My travel buddy Chie and I had just gotten back to Roxas City from Kalibo, where we attended the wildly energetic Ati-Atihan festival, when we spontaneously decided to go to "Baybay" beach—located just a few short minutes from the town proper and the airport. Baybay beach features a long, scenic stretch of powdery sand that easily rivals the texture of Boracay—ONLY it's colored dark gray.
Roxas City Feels Like Seafood Heaven
The Seafood Capital
We eagerly had our lunch at one of the rustic seafood restaurants conveniently located right near the beach. Roxas City is famously known nationwide as the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines," so it would be utterly stupid if we ordered standard meat dishes like beef nilaga, sinigang, or pork chops. Instead, we decidedly chose to try the highly praised "Diwal shells" (angel wing clams).
I first read about these unique local delicacies on my friend Journeying James' travel blog here. While my scheduled flight would leave Roxas City around 4:00 PM—giving me all the necessary time to bum around this scenic and quiet city—the exact same could not be said for my friend Chie, as her flight leaves much earlier at 11:00 AM.
We smoothly arrived here from the main town of Roxas aboard a local tricycle, a quick trip that lasted less than 10 minutes. Before that, we originally arrived in town at around 9:00 AM after a tiring two-hour land trip from Kalibo. I clearly remember feeling incredibly dizzy from the bumpy van ride, where I numerously fell asleep only to be rudely woken up every time I hit my forehead against the hard glass window of the van. But, headaches or not, I had to try those famous Diwal Shells—even though I wasn't entirely sure if I was fully immune from any sudden allergic reactions to them.
Sunny Afternoons at Baybay Beach
After a heavy lunch spent feasting enthusiastically on the shells, Chie said her goodbyes. It had been a truly wonderful weekend trip with her, and seeing her leave made me feel a little bit lonely. But she had a plane to catch, so I safely saw her off to a nearby tricycle, and off she went.
Earlier in the day, we walked lazily along the long stretch of the beach and headed toward the People's Park by the boulevard, where we were warmly greeted by some amazing coastal scenery.
All my clothes were already tightly packed inside my heavy backpack, but the tempting thought of taking a quick swim heavily crossed my mind. I deeply regretted not entertaining it, as a swim could really have been awesome that bright, sunny morning. There were more than a dozen people actively swimming that day, aside from a few local fishermen who were just about to sail off into the open sea. A few energetic kids were chasing each other, while some were playfully doing somersaults on the fine gray sands of Baybay Beach.
The water wasn't deep at all, as evidenced by the people in the distance who were only submerged up to their waists. It was also completely low-tide at that specific time. The local person I talked to said the ocean water can comfortably reach the concrete breakwater wall during high tide, completely covering the fine gray sands with seawater and making it a few feet deeper.
Roxas Boulevard—not to be mistakenly confused with the famous one in Manila of the exact same name—offers a truly great place to relax, walk around, and smell the clean, salty air emancipating directly from the sea. The sun was shining brightly, but surprisingly, it did not produce maximum heat; probably because the cool wind blowing from the beach provided a perfect contrast of heat and coastal breeze.
The Familiarity of the Unknown
While I was there, I vividly imagined the place having thriving rows of backpacker hostels on the opposite side of the road, and small chill bars and indie cafes placed right alongside the few established seafood restaurants. "This could be an ideal backpacker's haven right here," I told myself. The main downtown section of Roxas City, as I will blog about later on, is a very visually appealing place as well.
I was extremely glad that my flight was still scheduled for 4:00 PM, giving me the relaxed chance to just bum around this peaceful side of Roxas. I looked up at the sky to actively check on Chie's departing plane but saw absolutely none. Later on, I embarrassingly found out I was looking in the completely opposite direction, as the airport was just a petty 5 minutes away from Baybay beach—south (or north) of exactly where I was blindly standing.
I went back again to the specific stall where we had our heavy lunch and simply ordered a cold bottle of Coke. I opened my laptop and happily chatted online with my fellow blogger friends Lauren and Ron, telling them that I currently had a genuinely great view of the sea.
Take the color "gray" away and replace it heavily with blinding "white," and this is practically Boracay already. Regardless of being in Boracay or being here quietly at Baybay beach, some things inherently cannot change. That is, traveling to completely new places always presents a strange, initial feeling that slowly becomes deeply familiar. Whether you are here or there, you'll always feel glad you're somewhere off the grid, other than the usual, predictable places you've grown completely accustomed to (or tired of) already.
- Explore the rich heritage architecture and culinary delights of Iloilo.
- Dive into the dynamic street dances and historical retellings of the annual Capiztahan Festival.
- Experience a thrilling subterranean adventure spelunking through Lahab Cave.
