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Coron Expedition - 12 Days Expedition from May 19 to 30, 2000

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

DAY 7: MAY 25, 2000 Thursday

NAME: Sue Barling

Rose to the dawn light and a still sea; morning in camp feels such a peaceful time. After preparations we headed for Culion in the speedboat, the breeze tousling hair and sun warming our backs adding a frism of wild abandon to the anticipation of seeing a new place. A place with a very different history to that of other towns; Culion town was under the control of the Department of Health (DOH) used as a leper colony until relatively recently (approximately 1990?). The town is branded with the DOH logo marked prominently on the hill slope above the town. The waterfront is dominated by two noisy blackened ice plants and further up, the main mooring for larger ships was occupied by a slightly lop-sided well used ferry on entering the town along the main street, which runs parallel to the water, the inspiring slogan on a welcoming arch reads “We can DOH it!” the Department of Health and its cheery message rather at odds with whole ethos of having a colony for lepers to keep them apart and take away their rights and their children. This more somber aspect still makes its presence felt at the heart of the old leper colony on the hill. The Spanish style houses around a rectangle are still inhabited by the descendants of the lepers and are more wary and certainly camera shy than most other people we have encountered so far. The memory of stigma will take a long time to forget, and who can blame them for not wanting to be treated as curiosities. The colony had a basketball court, now cracked, the marking fading, and at the head of the court a statue of Rizal, proudly surveying the "ideal" solution to disease. An old man was being helped down the steps of the clinic at the end of the plaza/central area. He was bent double, only one arm, and the hand of that was eaten by leprosy. It was humbling, heartwrenching to watch how solicitous the people around him were; so helpful, not overpowering- so gentle and kind.


		What story would you have most enjoyed reporting? Sue: "Part of me would have liked to interview Mother Teresa of Calcutta and report on how she goes about things. Another part of me is drawn to sudden “as it happens” action, e.g. the Iranian Embassy hostage SAS cafuffle." John: "The incompetence of an expedition that went wrong in Belize – ended with us spending a night in the jungle."

We walked on, meandering around the road cut into the hillside, meeting women and children, greeting the menfolk, avoiding barking dogs, photographing chickens, flowers, the superb view over the bay and of course the children. Then we all piled onto a trike and pelted downhill to the blaring sounds of the radio. On the way to the church the clouds burst and we sought shelter in the metal roofed edifice along with the birds, which nest around the biblical scenes adorning the roof and walls. Very peaceful. Stone walls solid, huge wooden doors, solid. After the rain had passed we wandered to the museum which was of course still closed, then took time taking pictures on the road down to the main street. It is fascinating the care taken in gardening the pots, never have oil cans looked so picturesque.

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