Capul On My Mind
May 26, 2009
Alex M. Castillo

I have been traveling constantly and I have been to different places. I have anchored and anchored aweigh in different “ports” which I called home for sometime. But there is always one home for me wherever in the world I may be.

As I have mentioned before, summer is the best time in the island. And this summer, I captured the best spots that are etched forever in my mind. These are the places that are so dear to me. When I dream of home, these are the images flooding through my mind.

The Capul Lighthouse

As a child, I was fascinated with this beacon of light that I watched through the night at it shines at the distant Malpal point. Beneath this majestic structure is where as a child, I gather sea weeds and mussels with friends. Around it where guava grooves that are now cleared. This is also the venue of numerous picnics with friends every summer or any other season of the year as long as there are celebrations.

During its heyday, we were able to climb through its spiral staircase and stand proud atop its tower. I remembered Nanay was the one who egged me to climb the tower as a child even if I was frightened.

This lighthouse is very memorable to my family because Nanay spent some years of her childhood here together with her cousins because my grand aunt married the parolista. It was such a homey place back then according to Nanay.

Sadly, this structure is now in a state of disarray due to its exposure to the elements. Good thing, the Philippine Coast Guard is manning the place complete with radar to help traveling ships crossing the treacherous San Bernardino Straight at night. Based on historical data, a few Galleon ships capsized in the San Bernardino Straight while navigating the route back to Acapulco Mexico.

Beneath the lighthouse are natural rock formations that served as anchorage of the Galleon ships during bad weather. According to oral lore, one of the crew of those Galleon ships engraved the name Acapulco in one of those rocks and that was where the name of the whole town became known.


The Capul Church
Capul became the seat of Christianity during the early Spanish Conquest. Testament to this is the limestone church built by the Spanish priests in the early 1600’s through hard labor. It stands to this day as a monument of the strong faith of the Capulenos.


The church is surrounded by a limestone wall fortress that was used as a shield against Moro raiders. Sentries stationed at the fort guarded the town. The belfry signals the people to get inside the church and when the Moros came, the people would throw stones at them and kept them at bay.

Simple Pleasures
But the best memories that I always look forward to when I go home are the simple pleasures that an island town could offer. Away from then rumbling noise of the metropolis, I enjoyed the serenity and the peace that I experience here.


Finally, this is life being lived simply but to the fullest.