Royal Orchid Tumon

... thing!
We started out from another road and hiked 3 hours through trails that had lots of forks, finding several times that we were going in the wrong direction. However we were more familiar with the topography and features so that kept us giong in the right general direction. The hike goes al over the place, through an old WW2 tank farm and down a steep mud sice cliff where we used a rope down into the lower Sigua falls ...

... old Japanese WWII gun still preserved in the side of a cliff. The beach is famous for firecoral (not cool!), manta rays, sea turtles and the occasional whitetip reef shark. I saw plenty of firecoral! but didnt get the opportunity to see any of the above. Apparently 2 of the guys saw a reef shark swimming away from us but unfortunately I missed that one. I saw a lot of cool nocturnal fish that only come out at night and hide ...

So... this saturday had to have been one of the most eventful days Ive had since ive been on this island! Saturday here was Guam's clean the coast day and hundreds of peoples lined the roads and coastal areas piking up trash and other debris that take away from the natural beauty of this place. Joe and I left base around 530am to head down to Merizo on the south side of the island. Merizo is right next to Umatac Bay and Magellan's landing. Magellans ...

... Apra Harbor, off Guam.  She was sunk only six feet away from the German cruiser from WWI.Ship 2.... SMS Cormoran

Ship History
The German WWI merchant raider, SMS Cormoran, was originally built by German in 1909 for the Russian Volunteer Fleet and named the Rjasan. She was used by the Russians as a combination mail, freight, passenger, and cargo hauler throughout the North Pacific.Captured by the Germans in 1914 as their first ...

... beach with beautiful views of the coastline and pure water.
The hike starts off in an area that says Private Land no Trespassing but hey its in a public hiking book right? So off we went. It took about a half hour to find the trailhead which started this ridiculous journey. Once we found the trailhead which was a spot that we had sat near several times, we saw a small hole in the trees that matched the description of the trail. This is ...

... sitä suunnilleen lapiolla johonkin 100 litran jätesäkkiin! Eli tälläinen luurankomies ainakin pärjää ihan hyvin lastenannoksilla täällä. Heti ensimmäisenä iltana suoritettiin myös paikallinen pyhiinvaellus, joka on jokaisen tänne tulijan jossain vaiheessa lomaa suoritettava! Nimittäin vaellus maailman suurimmalle K-Mart myymälälle, jossa Yhdyvaltojen mantereelta tulleet turistit huutelee kuinka kallista kaikki on, kun taas Japanista tulleet Suomalaiset huutelee ...

... koska melkein kaikki varaukset on sähköisiä! Muuten tykkään kyllä tästä Naritan kentästä, koska täällä on paljon hyviä ruokapaikkoja, tuliaiskräsää ja jopa kiva katselutasanne ylhäällä, mistä kuvailla ja ihmetellä koneita. Juu, huoletta voi jättää melkein kaikki tuliaisostot tänne kentälle... Tsekattiin laukut sisään lennolle ja lähdettiin paikallisjunalla Naritan keskustaan (230 jeniä) aikaa tuhlaamaan ja etsimään sitä kuuluisaa netti/tulostuspaikkaa. Ikinä ei oltu ehditty k ...

... and packed last night and this morning. I went to Global at lunch. Suka reheated some food, we ate quickly, then she drove me to the airport. We got there soon enough that we parked the car and she came in and sat with me for awhile. I had a ton of time. The schedule was pretty much driven by when she had to be back to work. I'm upgraded for the flight to Hong Kong! I ...

... fish, a sort of beans, hot tea, rice, miso soup, and 2 or 3 different kinds of dips. Lunch main course ranges from fish, pork, chicken and beef although fish is predominant. They have rice for all meals. Tofu, sea weed and other kinds of condiments that I am not familiar with are available for all meals. Desserts are not common. I have not see any cakes ( oh I miss them :-) Sometimes yogurt or ice cream is ...

Here I befriended a nice Chamorran lady at the airport info desk. She invited me to spend my time in Guam with her family and friends. They took me around the island and showed me the native culture. They are the most hospitable people I have ever encountered. By the first afternoon of being there, I was helping them set up a birthday party for an uncle and was drinking ...