Roxas City in the eyes of bloggers

Roxas City and the blogging community continue to forge a romantic love affair ever since the Internet age sparkled, bubbled and burst. Indeed, Roxas City (and the province of Capiz) is truly bewitching that a few days spent here will always give any traveler the reason to extend that trip, or come back some time later. Roxas City has welcomed, amused, bewitched, and romanced, hundreds of bloggers already. I have been surfing the net lately and found out that all in all, every blogger who writes about Capiz has nothing but great words and pure praises to this land by the sea.

On his visit to the historic and iconic Panay Church, home to the biggest bell in Southeast Asia, Mark Ramone Go of Nomadicexperiences.com writes:

 "The view from the bell towner offers a great vantage point to see the quiet and charming town of Pan-ay - the former Capital of Capiz and ocne the site of a thriving textile industry and a rum and wine distillery owned by the grandfather of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas."

The alluring sea plus the majestic sunset, all yours when you visit Roxas City.

The calm water by the shoreline of Roxas City invites everyone to splurge on an early evening swimming.

He reflected:

 "...the strong walls of the Sta. Monica Church and its rich history and of the town of Pan-ay that has become the subject of its generosity with, even for a brief moment of that one January afternoon, gave me something that its worth remembering for a long time."

 Of the Arnaldo Boulevard (which he mistakenly referred to as "Roxas" Boulevard), Go writes:

 "[It] offers a great place to relax, walk around and smell the clean air emancipating from the sea... the wind from the beach provides a perfect contrast of heat and wind."

 Traveling to Roxas CIty would never be complete without munching on the rich array of seafood cuisines that are all yours for the taking. In Ambot-ah.com, the author Marcos (aka chymera), shares us his thoughts when it comes to dining in Roxas:

"A trip to this city wouldn’t be complete without eating in one of the seafood restaurants along Baybay. We actually didn’t know what restaurant the locals preferred to eat in so we surveyed the whole row and asked for their prices. A tip I learned in picking restaurants is to choose the one the most crowded one. This ensures that the food is good and always fresh. That time, Beng’s Seafood looked like the best choice."

He also adds:

"The food was soooo good! You should try their grilled diwal (sold for P8 per piece), it is just heavenly … coincidentally, diwal is also known as “Angel Wings” because of the shape and color of its shell. We ate Grilled Blue Marlin, Grilled Scallops (P5 per piece!), Steamed Talaba / Oyster (P25 per serving), Dried Squid (P25 per stick), and Grilled Pantat / Catfish."

Aurelio Locsin, who writes for USA Today's Travel section, suggests of taking a stop at Roxas Citys' botanical garden, Hortus Botanicus.

 "The Hortus Botanicus garden features endemic and introduced species which are instructively labeled and arranged by family, while a local pond also boasts aquatic species. The gardens also feature a learning center and shop."

 With so many things to do, but so little time, a lot of travelers here wish they have more days to spend on their visit to Roxas. This was the sentiment in Pinoyadventurista.com. 

 "It would be best to visit it during sunset as you could just watch the sun simply disappear in the horizon while the sky turns into multitude of colors. There are so many things you can do in Baybay Beach and it definitely wouldn’t cost you so much. I just wish I had more time."

Speaking of the city center, Pinoy Adventurista writes:

 "The city center has a very nice looking rotunda (round about) which I think is lovely to see at night. It has a fountain at the middle which when lighted beautifully, could be one of the interesting attractions in the city. From here, you can also see the old Capiz Bridge (now Roxas City Bridge) built in 1910 traversing Panay River. 

The city center is really busy, streets are filled with vehicles - especially tricycles. I was just observing the surroundings while taking some photos and having some small talks with the locals. I enjoyed it! They are indeed very warm and accommodating!"

Reminiscing of his first trip to Roxas City, Antonio Carranza of  Pusangkalye.net wrote:

“These spaces [the structures in the city center] resembling an old Spanish town are hard to come by these days with all the modernization going on. Being seated at one of the benches in this public space is a marvel. One new discovery after another came next.

Walking through the bridge,I realized that something is "romantic" about the place.Roxas City has two faces with the charm of an Old Spanish Town on the other side of the river and the vibrant city on the other.”

There’s this innate pride within me telling me how blessed I am to have been born in the place. While many of my classmates and friends are dying hard to leave this place, I am not. I may travel anywhere else, but Roxas City will always and will remain by one, true “home, sweet, home.”

Image credit goes to my college classmate, Princess Lydia Sepnio.