Priest's Pools and Merizo Pier

These past few weeks have been packed with tons of fun in the sun.

For the middle child's birthday I and a few friends took the kids to Tarza Waterpark (same place we went for the oldest girls birthday).I'm beginning to think this will be a theme for all the birthdays here. That's fine though. Makes for a great day, and even the baby is a water slide junkie.

This past week was spring break, so it seemed as if all our friends wanted to go to the beaches. We didn't take the full week off from school, but we did manage to make it out to Gab Gab beach and Taga'achang beach during the week.

On Friday, we also managed to go on a short hike. This time we went to Priest's Pools, a series of cascading freshwater pools in a volcanic rock formation at the southern tip of the island. It acquired the name because priests used the pools to bathe in following their arrival with the Spaniards in the 1500s. I've wanted to do this hike for a while, and we managed to drag quite a few people along with us.

swimming in a pool

Following the hike and playing in the pools, we decided to head over to the Merizo Pier and jump off into the beautiful water overlooking Cocos Island. It was supposed to be a short stop, but we were having way too much fun and stayed for quite a while playing.

The oldest got this gem. I may have had some fun that day :)!

Such a great Guam day!

Holy week.

Before I start this post, I should probably clarify that while we are not Roman Catholic, but Lutheran, we have been attending Mass at the chapel pretty much since our arrival. We are not attending the only Lutheran church in Guam. Many things played into this decision (not really something I want to get into here) but this fact does play into my experiences over the last week.

Mass on Palm Sunday was wonderful, and served as my first glimpse into many traditions that while not key to salvation stand as beautiful symbols and reminders of our faith. The priest started the service walking around with baptismal water sprinkling the congregation as a reminder of our baptisms, a beautiful reminder that our baptism ties Christ to his death on the cross.

When we were at the service on Maunday Thursday, I was reminded about something our pastor said in Charleston. Maunday Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter vigil services traditionally were not three separate services, but one continuous service that carried over from one day to the next. This idea was made very clear that night, when the priest consecrated enough of the sacrament for both Maunday Thursday and Good Friday, and then at the end of the first night we took the sacraments back to another room to be held until the next evening. 

cars and people everywhere

Friday morning we took part in a local island custom. The tradition is that  early on Good Friday Catholics get up and hike to the top of MT Lamlam, the tallest peak on the island (which is not very far from the deepest point in the ocean, the Marianas trench). To be clear: EVERYONE does this, no matter what the age old or young. One of the churches (the Basilica I believe) starts the custom off by carrying a cross to the top just before sunrise that will remain up at the top. We went a bit later, starting at 9 with the chapel when most islanders were already done with the journey and heading out. Once I saw the line of cars parked in all directions really far away from the trail head, I was kind of grateful that we showed up later and I could slip into a closer spot as people left.

we're off!

I've never prayed the stations before, but I was highly impressed by the power fullness of the prayers and how they really forced me to focus on both the cross and the journey there. Of course, the views were amazing as well (unfortunately the overcast weather made it great for hiking, but not so great for picture taking. These in no way do the views justice).

Father Tom

Can't tell if he's having fun...

note the number of crosses
there are more behind me

baby with no shorts and no shoes
totally an island baby

we made it!

This tall one was put up in 1980. I can't figure out
how they got it up there

how he got up and back

kinda cool. They go up the day
before to clear the path. of the grasses
that are taller than I am

  That evening it was back to church for Good Friday and another dark and yet somehow beautiful service.

Unfortunately, between the 2 nights of late services, the hike Friday morning, and Adam being at work all night Saturday I had to miss the Vigil Service. It was just too much for the kids and they needed to go to bed early.

Thankfully, though, they let Adam out of work early and he was home before midnight and able to easily head with us to church the next morning (had he stayed the whole time he would have left work after mass started at 9am). As an added bonus: this year our anniversary fell on Easter Sunday and I got to spend it with him! We celebrated with a yummy rack of lamb dinner and quiet family time at home.

Happy Easter!

Love you all and hope you had a wonderful and blessed Easter. HE IS RISEN!

Scuba lessons

Not much going on here recently, just school, meetings, kids acting so rotten I can't take them in public......

Last weekend, though, was pretty neat. Our oldest was able to get his qualification dives for open water done with our great instructor (dad tagged along as well). He's very proud of himself, and put quite a bit of effort and hard work into it. We are very proud and impressed!

getting out of the water with dad after his final qual dive

Being 10, he's only able to dive to 40 feet, but there's still a ton to see at that level.

Why Scuba you ask? First off, this is a tropical island with crystal clear water. TONS can be seen while snorkeling, but Scuba lets you see more.Secondly, this is one of the cheapest places in the world to get dive certified. When we were in Charleston, we looked into courses and they were over $600 plus equipment. Here if you have a few evenings and a weekend to block off and do the classes it costs only $169 and includes equipment rental. Huge difference. Since we altered the schedule to slow it down and make sure he learned the base knowledge thoroughly, it cost us a bit more than that, but not much.

Downside is he's now constantly asking to go diving. :)!

Haputo beach

After a crazy week of saying goodbye to friends last week, Monday we went hiking to Haputo point again. This time, I arranged it as a FRG (family readiness group) event for the boat families. Ended up that only a few perople went, but since Adam had the morning off he got to come along!

The hike (like last time) was easy, but still fun. This time I remembered my camera and got some great pictures for you all!

Yup. I live here

"mushroom rock" so named because of how the waves
have carved out the limestone

baby backpack

playing and snorkeling

all the stairs look a lot different from the bottom....

Guam National Wildlife Refuge

A few weeks ago, I called the Guam National Wildlife Refuge and set an appointment for a cave tour. Since they can tour groups up to 20, I asked if any of the other wardroom (boat Officer) spouses wanted to come along. I got a few yeses and we all agreed to meet up at the point, which rests at the northernmost point on the island (Ritidian), nestled between the Air Force base and a small Navy base. 

The drive out was interesting, there where points in the road I wasn't sure pavement existed any more, and I got to play "dodge the pothole" to the extreme. This game is common on Guam (I've already had my tires taken out more than once), but this was like nothing I've ever seen before. The wide wheel base on the van and truck frame made it quite manageable, however, and I made it a fun addition to my day. The oldest (correctly) ascertained that I was showing off. 

I always love views along cliffsides here

We made it down the cliff and into the parking lot where we met our friends, and I ran inside to get our guides. I'm glad we arranged the guides. While most of the refuge and the beach are accessible to the public, the caves containing pictographs are not. The guides led us through a gate and made sure to brief the kids on what to expect and preservation requirements. In the caves, we saw drawings that have existed for many, many years. No one knows for sure what the symbols mean, but our guides made sure to let the kids have a few guesses. :)!

Kinda hard to see, but there are drawings on there

one of the guides showing us a piece of pottery

Our guides were amazing. Not only did they show us the caves and drawings, but took the time to point out wildlife to the kids and made sure to talk about the Serianthes nelsonii tree, a native variety that exists only here on Guam and in Rota. The population is being monitored closely, and there is fear that it may become extinct as another island species impacted by importation. According to our guides, trees are being infected by a non-native bug (they think possibly brought in by resistant ornamental varieties of the same tree shipped to the island and used in landscaping) and withering away. They are trying to figure out how to combat the issue with limited success. It's amazing to me how one tiny bug can cause so many issues, but it's another example of how not being careful about what you're shipping and transferring can cause large issues down the road.

This is the first refuge I've been to where you are allowed to take things out. You can register for a permit to pick things like papayas and take them home (something to remember for next time). 

After leaving our guide we had a quick snack and started through the jungle on the nature trail. We never completed the trail, as the sounds of the ocean lured us away from the trail and down to the beach. I can't say I was upset by this, the beach was amazingly beautiful and amazingly quiet. We met a work study group from Japan that was full of some very amazingly friendly people (who made us the subject of many pictures) and very eager to play and have fun. The kids excited them by knowing how to say a few simple Japanese words, which I think helped bridge the language barrier. 

Ritidian Beach

Baby is now a pro at hamming it up for foreigners

After a few hours we had to leave and head home, exhausted, sandy, wet, and very happy. Another day that made me remember how blessed we are to be here.

Family weekend

Last weekend Adam amazingly got a good chunk of the weekend off. Since time like that is rare, we were sure to take full advantage of it.

On Saturday evening we went out to watch the sunset at Two Lovers Point (and to just show Adam the location). Unfortunately it rained before we could see the full sunset, but we still got to see some amazing views.














We even bought a heart lock to hang on the fence together.

Oh, and the baby became the prime subject of many pictures for a Taiwanese tour group. The tour guide was sweet and fun to talk to.

After church Sunday morning, we came home, ate brunch, and took a glorious few hour nap. When we finally got up and going again, we headed out to Dadi beach for some quiet beach and snorkel time before bed and dinner.

 

I always feel so blessed when we get to spend time together as a family. Adding in some beautiful locations makes it that much more amazing!



Grow Guam

Sparked by a few days of cloud cover, most of my time recently has been filled with the task of scrubbing the tile grout in the house. All 2500 square feet of my house is tiled in white tile with white grout. With 5 kids running in and out all day all that grout gets gross quick.

I have very harsh words for the person who thought that white grout was a good idea. Something to think about the next time I decide on a house to rent.

We did take a field trip, though, in the midst of my scrubbing the floor. I contacted Grow Guam's general manager, Jon, and arranged a tour for our local homeschool group of the only hydroponic garden on island, that also happens to be the ultimate source of all the lettuce I buy here (The stuff that gets shipped in from the mainland doesn't appeal to me for many reasons).

Jon was great, and taught us all quite a bit about how they manage to grow lettuce here.

You can see them barely poking through

Lettuce from just planed to a few weeks

plants then are moved to and mature here

Grow Guam is also starting to work on hydroponic tomatoes and cucumbers. This produce is not for sale yet because Grow Guam is still working on size consistancy issuseS, but eventually they hope to have it on the market as well.

Work obligations have kept Adam quite busy recently, but we did manage to squeeze in a short trip to Ipan beach with him in some down time he had :)!

getting ready for his favorite hobby

can't quite tell,  but I think he's a fan! :)

Haputo Beach and Onward waterpark.

It was quite the busy weekend, full of lots of sun and water!

Friday afternoon we went to Gab Gab beach for a boat party that they were having for the visiting Japanese sub. I brought out the paddleboard, but unfortunately the wind was making the water a bit too choppy for the kids too use it. Still had fun playing in the sand and water. The coolest part of the day was probably watching one of the Japanese sailors catch an octopus, then watching a bunch of the crew work together to clean, grill and eat it (some of it was consumed raw as well). CRAZY!

Saturday Adam was on duty, but the kids and I went on a short realtively easy downhill hike with friends to Haputo beach (some history of the site here). I forgot my camera, but as much as I wish i had pictures I'm impressed that I managed to get kids, hiking stuff, and snorkel gear out the door and down to the beach. It was an amazing and beautiful location and I will be sure to go back. Only downside is that the rip tides there can be brutal, and you actually have to sign a waiver with the Navy before you can go out. Not too big a deal, just means I have to watch the kids closely.

Sunday after church Adam and I fed the kids brunch and took them to Onward Resort waterpark with the tickets some friends gave us for Christmas. It was such a fun day, and the kids got a huge kick out of going on the slides with Adam (Annabelle said that going with him on a ride was the "bester one"). Luckily, dinner was in the crock pot when we got home because the kids were STARVING when we got home!

Overall, and amazing a fun weekend!

South Island tour

We got to enjoy a wonderful week with Adam on leave at the end of Dec/beginning of Jan just hanging around mostly, being lazy.

The best daywas a long, tiring and fun day on Guam. We decided to pack a cooler and go around the south side of the island, exploring some things we've seen before but wanted to show Adam, and other things that none of us had explored yet.

Our first stop was to look at Talofofo bay.

Next was Gef Pago and the Historic Inalajan village. This time, we learned how to make rope from leaves and were greeted by the same wonderful master weaver as we were last time! We also ran into friends from church which made it even more fun. :)!





After that we headed down to the Inarajan pools for a short swimming and snorkeling time.

We hopped into the car and ate while continuing around to the tip of the island. There we stopped in the southernmost village, called Merizo, to explore a bit. Merizo park was beautiful, offering excellent views of Cocos Island (a resort Island south of Guam).  I wish I knew before eating in the car that there were picnic tables there! We found an old bell tower that was apparently built in 1910, and climbed up the hill behind the village parish to the Cocos Island overlook and the Rosary.

From there we headed north to Fort Soledad.












And Magellan's landing point

Don't  worry mom, I can walk, straight into the water.....

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial park

The Cetti Bay overlook

and then went to the base pool to swim again for about an hour before finally heading home.

 This week has been back to reality with Adam back to the boat and the kids and I back to school (no field trip this week due to migraines). Can't say how thankful I am that work is here now and not in HI! Looking forward to an adventure filled weekend!