TravelswithCharie

  Yes, I heard it through the grapevine that there's a winery in Capiz. But it slipped my mind because so much was going on, what with the holidays.  Then suddenly my PA sent me a short post about it and off we went to see the fruit associated with  Bacchus thriving in tropical shores.  We got there on the last hour of the last day. Actually, the person in charge of the mini vineyard was about to close for the day and for the season but saw us coming and let us in. He also gave us a tour and talked about the grapes grown in the vineyard.  The red grapes are of the Baikonur variety. These are seeded grapes. The grape vines are trellised using bamboo poles. The entire vineyard is protected by a greenhouse plastic roof to protect the vines from the elements. A bamboo fence surrounds the area and a mesh net hangs down the sides to keep birds and animals from eating the fruits and taking aim at the young, fragile vines. This an organic vineyard, totally fertilizer free.  Life is good if

Visita Iglesia (church visit) is a Catholic Lenten tradition which is widely practiced in the Philippines. The faithful may choose to visit 7 or 14 churches on Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper or on Good Friday and follow the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross). The Via Crucis consists of 14 Stations which traces the journey of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion and death. Here is a pictorial guide to seven churches + one Mission Station for your Visita Iglesia in Capiz.  Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Roxas City The Cathedral sits in the heart of the cultural heritage sites of Roxas City. The current structure is from a reconstruction in 1954. This is a good place to start your Visita Iglesia. Here are the prayers for the Stations of the Cross:  https://www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php?id=15 Santa Monica Church, Pan-ay The original church in Pan-ay was first established in 1774. A typhoon in 1875 devastated the church. It wasn’t until 1884 that it was

Adolfo B. Bellosillo, MD, FACC, FSGC, FPCC, FPCP, FPCCP, FPSE, graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Medicine. He completed his fellowship training in Cardiology from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and his fellowship training in Cardiac Rehabilitation from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the Founder and President of the Foundation for Lay Education on Heart Diseases (FLEHD). He also held the position of President for the following professional organizations: Philippine Heart Association/Philippine College of Cardiology 1990-1991, Philippine Society of Echocardiography 1992-1994, Cardiac Rehabilitation Society of the Philippines 1994-1999, and the  7th World Congress of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention from 1996-2000. Dr. Bellosillo received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: Most Distinguished Fellow from the Philippine Heart Association(PHA)/Philippine College of Cardiology in 1998, Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial

Jessica Veronique Ortiz Yu Jessica Veronique Ortiz Yu graduated from the College of the Holy Spirit with a dual degree in Psychology and Marketing. She is the Gawad Kalinga Head for the Province of Capiz, Managing Director of ABOCGO Land, Inc., Board Member of AnCor Corporation and Member of the Board of Trustees of the College of St. John in Roxas City. Mrs. Yu and her husband, Anthony Dexter, are National Chair Couple for Family and Life Apostolate of the Christian Family Movement (CFM). What led you to work for Gawad Kalinga (GK) I started volunteering for Gawad Kalinga after a Bayani Challenge in Marinduque in 2007. That experience opened my eyes to the realities our poor experience every day - they are the most deprived of even the basic necessities and they don’t have access to livable land. With any calamity or typhoon, they are the first victims and the last to be served.  After I shared my volunteer experience with my husband and children, we all started to volunteer for GK. I

Christian George Francisco Acevedo Christian George Francisco Acevedo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Capiz State University. He holds a master’s degree in Library Science from Central Philippine University and a second master's degree in Teaching from Filamer University. He is a librarian at Capiz State University where he also teaches professional education courses at the College of Education. He was president of the Philippine Library Association Inc. (PLAI) Western Visayas Region from 2017-2018. He has most recently coauthored the book, Panaysayon: Tales from Panay Island.  A cultural and literacy advocate, Mr. Acevedo is a volunteer at Ang Panublion Museum and at the soon-to-open Capiz Provincial Library, both in Roxas City. He founded Project Learn, an outreach program that helps schools in far flung communities build their reading resources.  As an educator, you not only teach your students in the classroom, you also like teaching others throug

There's a burgeoning art scene in Roxas City. Following the successful run of the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (Viva Excon) Biennale in November 2018 led by Black Artists Asia, the seafood capital is welcoming a new outdoor art space in the heart of the city.  Planta is just across the river from the cluster of cultural heritage structures of Roxas City. It recently hosted Primero , an arts and crafts fair which formally introduced the murals painted by the group, Vinyl on Vinyl (VOV) of Manila with the help of fourteen local artists hand picked by Lloyd Develos. This project is the gift of Atty. Blas Viterbo who owns Planta, a former power station and ice plant, to his hometown. The first mural (above) is of a hand lifting the curtain to reveal a wider perspective of what Capiz has to offer. Alternatively, it may represent how artists from neighboring towns perceive Capiz from an artistic point of view. A monitor lizard has planted itself on t

  When your visit to a tropical island is extended, you develop an island state-of-mind. You wear flip flops from morn till bedtime, your shades are comfortably resting on your head on the ready, lunch of seafood on the beach is frequent  and your hat is in the bag. But the hat has now been replaced with an umbrella as monsoon season is upon us bringing afternoon showers with it. This is my view while eating lunch. My favorite here is the grilled tanigue fish and the Hawaiian pizza. When it rains, the island is shrouded in mist.  So I go again to the Wayfarer when the forecast calls for a clear and  sunny day. The sweetest mangoes are from the island of Guimaras. And I was lucky to have received a few during the month of June when the market was flooded with  mangoes. Driving around the coastal towns is my favorite pastime. The coves of Ivisan are so picturesque. And there’s dried fish to buy along the road. Basiao Beach In Capiz, everyday is beach day!