Exploring Panay Island - Kalibo, Roxas, Pan-ay

Kalibo is not even a city, yet their airport has been classified as international.  This is probably due to the fact that it is the alternative entry point of tourists bound for Boracay, especially those taking the jet-liners as compared to those taking the turbo-props that go directly to the Caticlan airport.

Indeed the airport facilities (during this visit) are being upgraded to international standards, the reason why the baggage conveyors are not functioning.  

I took a tricycle from the airport to the town proper which is just 10-15 minutes away.  There are not taxis here - the tricycle  serves the purpose.

I'm here to explore the place prior to the Ati-atihan Festival -- know the schedule of the upcoming festival, where to stay and dine and the places to see.  

After depositing my stuff in the hotel, I visited the Municipal Tourism and the Ati-atihan Foundation offices and from there, the first half of my objective has been achieved.

The Sto. Nino Cathedral and the Kalibo Museum are just across the plaza, so I headed for these places to check them out.  The old bells at the church grounds will surely catch the attention of any first-time visitor to this place.  These are church bells dating back to the 1800s - impressive!

If not for the museum, I would not know that the late Cardinal Sin is from this place.  The Kalibo museum houses several socio-cultural and religious artifacts.  Several paintings from the local artists were on display at the time of my visit and are for sale. 

Saylo Cuisine came highly recommended, even from 30,000 feet up above.  I was sitting beside an off-duty flight attendant of Cebu Pacific airlines who was coming home to Kalibo and she mentioned the restaurant during our conversation.  It's located mid-way between the airport and town proper.  

I sampled various specialty of the restaurant -- food tripping.  It's their fried 'tamilok' though that topped among the food I ordered.  

fried tamilok

In one of my Palawan trips, I sampled raw 'tamilok' dipped in vinegar, so it was not my first time with the 'tamilok', but my first of it being fried. How was it? Hmmm.... it's up for you to discover...

Their turon is also something to look forward to and their halo-halo con bucayo.  

turon

Aside from the food, the ambiance of Saylo is what makes it worth visiting and dining in Kalibo.

halo-halo con bucayo

Latte Cafe is also a good place to go for snacks in Kalibo.  There's one in the airport road, a few blocks from Saylo and a smaller branch in the city center near a hospital.

The following day, I headed to the municipality of New Washington which is around 30-45 minutes from Kalibo.  

I wanted to visit the Sampaguita Gardens, home to the Precious Moments doll (with those signature tear-drop shaped eyes) designed and created by Sam Butcher.

At the center of the gardens is Jojo's Christmas Cottage which is a Victorian cottage that offers Christmas Everyday Experience. 

It has a Precious Moments store in the ground floor and the Jojo's Christmas Cottage Museum of Christmas in the upper floors showcasing Precious Moments collectibles. 

The Sampaguita Gardens is one of the better places to go as a side-trip during the Ati-Atihan festival or when coming from Boracay.  

If you plan to get an ati-dancer doll as a souvenir during the Ati-atihan festival, get one from here.

Its unique and worth the price.  I got mine here.

I'm sure this place would be dazzling with lights during night-time and during the cold BER season in time for Christmas.

Since the entrance fee to the resort is consumable, I decided to have my lunch (a huge burger) here before heading back to Kalibo.  Entrance to the resort is free during Mondays.

That night, as per recommendation by another guest staying in the same hotel I'm in, I headed to Bagobos Resto-grill to have my dinner.  

The food was okay.  They have a stand-up comedian and singer who made the place alive.  Expect mosquitoes around due to the garden setting they have.  

It's the Bakhawan Eco-park that I was not able to go for lack of time.  One good reason to visit Kalibo in the future, during the Ati-atihan festival.

Roxas City is around 2 hours from Kalibo via van-for-hire.  The roads are paved and the van sits only 3 to a row so it was a pretty comfortable ride.  

I stayed at a hotel a block away from the ancestral house of the late President Roxas, so it was the first place that I checked. It's not open to the public - it's a residence. I initially expected it to be like a museum with memorabilia of the late president and his family inside.

The Panubli-on is the museum of Roxas City.  It is similar to the Cagayan de Oro in a way since both used to be water tanks that served the place decades ago.  Located just across the City Hall, this circular piece of architecture offers every visitor a comprehensive view of what Roxas City, previous and current. It was constructed in 1910.  

The Balay Kapisnon houses handicrafts made of the capiz shells.  It was here where I met a former salesman assigned in the Northern Mindanao areas and who is currently one of the officers of the the city tourism.  

If not for him, i would not be able to take the following image of the city center, highlighting the Spanish bridge, the fountain and the cathedral.  This was taken from the rooftop of the new city hall.  

The Capiz bridge was built during the early 1900s and has remained strong and firm since. It connects the commercial center of the city to the main thoroughfare, traversing the Panay river.  

At night this bridge gives the city its old-world charm due to the lighting on the bridge. The Immaculate Conception Cathedral is one of the oldest in Panay island.  

If I had not been asked by a fellow visitor if I would also be going to the Sta. Monica Church the following day, I would have not known about it.  After reading about the church from the Wikipedia, I aborted my plans of going to Olotayan Island and see the church instead.  Good decision for me!

Sta. Monica Church is one of the most oldest baroque church in the country, built around the 1700s.  It is located at the municipality of Pan-ay, province of Capiz. By tricycle (a multi-cab is too big for me), its around 30-45 minutes from Roxas City.

What made this church well-known aside from the rich history it holds (declared a National Landmark), was one of the bells in its five-level belfry.  It is  said to be the biggest and the heaviest Christian bell in Asia weighing 10 tons, around 7 feet in diameter and 5 feet in height.  It was cast around the 1800s using 70 sacks of coins.

The inscription reads :

“Soy la voz de Diosque llevare y ensalzare desde el principio hasta el fin de este pueblo de Panay para que los fieles de Jesus vengan a esta casa de Dios a recibirlas gracias celestials”

-

“(I am God’s voice which I shall echo and praise from one end to the other of the town of Panay, so that the faithful followers of Christ may come to this house of God to receive the heavenly graces.)”

Indeed, when the bell sounds, it can be heard kilometers away to the surrounding towns of Pan-ay.

The bell seen in front of the convent is a replica.  One has to ask special permission from the convent office to be able to go up to the 5th level of the belfry and see the original. 

There are 9 bells in the belfry and the center of them is the the "Dako nga Lingganay", Hiligaynon for the 'big bell'.  

The climb to the belfry is steep through a metal stairway.  On the way, Ryan, the guide assigned by the office pointed out the mechanism of the original clock installed in the late 1870s. Unfortunately it is no longer working.  

He also pointed out the original wooden planks of the old stairway leading to the belfry.  Awesome to think that here I am inside this structure erected more than 300 years ago...

This wooden truss was part of the roof that was installed in the late 1870s and has been in place until only recently, around 300 years after. 

For such a wood to be part of the original roofing, it should have came from a very huge tree, probably a hundred or two years old at that time it was cut, making the wood to be between 500 and 600 years old to date! Impressive.

The church interior is very simple but amazing due to the antique intricate carvings (retablos) and religious statues it has.  There are also grave markers of prominent personalities buried inside the church, typical among old churches.  

On the ground floor of the adjacent convent is the Museo de Santa Monica containing historical artifacts and memorabilia dating to the earliest arrival of Christianity in the area.  

You enter the museum through the original doors of the church dating back to the 1600’s. 

those posts were the original ones from the old convent

I wont post the pictures of what's inside the museum mainly for security reasons.  

Inside is a small exhibit including two altars made entirely from pure precious metals. These altars we taken from the original church’s ruins over the years from the 1600 and 1700s. There are also several tabernacles which were in use in the church over the years. There is also a selection of priest's vestments embroidered with threads from pure precious metals. 

I said this in my previous post about the Sta. Maria Church of Ilocos Sur (http://throughthelensalr.blogspot.com/2012/12/ilocandia-adventures-sta-maria-ilocus.html ) and I'm saying it again, 'there has got to be some degree of preservation that needs to be done for these artifacts and memorabilia to last for the next 300 years or so."  Paging, again, National Historical Commission.

Indeed, this first visit of mine to the Panay island was informative, educational and an eye-opener.

P.S.

This trip happened before the Ati-atihan 2013 which got posted much earlier (http://throughthelensalr.blogspot.com/2013/02/hala-bira-ati-atihan-2013-tribal-modern.html).



thank you for reading ...