Last week, we posted about
"What's So Good In Iloilo?" over the days after we posted that, I, The Scribbler, discovered and realized a few things that were great about Iloilo, and Panay Island, on one of my trips to the North.
If you're on a land trip to Boracay, don't fall asleep in the bus or van. Take an afternoon ride and savor the beauty the countryside has to offer. The rural areas after Aklan and around the Capiz region are charming, in a quaint, rural way. I discovered that there were valleys in Capiz, and even rice terraces. Things that you neglect because you're in such a hurry to get to Bora.
The houses are worth noting, too. There are charming houses with unique architecture. Some are close to being considered mansions, and it's surprising to behold structures like those among simple houses.
Then there are the rivers. One thing that crossed my mind as I rode through the countryside was that why weren't Panay's rivers marketed as a tourist spot, just as Loboc was, in Bohol? Our rivers are just as charming; there are areas that were cemented upon and labeled with a Mayor or previous Mayor's big, imposing name. (Ehem, Passi River.) But for the rivers that had been ignored, one thing was clear: these could actually rival Loboc. Why aren't we shining spotlights into these?
I promised myself I'll take a road trip through Capiz sometime. Just a leisurely trip with no other agenda than taking pictures and discovering things about the area. If I saw places like those, with the charming and beautiful taken-for-granted terraces, the rivers, and the rest of the things I mentioned, I'm sure there's much more to explore. These deserve a close up look and stories could be told of what I'll discover.
I knew that some people may know something about Capiz that I didn't. So I did a quick Google search for pictures. True enough, I found this jewel of a blog:
Inside that link is a gallery of pictures that will do Capiz better justice than what I saw from the viewpoint of a bus.
It's interesting to note that you could live for so long in an area and not realize the beauty and the potential that it actually has.
I'll keep my eyes and ears open. There's so much to learn, so much to discover, so much to tell you. And I'm not even getting started yet.
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