08.21.2009
After our mini-hike at Mt. Tapyas, we had breakfast and make our way to the seaport near Coron Gateway Hotel for day’s island hopping. It was a sunny morning when we started to sail but weather suddenly became dull and hazy when we were almost near our first island… the town of Culion to visit its church and museum. Just few kilometers away from the island, we envisioned Latin symbols of Alpha and Omega printed boldly at a structure and few meters from it, we saw another symbolic emblem with an eagle on its top. It took us about an hour-and-a-half pump boat ride from Coron to reach the historic town of Culion.
For those who do not know yet, Culion once served as leprosy segregation camp or leprosarium of our country. According to some friends who have visited this place, it is worth to see Immaculada Conception Church built by the Jesuits in 1906 and the leprosarium museum. A tricycle brought us to the church in about 5 minutes. We felt so blessed as we witnessed the beauty of this timeless house of God. I truly adore the combination of its aged outside and innovative interior architectural design. From its vicinity, we saw an old church bell as well as two pieces of old canons facing the sea. It then popped into my mind that maybe Culion served as a military camp during the Spanish era…so I read some articles about this and have confirmed that Culion was once a fort during the 17th century.
We failed to see the artifacts of Culion and the leprosarium documentations as the museum was closed due to national holiday. Frustrated of the scenario, we went back to our boat to sail for a few minutes and have lunch at our next stop…the Malcapuya island. As we sailed away, we again saw the alpha and omega symbols and we realized that those symbols were written at the back of Immaculada Conception Church which might correspond to Revelations 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
For those who do not know yet, Culion once served as leprosy segregation camp or leprosarium of our country. According to some friends who have visited this place, it is worth to see Immaculada Conception Church built by the Jesuits in 1906 and the leprosarium museum. A tricycle brought us to the church in about 5 minutes. We felt so blessed as we witnessed the beauty of this timeless house of God. I truly adore the combination of its aged outside and innovative interior architectural design. From its vicinity, we saw an old church bell as well as two pieces of old canons facing the sea. It then popped into my mind that maybe Culion served as a military camp during the Spanish era…so I read some articles about this and have confirmed that Culion was once a fort during the 17th century.
We failed to see the artifacts of Culion and the leprosarium documentations as the museum was closed due to national holiday. Frustrated of the scenario, we went back to our boat to sail for a few minutes and have lunch at our next stop…the Malcapuya island. As we sailed away, we again saw the alpha and omega symbols and we realized that those symbols were written at the back of Immaculada Conception Church which might correspond to Revelations 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
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