Getting around Guam
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2006
1
Trip End
Apr 19, 2006
Guam, Guam
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Let's start with the water:
The coast is littered with reefs and plenty of fish to go along with them. Among the highlights of my snorkeling experience were a bright blue starfish, a 2 foot in diameter MOUND of bright purple coral, little sea dragon/sea horse looking thingys (oh so technical here... I'm a very experienced fish identifier), black spiny sea urchins, big black spiny sea cucumbers, tons of trigger fish, parrot fish, bright blue little fishys, and the intimidating barricuda/pointy nosed fishy that stared me down and was practically stalking me. The water was pretty clear (until divers or snorkelers stirred it up) and sea life was abundant. My favorite place was a little private beach near Ipan Beach Resort on the East Coast. The bay is tiny and the reef is very easily accessible. The water is smooth and shallow and there were plenty of cool fish (where I saw the sea dragony things and the urchins). Another cool place is Fisheye, which is on the opposite coast. Fisheye is proiminant because of the pier that juts out. You have to pay to get on the pier- but you don't have to pay for wading out. It seemed like a big tourist destination judging by the buses that pulled up. And it was also innundated with divers. Fisheye has live coral and live fish and I wish I had had a few things to explore it more: a) booties- you have to walk out about 50 yards before you can start swimming and the reef is sharp and has unpredictable footing. b)Nerve- I got nervous in the deeper water- mostly because nearby divers had clouded up the water and a barricuda or similarly pointy-toothed fish was stalking me (keep in mind, I had just cut my toe on the reef while walking out) c)a better mask- I bought my mask/snorkel for $10 and got what I paid for. Fisheye definitely had more live coral than the private beach, but it is much more difficult to access and provides a more challenging experience. If I had had time, diving would have definitely been the way to go.
Then let's move to the hills:
I didn't do much hiking in Guam. I regret that. Apparently, there are some good spots to go. Sadly, I was lazy and interested more in the beach. I did go out to Talofofo falls, which I believe to be a severe rip off. I had heard that the falls were nice and I ALSO thought that you could HIKE to the falls. Apparently, this is no longer the case. You have to pay $20 to ride a cable car down to the falls. The falls are nice, but $20???? Oh well, you only live once, right? I also ended up meeting some people out there that ended up fulfilling my social quota for a few days.
The People:
People of Guam are primarily Pacific Islanders. Lots of Filipinos, Chinese, Palau, Pohnpei (am I spelling that right?), Guamnanian, etc. I found the locals there to be extremely friendly. I was a single white female, travelling alone, and whenever I went somewhere, I was nearly always approached by a local who spoke to me, asked me if I liked Guam, and then introduced themselves. On Easter weekend, this type of interaction actually led to an afternoon spent at a family barbeque, where I was treated to local red rice and barbequed meats. Yummy! They actually seemed to want people to visit Guam- I suppose their economy needs it. But at the same time, I would hate for it to become Hawaii. Guam actually reminded me a bit of Mallorca, Spain in the off season- the small strip of touristy places in the one town, surrounded fields and roads. I suppose that Guam is to the Japanese what Mallorca is to the Germans- a playground. I did notice that the Japanese people there are very relaxed. Whenever I see Japanese tourists, they are usually moving moving moving with their digital cameras and their knapsacks. Japanese tourists on Guam were mellow.
The Terrain and the Beaches:
Guam varies in terrain from cliffs jutting into the ocean to white sandy beaches and calm bays. There are low profiled light green rolling mountains and dense jungle. The breaks occur more than 100 yards out from most beaches and I've heard that they are very dangerous- hence almost no surfing on Guam. I was warned about riptides and strong undertows right away. Apparently, the reef goes from 3 feet to 60 and the resulting crash can be very damaging if you get caught in it. I chose not to risk it.
The History:
Okay, I'm not a whiz and I'm not going to lecture here- but Guam was taken over by the Spanish back in the day. They "converted" the native people (in a not so nice way) and settled. The language of Guam has some spanish thrown in for good measure apparently. Someone spoke it to me once and I couldn't make out anything he was saying. There are a lot of leftover remnants of the Spanish colonialization- old bridges, forts, guns, churches. Guam was also (I guess) relatively important in WWII. Among the remants you can see of this are War in the Pacific National Park (was it a park or preserve? Don't know- it was free entry though)- which was basically a beach with some torpedos out front, a walking trail, lots of bbq pits, and a monument to the armed forces. Apparently, there was a pretty big battle there where lots of troops came to shore (and probably died). There is a bay in Inarajan that has a sunken Japanese ship in it. It's a dive spot. At Talofofo falls, there was a Japanese soldier who lived in a cave for numerous years- not knowing the war was over. They called him a hero. And today, there are numerous navy and air force installations, but the military presence is not overwhelming like it is in Hawaii. I would definitely say that the natives outnumber the military.
With all that said,I'll turn now to uploading photos. Enjoy!
Comments
Gaum
Loved your narative and pictures, and glad you enjoyed your visit. I lived on Guam in the 60s and early 70s, and it was an eye opener for me to see that Talofofo Falls now is a tourist spot where you have to pay to get in. We used to only be able to get there by hiking in and there were no cable cars and tourists - you had to know that path or be with someone that did to get in through the boonies. Unfortunately, a friend of mine drowned there in the eary 70s. (Amur Paet, aged 15 or so, RIP)
I have not been back in many years, but glad to hear that the Guamanians have not changed. Their friendlieness has nothing to do with them needing the tourism dollars. THis is just how they have always been.
Also, when I was there, they were just starting to build 'hotel Row' and there was only one Japanese Hotel - the Dai Ichi. I wonder if it is still there? We also actually used to go to Saipan, as we though Guam was over developed then!
Its been a long time, but Guam is still in my blood. I love to see pictures of it, and hear others reactions. So glad you posted!
guam
Hi there! Interesting to hear about Guam back in the day and thanks for sharing your history there. Do you know how many people lived there then? Compared to (for example) Hawaii, it's still relatively slow paced-which, in my opinion, made it better than Hawaii. Guam is indeed a special place. Though I was only there a month, it is still a place that I like to talk about! :)