A Month in Guam

We arrived in Guam on Easter Sunday, convinced that we were about to be bombed.  Either by the North Koreans (see article at Korean Missiles), or by our own government as they prepare to parachute dead Tylenol-poisoned mice into the treetops to kill the millions of invasive brown tree snakes (see article here at Guam Tree Snakes).

We believe the mice are probably a bigger threat, but decidedly more fun to watch than an in-coming nuclear-tipped missile.  We hope that the government sees fit to drop the mice before we leave for home. Our plan is to hang out in the area where the drop will occur with binoculars, cameras, and open umbrellas, hoping for a good show. Now THAT is entertainment!

Amanda and Roger beach walking.

We are staying with Nick and Amanda for a month on Guam.  While Nick works as research attorney at the Supreme Court, Amanda has been taking us on educated and educating tours of this marvelous island.  Guam is rich--in local island culture, WWII history, and beautiful, beautiful beaches and countryside.

Guam is a tropical paradise, nearly entirely overlooked by the US tourist market. All we knew about it before we visited was that it was a big WWII site and our kid lived there. Fair enough.  It is in the middle of nowhere, 3000 miles west of Hawaii and 1200 miles east of the Philippines. The cheapest direct flight we found from the US mainland is through Manila, and the flight goes from LA to Guam, where it refuels (no-one allowed on or off the plane), continues to Manila, and then connects with a flight that goes back to Guam.  It is NOT easy to get here.

Linda and Nick at Ratidian Beach.

The Japanese have not overlooked it, though.  They found it first when they bombed the shit out of it on December 8, 1941 (the day after the day which shall live in infamy, a function of the international date line), occupying it until we bombed the shit out of it in July 1944 and recaptured it in a brutal amphibious landing.   The beaches are still full of Japanese, but they are partying and posing for one another like supermodels instead of fighting. Nearly all the tourists in Guam are Japanese, where they come in throngs (and thongs!) to get married, lounge on the beach, and shop at the Largest K-Mart in the World.

Normally on the blog, we try to keep you up to date with our activities, stressing the more entertaining ones. However, we have been here nearly a month and haven’t bothered to do that yet. Our time has been a mix of sightseeing, historical discovery, beach walking, snorkeling, overeating, and outright sloth, leaving little time for productive writing. Oh, well, what can a person do? Cram it all into one blog, that’s what.

The Island

The island is small, three times the size of Washington D.C., or, for you Detroiters, about the size of Wayne County (though less corrupt).  But there is plenty to see and do. In a month, we have just scratched the surface. The interior is mountainous and rugged, with rivers and waterfalls. As we explore, we constantly try to imagine what this terrain was like for the marines who landed on the beaches and moved into the interior. We took a Talafofo River jungle cruise and went boonie stomping (hiking). We visited a truly bizarre tourist attraction called Talofofo Falls. This is a Korean-run private park where the highlights are a waterfall and the cave where Sgt. Yokoi, a Japanese left behind when the war ended, lived for 28 years. Yep. He was discovered in 1972.

The cave and waterfall were interesting, but the other attractions really caught our eye. The owners appeal to a broad audience by offering target shooting, bumper cars, an historical museum, a gift shop, a ghost house, and “Love Land”, an erotic sculpture garden. All the signage was in Japanese with quite awful English translations. They obviously felt no need to consult any of the thousands of English-speaking locals for a quick grammar-check. It made for an amusing walk through the museum, which also housed life-size statues of pirates and American plains Indians. They probably got those for cheap somewhere.

Ahhhh, the erotic sculptures. First of all, the signs forbid anyone under the age of 19 from entrance. A sign on the gate warns you to close it immediately due to wild pigs, which freely roam the area. Who knows what they would do if they saw those statues?

Wild pigs abound in Guam.

The first sculptures on the path are a man and woman in Victorian-era clothing bowing to one another. We are not quite erotic yet. They got a little steamier, such as Venus de Milo, and became downright ridiculous, especially the nude woman riding a giant penis like a horse. And a six-foot high disembodied penis.  The “art” most entertaining, though, were the metal mechanical sculptures where the viewer can turn a crank and make the statues move, assuming positions both predictable and potentially painful.  Roger took some stop-action photos of one of those and will be happy to share them with you.  When it comes to erotic sculpture, though, the East Asians have much to learn from India, that’s a fact!

Historical Happenings

The island has dozens of historical sites that deal with WWII battles. It also has a beautifully organized museum that explains Guam’s role in the war. The national park, War in the Pacific, is excellent and free and does a terrific job of describing Guam’s role in the war. The park consists of several different amphibious beach landing sites, historic buildings, gun emplacements, and battlefields. Ranger Ben has recorded an audio tour that you can follow on a cell phone, as you drive from one site to the next. Enormous guns dot the island, as do Japanese pillboxes.

This Japanese pillbox is hidden in the natural limestone on the rocky shore.

The Japanese hunkered down in those structures waiting for the American invasion, and, for thirty thousand of them, its inevitable conclusion. It is eerie to crouch in one and look out to sea, trying to imagine what the experience must have felt like for both sides. We swim on some of the invasion beaches as well. Looking at old photos of those beaches is sobering. Signs everywhere warn visitors that there is still live ammunition around the island, and explain what to do should you stumble across any. Thankfully, we haven’t.

One particularly unusual sight was the South Pacific Memorial Park. It is a Japanese monument dedicated to peace and friendship between the US and Japan. Mostly, though, it commemorates a group of Japanese soldiers who took refuge in caves in the nearby ravine and their commander, who committed suicide as the Americans closed in. The site is disturbing. There are huge stands of bamboo around the caves, the tallest we’ve ever seen. When the wind blows, the bamboo makes bizarre, eerie noises. We visited late in the afternoon and the combination of deep ravine, tall trees, dim light, and creepy noises gave us the willies.

Honey, I shrunk the kids. It looks like a clump of grass, but is  actually enormous bamboo plants.

We have done much more during our month here than just these few activities. We’ve visited Gef Pa’go (a traditional Chamorro village), hiked all over, climbed to the Latte Stone of Freedom at the governor’s complex, explored the caves at Ratidian Point, visited the historic beaches, and seen the Magellan Monument, among many others. The kids bought Linda a batik making class as a gift, and both she and Amanda seem to have serious batik-making talent.

Beach Fun

We did a LOT of this.

Swimming with the fishes.

Beaches surround Guam (it IS an island) and we have sampled many of them. It is also surrounded by a coral reef with spectacular fish and coral, perfect for exploring with a snorkel and fins. Linda gave serious thought to purchasing a Hello Kitty floaty device (they are everywhere) to make sure she didn’t drift off to sea, since the ocean is out to get her. After a few snorkeling outings, however, she decided that shallow water, sunshine, and a lifeguard-trained Amanda made extra protection absurd. So, Japanese tourists, there is still a ridiculous inflatable on the shelf for you to buy. And in the underwater photos, Linda does not look like a wimpy dork. Win-win.

Our favorite!

The ocean water is bath water warm, crystal clear, and calm. The reef is close to shore and it begins in knee-deep water. The fish are beyond abundant, with a huge variety of fantastically colored critters.  Our favorite is the chubby bright blue sea stars that drape over the coral like a Salvator Dali clock drapes over a table. At times, it seemed as though we were swimming in an aquarium. It would be crazy NOT to snorkel under these conditions. We have taken full advantage of this beautiful reef. One beach on Saipan has two sunken Sherman tanks offshore that are now part of the reef. Plants and coral cover it and fish surround it. Outstanding swimming territory!

Food and Festivals

Some of the goodies at a night market.

Guam and the other Marianas Islands are very big on food and festivals. A weekly Night Market at Chamorro Village is near the apartment and offers music, crafts, and excellent food selections. Unlike a lot of fairs back home, most of the food consists of actual meals and is cheap, healthy, and delicious. Food is a major sign of the hospitality of the people here.  It is thrust at Nick and his coworkers at every occasion and meeting, and people insist that they take the abundant leftovers home. If you know Nick, you know how happy that makes him. Festivals here are open-door events, and visitors are told to feel free to walk into a participating home and help themselves to a plate of food whenever a big fiesta occurs.

During our first week here, the kids took us to a fundraiser at the home of a former governor that included a buffet dinner, and the spread was massive. It included dishes such as spam sushi, pickled quail eggs, shrimp patties, fried rice, chicken kelaguen (and spam kelaguen, too), fina denne sauce, and literally dozens of other local dishes. What an introduction to the local culture! Apparently, the kids hang with a slightly more illustrious crowd here than at home. We rarely visit former governors in Michigan.

A few days later, one of the Supreme Court Justices invited the four clerks and us to his family’s private beach for a Sunday cookout. The land was accessible only through Andersen Air Force Base, and the “road” demanded his four-wheel drive vehicle. There were about 25 people there—all family-- with food for three times that many (deliciously prepared local dishes that included multiple crab dishes and FOUR kinds of pork spare ribs), a pristine sandy beach, and clear water. This is a typical way families spend weekend time. Families often have a private beach or an inland ranch where the whole clan gathers to eat and visit together. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, especially when there are so many good cooks in the group.

Spam sushi

Exploring this island has been fascinating. It is very modern and American, but with a very strong Chamorro twist, making it almost foreign. The food is spicy and delicious, and seafood and Spam are abundant on most restaurant menus. The supermarkets have a big selection of Spam products as well as other potted meats. I’m sure they sell it at markets back home, but they don’t have entire sections devoted to it like they do here. Anyway, it’s been a terrific trip, and we have tried hard to ”suck all the fun out of it”. Thanks to Gail’s friend for that phrase, by the way, we use it all the time. Saturday we head home, and Michigan, you’d better get your act together and warm up or we will be very disappointed with you!