathtaking, isn't it?

Here are some of the photos that we took at the Lighthouse:

4. Ang Panublion, Roxas City Museum

Inside the Museum

After visiting the Lighthouse, we had to bid goodbye to Roselle and Ondoy since the next part of our itinerary was to visit the Roxas City Museum, The Panublion.

Did you know?

Capiz is a shell. The province Capiz was named after the shell since the Spaniards back then discovered that the place is abundant in these kinds of things. When you visit their museum, A preserved Green Sea Turtle will instantly greet you. This little fella is a testament as to how the province got its name and how it has been tagged as the seafood mecca of the Philippines.

Capiz; Green Sea Turtle

Inside the museum, you will see the most important objects that make up the City of Roxas. In fact, countless of items in here are said to be significant during the tenure of the late Philippine President, Manuel A. Roxas.

Inside the Museum

If I were to share the thing that really caught my eye, it was this old Philippine Flag. While staring at it, an instant feeling of nostalgia was felt by me even though I wasn't born yet when this national piece was crafted.

Old Philippine Flag

Let me show you the things you'll see once you went out of the museum:

Outside: Ang Panublion near Roxas Plaza

5. Escapade

Lone photo taken at the restaurant.

We finished strolling around the museum at almost 11:30 am and so we decided to take a break and dine at the famous, Escapade. The picture above is the only one that I was able to take since I became intensively indulged into the delicious variety of food that were served. When you visit Roxas City, eating at Escapade is a must!

6. Birthplace of Former PH President Roxas

Roxas' House Exterior

We then visited the birthplace of our 5th President, Manuel A. Roxas. We didn't get the chance to enter the house since there was no one around so we only took pictures outside of their home. Our tour guide, Kuya Rico told us that every once in a while, Korina Sanchez and Mar Roxas visit the house.

Birthplace of Manuel A. Roxas

7. Side Market

Uga or Dried Fish

In Cagayan de Oro, we call our Dried fish, Bulad but in Roxas City, Uga is what they call it.

Uga or Dried Fish

Bulad in Visayan actually translates to place out in the sun and Uga means dry. So basically, there's a connection there since you have to bulad something, so it'll become uga.

"Ibulad ni didto para mu-uga" This is what my aunt would tell me during our laundry day! :P

We bought kilos of Uga at one of the stalls of their side market so we can bring and try it at home.

Here are candid pictures of my aunts while they were picking out what kind of Uga we'll buy hahaha!

Uga or Dried Fish

Panay, Capiz

8. Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Shrine in Roxas City

To get here, it actually took us quite a journey. We had to ride a shuttle since the shrine is built at the top of Tumandok Hill. The fare was 20 pesos each. There's actually a story that spiked individuals who built shrines, particularly Sacred Heart of Jesus in different places, another one that I know of is located at El Salvador City.

The time when Tita Ma'am finally knew how to do the famous Korean heart sign, nakikipag sabayan sa Gen Zs ah :P

It would be great if you'd take time to research on the inspiring narratives of those people and know more about the visions, they received from the Lord that enabled them to build such shrines. My aunt Krista, who is very fond of researching valuable information told me that as for the shrine built in Roxas, Dandy Ong started it out from a promise to the Lord and a vision from Him as well.

P.S: I wore shorts here, yet the guard told me that it was okay since there's no mass going on.

We're finally at the part of the blog where I'd share about the other places we visited in Panay.

First off, we went to:

9. Cafe Terazza

Photo taken by Kuya Rico

It is a hilltop destination which I can somehow compare and contrast to/ with Dahilayan Park. I'll just drop some pictures we took at the place here and let its beauty do the talking!

10. Santa Monica Parish Church

Outside the Santa Monica Parish Church

Straight out from a movie-- this was what I constantly told myself when we visited the Santa Monica Church or also known as the Panay Church. It is very historical and sacred all at once. Here's what you will see when you're outside of the Church:

P.S: I wore shorts here, yet the Church Guide told me that it was okay.

When we went inside the Church, we saw the area where Baptism would usually take place there. Additionally, the Church Guide invited us to climb up which took us 60 stair-steps so we can see the biggest bell in Southeast Asia, the Dakung Lingganay.

Smiling at the Belfry where the biggest Bell in Southeast Asia is located.

Did you know?

The Panay Bell is considered to be the largest Catholic Church Bell in Southeast Asia and has been around for 144 years!

Took this photo since you can clearly see Ensalzare which somehow rhymes with Salazar, my surname.

The belfry of the church has 9 bells. The 8 smaller ones surround the biggest bell which is the 9th one.

I touched the biggest Church Bell in Southeast Asia!

Another valuable fact is the bells are actually made out of the People of Panay's coins. The Church Guide also told us that up to this day, it's still a mystery whether those 70 sacks of coins were forced out of the people by the Spaniards, or the townsfolk voluntarily donated it.

Biggest Church Bell in Southeast Asia

The 9 bells are actually being rang all at once during its anniversary, December 21. Last year, it rang 144 times. This year, the bells are set to ring for exactly 145 times to mark its 145th anniversary.

Historically amazing right?

Below are pictures of what you'll see from above the belfry:

The view from above

Outside of the church itself, you'll find an Old spanish Well and many other significant historical areas. I felt like I was transported back into time when we were strolling around the destination.

Truly one for the books!

Santa Monica Parish Church/ Pan-ay Church

11 & 12. We also saw the Panay River and Capiz's Provincial Capitol but we weren't able to take pictures around the said places.

To tell you honestly, I still couldn't believe that I was able to set foot on some of the places that I just once read about on other travel blogs and watched on television.

A massive THANK YOU goes to my Tita Ma'am and Tita Anna for giving birth to the 'Travelera' that I am.

Here's to more travels and trips with the two of you!

Other stills from our Capiz Trip

(Photos taken using Nikon Camera)