Saipan

Once it was definite we would be leaving, there was a lot of arrangements to be made.  I think I literally spent about twenty-four hours trying to schedule flights, hotels, cars and all it took to get us back to the mainland.  Abe found out he had some work to do in Saipan.  I jumped at the chance to see the island with Abe and have a quiet place to figure out all travel arrangements.  Saipan was beautiful.  I loved it there.  It is like a smaller, quieter Guam.  The grounds of our hotel were amazing.  I remember being surprised that there were no doors to the lobby.  It is all just open, and with the weather like they have year- round, why not?  I spent a few very relaxing hours on the beach and soon felt up to the task at hand.  With the flights all finally taken care of, Abe and I had a day to explore.  Due to some restrictions we found out were not going to be able to do the dive we had planned on.  We rented a kayak and headed over to a small island to do some kayaking and snorkeling  The water was so gorgeous.  After numerous attempts, I decided it is very difficult to accurately capture the true color in a picture.  Oh well.  We loved the paddle over and found out there was a sunken Japanese Zero in the water.  We shared a few laughs watching the Asians attempt to snorkel and had our lunch with a family knows from work.  They shared some of their travel adventures with us which made Abe want to go even more places. 

View from our balcony

Hotel grounds

My spot on the beach. 

View into the hotel lobby

The grounds were full of trees, flowers and even a few birds.

I'll always remember the color of the water on that day.  Breath-taking!

A view of the island as we get close.

A look at Saipan from the boat on our way back.

Saipan part 2

After our kayak and snorkeling we went for a drive around the island.  What a fun little place.  In the center of the island is Mt. Tapochau.  There is a road that takes you almost all the way to the top.  As you climb the few remaining yards and at the top are several signs telling the history of the island in WWII.  The island is unique in that you can see the shoreline of the whole island from the top of Mt. Tapochau.  This was a definite advantage to the Japanese during the war because once they had control of it, it was very difficult to invade from any direction.  In the distance you can also see a few other small islands, one of which is Tinian, which played a pivotal role in the war.  It was from there the planes left that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan.  I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the area and the sunset was absolutely beautiful.

A view of Saipan from the top.

My good-looking sweetie with Tinian in the background

The sunset.

 Abe and I found a quaint little place to eat and really enjoyed ourselves.  After dinner we took a walk on the beach and I saw the Southern Cross for the first time.  Since we were so close to the equator, we could see both the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper.  We were able to attend church the next morning before we had to hussle off to catch our flight back to Guam.  What a great time we had on this tropical paradise.

Good-bye Saipan

Saying good-bye!

It is no secret we loved our time on Guam.  Saying good-bye to the friends we met there was no easy task  It is hard to believe how close we became in such a short time.  Many tears were shed as we packed up and left this beautiful island and its people we have come to love so much.

Mayleen on her baptism day in the skirt Suzy made for her.

With Ermina and her girls on our last Sunday.

We love the Gusingers!

We have LOVED getting to know the Kehrs.

Bugs, our island boy, learned to make quick work of coconuts.

Dee and Bugs at our wonderful going-away party.

The Smith girls in their island skirts. 

Tackling the Bucket List

The dream is over, our time on Guam has come to an end.  No more 80 degrees year round and living on the beach.  Now that we are back in the Northwest enduring the gray of winter, those balmy sunny days are something we all miss.  We've been back for six months now.  Our tans have faded and our highlights are gone, but we are so thankful for the memories and friendships from our days on Guam which will always be a part of our lives.  Once we knew we were moving back to the mainland and our days on Guam were numbered we wanted to make the most of our time there.  Our last few weeks on island we jammed in as much as we could, crossing items off the bucket list daily while trying to pack and sell all that we had acquired in our year there.  Needless to say, I had no time to blog, but I did want to write about our last few weeks there while I can still kind of remember all that we did. 

Tarzan Falls

 This hike was just a mile up the road from our house.  We drove past the trail head numerous times, always promising to go.  Finally, with our days numbered, we headed out to the trail.  To enjoy the full splendor the of the waterfalls on Guam, the wet season is the best time to go hiking.  It also means mud and lots of it.  Since we were still in dry season, the mud wasn't too bad, but the falls weren't at their best either. 

David is ready to go.  Tradition says you leave your shoes at your last hike on island hence all the shoes on the wire.

Good thing this is the dry season right?

Suzy scrambled her way to the top.

Everyone enjoying a refreshing dip.

What a way to cool-off.

Double Reef

This hike is one we has heard people talk about for a while and we were really looking forward to.  Since much of the footing is very uneven and over jagged limestone, it isn't very kid friendly.  The "trails" in Guam are not well established.  It often feels like you are bush-whacking through the jungle.  The locals call it "boonie stomping."  Luckily, some of them have ties to mark the way.  As soon as a tie has been reached, it is a game looking for the next one and then trying to get there.  The highlight of this hike was the awesome snorkeling found there in the two reefs.  It was as good as we were lead to believe.   The brightest colors of coral I have ever seen were all around, it was amazing.  Also, many fish- some I am sure I have never seen before.  Sierra, with Paij's help, really gained some confidence and was able to thoroughly enjoy her surroundings.  We snorkeled out quite a distance, there was so much to see.  Trying to capture some of it with Sierra's underwater camera was fun too. 

The views and the ocean life were stunning, throw in time with good friends, some warm tropical sunshine and that, my friend, amounts to a perfect day.

Me and my girls- Jennifer, Mandi, Raelene and Paij.  Love 'em all!

The view from the beach.

Addie got buried in the sand.

Enjoying the company and shade on the beach.

Southern Views Hike

Abe had planned this one.  He is not a fan of jungle hikes.  This guy is all about the views, wide open vistas call to him.  Since most of Guam is fairly dense jungle, these are harder to come by.  He scouted around and said this was to be the premier Guam hike.  Sadly, most of the kids got a flu bug (maybe something we ate) so Bugs was the only one who could join us.  A new family had arrived on Guam and envisioning this to be a great hike, we invited them along.  This was the most brutal hike ever!  The first half hour was through dense saw grass or razor grass.  Know how it got it's name?  We endured oh so many cuts!!!  Imagine getting 100 paper cuts spread over all exposed skin.  Abe had one right across his neck, looked like he slit his throat.  Bugs said, "Dad, I don't like this hike."  I felt terrible knowing we had drug this family along.  All of us were bleeding from several areas and we knew we had to go back through it to return to the cars.  I spent the whole time profusely apologizing, it really was that bad. The shower afterward-OUCH!!!  If one wants to attempt this hike, bring a  few mechates or hire a mowing crew.

The views we were rewarded it.  Trust me, we had earned them.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea.

Southern hills, lagoon and Cocos Island

Ascending the peak (freedom from the grass)

All up top!

4th of July

What a way to spend a holiday!  We took advantage of Abe's day off to cross a few more items off our list.  Something the kids had  been looking forward to since we arrived was the chance to surf in the ocean.  Guam is not known for its surfing.  The reefs that surround the island and are actually the bedrock of the island, make it very tricky and dangerous.   Also, the water is often very shallow, we're talking knee-deep here,  even a ways out.  In a nutshell, that may all be great when it comes to tsumanis and protecting our island, but not so much if you are wanting to hang ten.  That and the fact it was July (no waves) meant we would be lucky to be able to surf, but we headed out to give it go.  Our wonderful surf coaches Joe and Demi along with some other kids from the surf club all met at 6:00 am down by Rick's Reef.  Although the waves were small, everyone (minus Isaac who suffered a nasty gash on his thumb he had to keep dry) was eventually able to catch a few waves.  Addie makes it look way too easy, showing off her skills.  Even though Sierra thought the new board took some getting used to, she was able ride a few waves.  Bugs just had a good time.  Suzy loved it all and and swears it won't be her last time. I loved it too!  It was so fun to watch and cheer them all on!

After surfing we headed out to hike to Lost Pond.  Several of our friends met up with us for this hike which was mostly along the beach.  One thing we have really loved while living on Guam is that everyone is so adventurous.  Whenever there was talk of a hike, there was always several people anxious to go. We loved having the Kehrs along on this one too.  

Suzy and Penelope enjoying it all.

Some of the crew on the hike.

Swimming in Lost Pond

We enjoyed an afternoon of playing at the beach and some fabulous snorkeling.

Such a cute girl!

 We finished off the day with a stop at Mt. Lam Lam.  All the praise we heard about this place was justified.  So delicious.  What a treat for all of us. 

An absolute must for anyone on Guam.

Most of them can't even take a break to smile!

SO Guam!

There is saying on Guam for those of us who have moved here and are new to the surroundings- OOG (only on Guam).  This is used for the interesting and sometimes quirky things one finds on Guam.  Around the Smith household, we like to refer to them as SO Guam.  While we have been living here I have been collecting photos of the wonderful and sometimes unusual things we come across.  Hope it gives you a glimpse into our unique island.

First, one cannot over look the natural beauty of the island.  So many things have captured my eye.

Hibiscus and plumerias abound here, but I never tire of them.

This is a common site, a coconut falls from the tree and before too long, another tree has sprouted.

I had never seen this before, but below a bunch of bananas grows a banana heart.  They sell it in the grocery store, but we have yet to try it.

I know I have posted about it before, how how could I overlook the water when talking about Guam.

 Next is the animals.  I have posted about the carabous, but there are a few other interesting animals we have come across.  The snake in the toilet is still the only one I have seen on Guam, glad they are hanging out where I am not.  The coconut crabs are pretty cool to see, glad the biggest ones have always been on display somewhere.  There are a lot of wild pigs here, I know it keeps our hunting friend busy. 

We spotted these guys in a parking lot.

 

We saw this monitor lizard while on a recent hike.

Another thing I love about Guam is what I have come to think of as "beautifying graffiti".  The bus stops here are all painted with positive Guam love slogans and beautiful murals are all around.  Here are a few of my favorites.

 

This is part of a large mural I saw someone painting over the course of a few months.  Love how it turned out.

Some of that Guam love!

This one captures Guam life.

Love the bus shelters!

We weren't sure what to make of this one.  Glad they painted the bridge, but what is with the animal decals?  OOG!

 A few other things we have seen on Guam...

Road-side stands selling all kinds of yummy fruit, some I have never heard of and they pickle everything they can get their hands on. 

Have to admit this is the first McDonald's in a trailer I have seen.

 No  bath tub?  There is always a cooler.  Got to hand it to her for being resourceful!

Guam loves their latte stones.  I'm told the latte stone was used in building things by the ancient Chamorros.  They have become a symbol of Chamorro life and are used widely here.  Guam is home to the world's largest one.  Can't believe I don't have a picture of it.  For now this will have to do.

The plaque thing with the guy on it is made in the shape of the famed latte stones.

We do love this island and its people, quirks and all.