As I've mentioned before, this island is full of history.On the main Navy base alone 29 distinct historic sites are listed. My kids learn history best when they actually get to see what we are talking about, so, on top of their normal homeschool history lessons every week I decided we're doing an on-location Guam history lesson that I've dubbed "Field trip Fridays".
The kids were ultra excited (of course) by this idea, and now that everyone is feeling well we embarked on our first one today. I tried to pick an easy location just to see how it would go, but wanted something that explored the original Chamorro people a bit. The result: "Latte Stone Park" in Agana.
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| Latte and Japanese tourists |
I was a small well maintained park, with latte that had been moved to the site following WWII.
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| Latte explanation in English, Chamorro and Japanese |
I bet you're wondering "what is a latte stone"? Well, that's actually part of why we went to the park, I was curious to find out. The latte are actually 2 separate pieces (a pillar and a hemispherical cap) that based on 16th century Spanish accounts were used to support structures. Since no drawings were done and there is very limited (and disputing) information regarding what these structures were used for is heavily disputed. These structures are particular to the Marianas islands, and now stand as a symbol for the native Chamorro heritage.
There was a rather large Japanese cave from the WWII occupation at the park as well that the kids had a fun time exploring.
A short trip, but a fun and informational one none-the-less. Can't wait to visit more of these locations!
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| Hafa Adai! |
PS In case you didn't see it, the CBS Sunday Morning News did a short segment called "Postcard from Guam". You can watch it here. Enjoy!
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