Roxas City
The Seafood Capital Of The Philippines And The Province The Whole Country Jokes About, Which Stopped Being Funny Here A Long Time Ago · Roxas City, Capiz
CAPIZ FEEDS THE COUNTRY. ROXAS CITY CALLS ITSELF THE SEAFOOD CAPITAL OF THE PHILIPPINES AND IT IS NOT MARKETING: the oysters, blue crabs, prawns and milkfish that come out of this coast supply markets across the archipelago, and BAYBAY BEACH IS A LINE OF RESTAURANTS SERVING THEM BY THE KILO for prices that seem like a mistake. THE WINDOWPANE OYSTER IS NAMED FOR THIS PROVINCE - the translucent CAPIZ SHELL set into wooden frames in old Philippine houses, including every sliding window in Vigan, comes from here. AND THERE IS THE OTHER THING. CAPIZ IS THE PROVINCE THE WHOLE COUNTRY ASSOCIATES WITH THE ASWANG, and it has been the punchline of films and jokes for generations. PEOPLE HERE ARE TIRED OF IT. It is a stigma attached to a farming and fishing province, not a tourist attraction, and the row will not treat it as one. Eat at Baybay Beach in the evening; the oysters are the best in the country.
Roxas City, Capiz, Western Visayas, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
ROXAS CITY HAS AN AIRPORT with flights from Manila and is ROUGHLY THREE TO FOUR HOURS BY ROAD FROM ILOILO CITY. BAYBAY BEACH is open public shore lined with SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS that run from late afternoon into the evening - buy at the market and have it cooked, or order directly. THE CAPIZ PROVINCIAL MUSEUM and the old houses keep daytime hours. SANTA MONICA CHURCH AT PANAY, a short drive out, holds ONE OF THE LARGEST CHURCH BELLS IN ASIA, cast from coins donated by parishioners. THE CITY IS FLAT AND WALKABLE in its centre. TYPHOON SEASON RUNS ROUGHLY JUNE TO NOVEMBER and the Visayas take storms. Capiz is a working province rather than a tourist one and should be visited as such.