Guam: Hawaii for Beginners

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  Guam, Guam
Thursday, December 4, 2003

On Saturday, November 26, I was still working when we pulled into Guam. Though I knew it was the first day of my first port stop, I had subdued my excitement, knowing full well that my department almost always works the first day into a liberty port, since supply can't really rest when there are still mouths to feed and sailors who need toothbrushes, Cokes, and candy on the ship. So late in the morning, when I realized we had already stopped moving, I went out to the aft starboard sponson two decks below my office, on the hangar bay level, and beheld an amazing sight. Caribbean green water surrounded the ship, as opposed to the deep blue of the ocean, and land jutted around us like knees out of bathwater! Only these knees would be covered with greenery, as is the rest of Guam, an island I would call "Hawaii for Beginners."

Since we mostly worked and onloaded stores (pallets/crates) most of the afternoon, I will spare you those painfully slow hours and get right to the fun. At 1730 (alright, 5:30pm, landlubbers!), I finally escaped and threw on my recently purchased Hawaiian shirt (the stock control officer went to Kmart or the mall and bought us the most expensive Hawaiian shirt I'd ever seen, $30, and quality did not match- what a jerk!). Why not a uniform? In the Navy, we try to enjoy ourselves in attire that can get damaged and stained without guilt when we are in ports. Additionally, the Guam Chamber of Commerce was holding a reception for the Kitty Hawk officers at the Hilton (where I had reservations 2 nights of our liberty). We took a bus over. I talked to my direct boss, the PAS (Principal Assistant to Services, LCDR Magiera), who is a great guy, about my trip to Prague, and about the advantages and disadvantages of staying in the Navy. This is a constant topic of conversation for us, since the implications one way or the other seem so overwhelming. As usual, I'm trying to suspend judgment for a while.

We arrived at the Guam Hilton, which was luxurious but not nicer than others I've seen, and walked in on the red carpet, past an elaborate miniature train setup straight ahead, a Christmas tree on the right, and a lounge and coffee bar area, and headed right through the main lobby down some stairs. We signed in at a table to get a few free beverage tickets and to put our name in for a door prize raffle, and headed in. Although we were all in Hawaiian shirts, with beers or mixed drinks and delicious appetizers in hand, you could tell we were tired and a little bit on edge still, since everyone in the room is still an officer, and now cannot be identified by collar or sleeve insignia. The admiral who is embarked on our ship was there, adding to the nervousness. I happily chowed down and had a couple drinks, talking to some friends of mine, and to my surprise, won a Hilton shirt and hat (later stolen by the Industrial Hygiene officer). I was excited at the time. I won! Then, I went outside with Chris (my Hazmat officer friend) and some of the lieutenant supply officers, as well as Lt Commader Magiera and one other LCDR, and they all smoked cigars. I did not join in, partially because the guy offering was one short, and I don't smoke anyway. It began to drizzle and then rain after we sat down under an umbrella at a table near the Hilton outdoor bar, the Treebark Cafe, and we looked out across the bay at the lights of other hotels and businesses, taking in the beautiful view. I had a margarita- it wasn't as good as those in Texas, but still ok- and then headed into Tumon (the main shopping/gentlemen's club area in Guam) with Chris, John (the LTJG I relieved) and the Industrial Hygiene Officer, William, a big Puerto Rican guy with a thick, difficult-to-understand accent. We hung out for a while, ran into some of my sailors while out on the town, and decided finally to call it a night. It was nice to be off the ship, but we had to return, since we were expecting to work in the morning, and I hadn't reserved my Hilton room for that night, anyway. After I returned to the ship, I called my parents, though I only talked to my mom, though that was very nice. This was the longest I had gone without talking to my family on the phone since 1996 in Costa Rica, since calling the US from the ship costs about two dollars a minute.

Thanksgiving was unusual... I woke up early, expected to work all day, but realized by noon that most people were off the ship (except for supply! we were there, just in case some kid wanted a toothbrush or a candy bar or a haircut!). When I noticed no one else was around, I decided to go to sleep, and slept right through Thanksgiving meals on the ship... I woke up around 6pm, got into civilian clothes, and went to the pier, where Subway and a Pizza Hut stand were set up, as long as a beer stand (most sailors are over 21, and the rest find alcohol somewhere else, like college kids). "Hmm," I thought, "I missed Thanksgiving, so what's the next best thing to a Thanksgiving feast?" A Subway turkey sandwich! It was delicious, even as pieces of shredded lettuce fell into my lap as I watched some silly movie on the TV of the bus that was taking me into town. To clarify, I don't really think it's possible to explain Guam's size. There are no real towns or cities, and though things are named, it is more like one huge town, with random outgrowths of restaurants and shopping, golf courses (I think 2 on the whole island) and hotels. The hotels are huge, like those in Hawaii or Florida, and nothing except the roads seemed too poor. The vegetation is green and lush, and the stars at night are spectacular, as they are from the ship. It is a very strange place, but a relaxing place. Once I got to the Hilton, I watched TV in my room and sat out on the balcony overlooking the beautiful bay and out on the stars. My friends Ray (the dentist lieutenant) and Chris were both on duty, so I had the room to myself, but got bored, and went down to the lobby to do what most bored Americans do (eat). I got some sushi (good sushi, came with miso soup) and was about to sit down and read a book about Medal of Honor winners when some of the supply officers sauntered up and forced me to go to the Treebark Cafe (the outdoor bar) and drink with them. I owed the jerk officer who'd bought me the Hawaiian shirt the day before $30, so I paid him back in cash, and he paid for our drinks (how generous) with that money. I am not really angry about the money, but am serious that he is a jerk. This is common knowledge; he admits it himself. He's one of those people who likes to make fun of ensigns (new officers) because they're new. I guess it's part of my training. So the entire time at the bar, he and the warrant officer who is his friend (in charge of the huge food service division on Kitty Hawk) gave me random advice about what to do, who to listen to, when to talk, and how to get ahead in the Navy. It was pretty entertaining listening to this, and watching them persuade the other lieutenant with us, a Naval Academy grad who never drinks, to drink a few shots of Tequila and Jagermeister. After a few hours at the Treebark Café, they decided we needed to go back to the main strip, so we went "back into town," which was a 3 minute drive or 12 minute walk (as I discovered on the way back to Hilton). It was a long night, needless to say. Reviewing that phrase, why should I or anyone else ever write or say "needless to say?" If it's needless to say, isn't that, too, in fact needless to say? Isn't this? Sorry, I have an English major and took a philosophy class- what could be more annoying? :)

Oops, on 28 Nov (Fri), I woke up late and missed my MWR tour of the waterfalls of Guam, not realizing it until Chris came into the room (after finishing duty turnover on the ship). I decided it wasn't that bad to miss the tour when, a few hours later, we were lounging around looking out on crystal blue waters and drinking Coronas with the breeze in our faces. This was after we had a great hotel brunch (allllll you can eat!) and then bought some exorbitantly-priced sandals and suntan lotion in the hotel lobby, but at least I didn't get too burned by the near-equatorial sun. Looking at that water, I decided I had to go snorkeling if I wasn't going to be touring the island's waterfalls, so I walked 30 feet from where I'd been lounging and rented some snorkeling gear for $5. Chris did the same and we walked straight into the beautiful water. The amazing thing about Guam's shore is that the waves crash hundreds of feet (in most places) before they get to the actual shore, since the island is a plateau and the waves crash when the dropoff occurs. This makes for some incredible snorkeling and scuba diving (much of the crew got qualified, but I didn't have time to take the on-ship classes before pulling in to port). As we waded out into the calm, lapping water, we looked through our masks to the floor of the bay. White sand... shells... no fish! As I was about to ask Chris if he saw any fish, I raised my view closer to the surface, and saw hundreds of fish gliding past me, only 20 feet from the beach! As we swam further out, we saw more and more fish, thousands of fish, and at least two dozens varieties. There were silver fish, white ones, clown fish (very funny looking!), and a ton of other fish I can't even begin to describe. The closer we got to the large corals on the bay floor, the more amazing the quantity and colors became. I have never been surrounded by so many fish, not even when I went snorkeling in Maui with my family - it is a little strange at first, and you always kind of wonder about sharks, even in shallow waters, but you are mostly amazed at how much life is around you. For an hour, we explored the clear, blue waters and excitedly pointed to different fish we saw... Finally, I took my mask off for a minute to wipe my eyes, and the salt water was so powerful that I had to go back onshore. I had a fantastic time though, and will never forget that experience. Hopefully, I'll be scuba diving and parasailing next time I go to Guam, though!

Still editing:
, very fun, then go swimming in pool with Midori margaritas (green), water slide, then read/lie out/swim, then change into workout gear and workout for 45 minutes, then get ready to go to mall (Trolley), eat Mongolian (Monga Monga) hibachi grill before going to Matrix Revolutions, then go back to hotel, buy some cigars (nice Dominican ones, Arturo something?), meet Ray, Jay, Martha, etc at Treebark, I drink Zombie and a couple beers, have to dance with PAL, then drink and talk, then dance with Philippino girl for a while, then go to bed

4) Wake up early to go to ship (6am depart, arrive on brow at 6:59, mad rush across island in cab with Martha), then muster people in hangar bay, help SDO with some stuff, call home, do some more work, then go to Supply bail at Jeff's Pirate Cove on other side of island with most of division. Pretty fun, gorgeous stars, as usual amazing view of the waves crashing before they get anywhere near the beach, good Greek food (chicken pita). Then drive Suppo back to base, which was not easy, but got some interesting stories about his career path and some good advice about mine. Return to ship, do some work.

5) Wake up early for muster, go back to sleep, at noon hear from LT Harris, decide to go to Navy Exchange (NEX) to do some shopping and eat lunch, then we went to the movie theater at a mall near Tumon so I could get ticket to Master and Commander (LT Harris got a ticket to the Matrix).

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