Monday, June 17, 2013

culion




"Beauty is a key to the mystery"

"Beauty pulls us up short, but in so doing it reminds us of our final destiny, it sets us back on our path, fills us with new hope, gives us the courage to live to the full this unique gift of life. It leads us then to grasp the Whole in the fragment, the Infinite in the finite..." -Saint Augustine

Our journey starts here in what we can recognize as meaningful. It’s like a sphere of history and science, of ecology, (or the indigenous people too) the portrait of an island called Culion...


100 years

Historically the Phillipines scientific achievement to eliminate Hansenites or leprosy in 1998 was manifested here in Culion which shares the same dreams and visions starting for a common mission in a quest for true healing and a new identity. Here lies the redemption made by its natural beauty and the mystical spheres. Thanks of course to the ecological reserves and its origin.....  Beauty!

Culion is an island situated at the northernmost part of Palawan. It belongs to the Calamianes Group of Islands, a strategic point; on the north the Busuanga Island, on the east the Kalis mountain also known as the Giant, on the south by Linapacan Island, and on the west the West Philippine Sea. That's why four ecosystems sustain the rich marine life of Culion: the islands, the mangroves, the seagrasses, and corals...

Today when you hear the word Culion it’ll simply whisper to you a meaningful logo against the backdrop of its past displayed now in our museum. But that scary isolation is now a cool word like “cool-yon” that offers a significant journey complementing with adventure or something you’ll remember the rest of your life. I remember some friends telling me about their tour in many places, they said go first to the rest of the world and make your last tour in this place and you’ll forget all those places that you've seen, but of course that’s an exaggeration until you encounter the place itself. It's some kind of a retreat and communion that can lead you to a garden of wisdom... ;) Many travelers have been in awe of the tranquility of this place because the experienced is not just about the views but most of all the compassionate kindness that one senses of harmony and peace that in the end you'll find out that this peace is all about right relationship with ecology and awareness of the environment in likeness to the call of natural world. The very reason of Culion's ecological realization that reaches out into something like a spiritual journey... or even sanctity.

Like Divine message of a truly unique gift, chronicled not only in our country but for the whole world that we would like to expressed this great joy of ‘healing’ which lots of people ought to know and must learn against the prejudices and misunderstanding if not ignorance of this so called stigma.. This is the message of the manifestation of dignity.

So from here we can now travel around Culion sphere and rediscover the whole new world called the land of a meaningful journey.

My love for this place simply echoes its message that's embedded in every pixels of all these images, just like the trillion trillions of stars in the universe and the innate or universal language that even alien world utters on this magic word beautifully;
I love Culion, we love Culion, I am Culion. :))



Saint Augustine who fell in love with beauty and sang its praises, wrote: "Man can live without science, he can live without bread, but without beauty he could no longer live, because there would no longer be anything to do to the world… we are to see a certain vision here, that no eye has seen, nor the heart of man conceived: a vision surpassing all earthly beauty, whether it be that of gold and silver, woods and fields, sea and sky, sun and moon, or stars…"

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Lakbay Culion-Coron


The island


as you enter the place you'll see this panoramic view

when you reach the island we can go to the landmarks like the Church, the Agila, the Museum.. and many other famous places around we called 'destino'  :) 

so it'll be the first tour by land inside the town and its mountain trails...



panoramic view



church by the sea



the dawn



dawn scene at the back of our house



the lighthouse besides the old church



old fortress



old port


the landmark "Agila"

...


picnic in front of the house




the small pantalan






evening sky








the upper room




 sunset at pantalan



Pantalan & the terrace by the sea









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the next day will be island hopping near the town proper just 15 min. away from the main town

places are "buhi" or Bugor along with the neighboring islands like Chindonan, Quaming, and the Sand Island.. plus of course the dive site or the snorkeling area and coral reef to see the 'Lato Garden' :)) we can also have some fishing experience by the shore..



Buhi - Bugor


Bugor





east Bugor



Chindonan


Chindonan



...



Buhi 'Bahura'


Buhi


...



Sand Island fishing

...



Quaming


Quaming too


Quaming

....




Sand Island Mangrove


Sand Island


Sand Island too





Buhi


Buhi





Top View of the islands

...

Here you'll see the garden of Lato






'Lato'



Lato garden



snorkeling /Nemo/


Coral reefs

Snorkeling


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for the 3rd day another island hopping, a little bit farther but more exciting cause of white sand beaches and if possible we can also have an overnight stay in the island itself.. so it'll be great adventure as you can experience the real beauty of nature and the tropical weather surrounded by the sea.. there will be 3 to 4 or more islands that we can roam around or hopped depends on the available time :))



cheeron island


cheeron island too




ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island too


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


ditaytayan island


....


Malcapuya island


Malcapuya island


Malcapuya island


Malcapuya island


Malcapuya island










Malcapuya

....



Ditaytayan island


Ditaytayan island too


Ditaytayan island





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for the 4th day we can go to the limestone mountain we called Kalis where we can wonder on its lakes and blue lagoons and even to the Hot Spring near the rock island and the famous 'Kayangan Lake'


Kalis Mt.


Kalis Mt.


Kalis Mt.


Baracuda lake


Baracuda lake


Kalis island


Twin Lagoon



inside Twin Lagoon


inside Twin Lagoon


Twin Lagoon


Twin Lagoon the cave





Kayangan lake


Kayangan lake





kalis island



Kayangan lake


Kayangan lake


...



Kalis


the whole island of Kalis


Kalis (limestone mountain)



the Hot Spring (Maquinit - Coron)














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and then we can also go to another mountain also a limestone we called Sangat island :))


floating rock


the Sangat resort


the floating limestone


limestone


rock formations against the beach


the resort


floating rock :))






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and for an extra day (maybe 5th or 6th day) we can go again by land and see the waterfalls and other places within Culion like the Cabulihan swamp or great mangroves or even the one we called hidden island on the southern part facing the south China sea and many more unique places like the farm of endemic plant we called Cycas Wadei and the even see some endemic animal called Manis Culionensis or the Pangolin



Balanga Falls





















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(This one is a little bit too far but great place to see also only if we have time..
the secret island :))




.....


the Mangrove area Cabulihan swamp where yo can also see the fireflies in the evening
















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the mangrove parks















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Endemic espicies


endemic animal called Pangolin (Manis Culionensis)










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the endemic plant called Cycas Wadei (pitogo)























plus the shipwreck diving or simply snorkeling above it... :)








...

enjoy :))