Coron: La Inmaculada Concepcion Church, Palawan

Standing tall and proud on top of a hill in Culion is this church. Brief histories of the church are written beside the structure. It says that the walls of the church were taken from the old fortress built in 1940. Its base and surrounding walls are hewn from live corals, although concrete has been poured in some areas. In 1933, the church underwent a reconstruction under the supervision of Fr. Hugh McNulty, SJ. In 1978, Ben Amores, a patient, painted the ceiling with the design of Fr. Javier Olazabal, SJ. In 2003, Fr. Gabriel Gonzales, SJ initiated the restoration and renovation of the church in order to restore their work and preserve its structural integrity through the generous support of Foundation Anesvad.

The inside of the church is perfectly built to let natural light get through inside the structure. All of the walls of the church have its window, which is perfect since it’s built right on top of a hill with no barrier to block the sunlight.

At the back of the church is a tower with two old cannon. It’s a perfect place to picture the Island of Culion, with the crystal clear water surrounding the Island.

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Coron: Culion Museum & Archives, Palawan

Erected by the LEONARD WOOD MEMORIAL for the eradication of leprosy to forward the study of the leprosy problem in the Philippine Island is Culion Museum & Archives.
The first stop is a 15 minute video about the history of the place and also about the leprosy that once plague the island. It talks about first people that help cure the disease, the procedures, and a little about politics about how a leprosy patient became a politician, etc.

In the first floor, just outside the movie room, are a collection of photos from the earlier days of leprosy, and some paraphernalia that were used during the time of the plague was also on display. There’s also a detailed Culion census of patients from 1906 – 2006.
It was amazing that they’re able to keep all these important information about their past.
We were prohibited to take photo in the second floor of the museum. Although we still manage to take some shots because there’s no one guarding us while we’re roaming upstairs. I would rather not post it here though. In respect to the people and in their museum. I will just keep my photos for personal thing. Saying, “I’ve been there and I have these photos as my remembrance”. It’s like looking at a picture is a completely different thing than actually looking personally at the history in front of you.
Newspaper from the time of leprosy, their types of money, list of persons with the disease, old typewriters, music instruments, laboratory equipment, before and after photo of a leprosy patient on a wall, old wall clock and telephone, etc. are displayed at the second floor of the museum.

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Coron: Culion Island ( The once Leper Colony), Palawan

The day after the terrible boat ride from hell. Our tour to Culion was supposed to be a rougher one according to PAGASA... But it’s not, it’s the complete opposite (can you believe that?). We didn’t even saw a trace of bad weather from the other day.
The sea was so calm that near islands was reflecting into the almost mirror water. The only movement in the water was the wave that our boat was creating. The blistering hot summer day had finally arrived.
We’re supposed to be at Culion yesterday. But We were too concern that we might not be able to go to Malkapuya because the weather for this day was supposed to be worst than yesterday (according to PAGASA), that’s why we interchanged our itinerary.
But that’s the beauty of a travel. You’ll never know what the place is installed for you. It’s either you get beauty of the place to the fullest or a misadventure that will eventually take you to a trip that’s worth telling… So, be it an adventure or the opposite. We we’re just lucky that we’ve experience the good and bad side of the place with regards to the weather. And that makes it a unique experience.

Culion is an island situated at the northernmost part of Palawan. It’s about an hour and a half boat ride from Coron. It was a former leprosarium under the American Commonwealth of the Philippines. At the dock, there’s a pyramid like monument built in commemoration of the first batch 370 leprosy patients brought to Culion from Cebu with Dr. Victor G. Heiser, Director of health and, the first doctor and nurses that received the patients.

The rich history of once leper colony was our main purpose of dropping by Culion, aside from the defensive structures which the Spaniards had built here, the church, and of course, the beautiful view that this place has to offer.
 

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