Culion: The unconventional tourist destination

Palawan is rapidly becoming a top tourist destination among foreign and local travel bugs who rave about El Nido, Sabang and Coron, but there is one island located at the northernmost tip of the province that hasn’t been talked, blogged and written about as much. It is not because of inaccessibility, with Culion being merely a two-hour boat ride away from Coron, and considering our travel and leisure habits have come to the point where off-the-beaten paths are de rigueur, if not considered the highest form of tourism. It is, perhaps, due to the island's dark past, when it was referred to as "The Land of the Living Dead." In 1904, the American Occupation government chose Isla Culion as the site for the Philippines' leper colony, in an effort to contain and find treatment for the dreaded disease. An executive order mandated by the American government forced thousands of men, women and children—whether they were actually afflicted with leprosy or merely suspected of it—to leave their homes and move to Culion, where doctors, health workers and Church missionaries took care of them. The cure for leprosy, a multi-drug therapy, was developed in the 1980s. By 2006, the World Health Organization declared Culion leprosy-free. Being isolated for almost more than 100 years has its perks. Culion is blessed with a rich and colorful history, brimming with anecdotes that are told through heritage sites that the locals have managed to preserve. And if you can get past the stigma, then you would surely find Culion, though truly unconventional, a gem of an island. Walking tour

First things first: hire a guide to walk you through Culion. Being a resident and the grandson of a former leper patient, Pastor Hermie Villanueva of the Coron Tourism Office knows the island inside-out. First, take a look at the "Gate," which formerly divided Culion into two worlds: the upper gate where the "sano" or non-lepers resided, and the lower gate, where the "leproso" were secluded. The gates were guarded heavily, with strict rules imposed especially on the lepers, who were not allowed to go through the upper gate. As for the "sanos," said Pastor Hermie, "They had to wash their hands and feet with antiseptic bago sila makapasok and leave their clothes. Then pagkatapos nila magwork, they had to wash again and change their clothes bago sila umuwi." Enter the "lower" gate into Bgy. Balala, and just a few streets away you will find the old Sandoval House, the foundation, bricks and windows of which have been standing since the late 1880s. The house formerly belonged to a Justice of Peace, a Spanish mestizo named Claudio Sandoval y Rodriguez, who moved to Busuanga after the Americans bought his house and turned it into the lower gate’s local police headquarters. "The lepers had their own police. If they commit a wrongdoing, kinukulong sila," Pastor Hermie narrated. It was like being imprisoned twice, as an "inmate" of the colony and of the jail cell. As you walk further and up the hilly Culion, you’ll appreciate the small-town vibe of the narrow streets and old houses beautifully perched on rugged hills, the small lowland areas and irregularly shaped mountain ranges that define Culion. A must-see is La Immaculada Church, which used to be a fort built by the Spaniards to defend themselves from the invading Moros. Fort Culion was constructed in 1740 and then rebuilt into a church by the Jesuits in 1930, using the same materials such as coral rock. The paint inside the church is obviously new, but everything else is just as it was. "It was just repainted. But originally ang nag-paint niyan ay isang leper na artist. Putol ang dalawa niyang kamay, kaya ang ginagawa nila tinatalian yung kamay niya ng brush tapos tinataas siya," Pastor Hermie said. Beside the church is the ruin of Fort Culion, turned into a lighthouse. The cannons are still intact and the view of the ocean is spectacular. From here, the Aguila, a gigantic replica of the Philippine Health Service's eagle crest, is visible. Located 330 steps from downtown, the Eagle was constructed in 1926 by ingenious lepers who meticulously arranged the boulders on the slope of the mountain. From colony to tourist destination When your feet tire, you can also visit the Culion Museum and Archives, which is currently under renovation. Pastor Hermie said the museum includes in its collection specially made coins that could only be used by the lepers in the past. Take a dip in Culion’s Languyang Bayan, where you may also enjoy island-hopping, diving, and kayaking on the island’s coast. If you’re lucky, you might have the chance to meet Hilarion Guia, Culion’s first mayor (it only became a municipality in 1995) and a former leper. He has a strong, commanding voice, and a clear memory of what Culion was like before. While few travel bloggers on the net have visited Culion as part of an island-hopping tour package, tourists have an option to stay overnight in Culion as well. Sitting on a cliff with a 360-degree view of the sea, Isla Culion Hotel Maya is the only hotel in Culion. It has eight rooms with a 31-person capacity. It also has its own bar and restaurant and even though electricity in Culion runs only from 12 noon to 12 midnight, Hotel Maya is solar-powered. Culion hopes to raise its profile as a beautiful and interesting place to visit, but it knows it has a long way to go, given that there is a persistent public perception of it that no other tourist destination in the country has to deal with. "The stigma is still there," said Pastor Hermie. "Though totally cured na, may mga tao pa din na natatakot o hindi kumportable. Pero unti-unti na ding nawawala. Lalo na kapag may mga tao kagaya ninyo na pumupunta dito, it’s a big help." — BM, GMA News You may contact Culion Tourism Office through Pastor Hermie Villanueva at +63921 3947106 and herme_1670@yahoo.com.ph