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! :)

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!

Has it really been that long.....

...since I last posted?  The record doesn't lie so I guess so.

Sorry. I know I keep saying it's busy here, but it really is. I recently took on the treasurer position for the Guam Naval Officers Spouse Connection (GNOSC). It's an amazing group that loves to have fun and also does a bunch of fundraising in support of both military and local non profits. Also, now that the boat is on its way here, the spouses are starting to move here and boat events and homecoming preps are underway.

I've been told a few times in the last few weeks "dust doesn't settle on you". I'll take it.

Of course, there's never too much going on to explore! Last Friday it FINALLY cleared up a bit and we started to get a break from the rain. We took the chance to head out to the Gef Pago, a cultural park in Inarajan that is run by the Historic Inalajan Foundation. In the park we learned how to clean coconuts,  make sea salt, weave baskets, cook rice in woven leaves, and artistic weaving (where we met the SWEETEST old lady!).

watching them clean coconuts
(and make candy-they gave the kids a shell full!)

local sea salt

the little packet she's holding is how they cook rice

master weaver, and a sweet lady :)!

After touring the village they took us across the street to see an old house that predates WWII (a rare event here between typhoons and the intense bombing that occurred prior to the US storming of the island). The house was a one bedroom with a large common area in which 16 children all slept on the floor under mosquito nets!

one room........16 kids

From there, we were invited to the soft opening of a new small museum down the street. In true Guam fashion, we were invited to not just tour the museum but eat lunch with the group as well (trust me, saying no was not an option). What an amazing experience!

love the pools

We took the time to go see some church ruins, drive down to the Inarajan pools and swim for a bit, and came home.

old Baptist church

Yesterday we went and explored the historic Sumay village location. The village at one point was called "the pearl of the island" as the most wealthy village on the island pre-WWII. The village hosted whaling ships, the transoceanic cable station, was a stopping point for the Pan Am China Clipper, and supported various US military activities. That all changed when the Japanese took the Island in WWII. The strategic position of the village made it a prime target for takeover and the villagers were moved out (the Japanese used the village parish as a horse stable). The village was destroyed by US bombing efforts, and the ruins now remain on the Naval base (which makes resettlement impossible). Through a working relationship with the villagers and descendants the Navy now maintains the old church grounds and the cemetery and allows for the people to come on base to pay their respects. The people can always arrange a visit, but the prime days are Sumay day in April, Liberation Day in July and All Souls Day in November.

Sumay Cemetary

Cross of the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church

Afterwards we drove another spouse over to get her car, and then drove up to the Air Force Base to spend a beautiful afternoon with friends at Tarague beach. This morning it was back to Gab Gab beach with a bunch of spouses from the boat. Hopefully tomorrow another south island tour with a friend (have I mentioned that I am ultra excited to get a break from rain?! :) ). Have fun everyone!

Tarague beach

Magellan's landing

And a bit more :)!

Yesterday I let the oldest pick where we went for our field trip because it was his birthday. He chose to try to find Ferdinand Magellan's landing site, so, after we were done with some things that had to be done, we headed out.

The location is on Umatac Bay, a bit south of the Navy base on the western side of the island. it's a beautiful, quiet, drive to get there.

I should clarify: the traditional landing site is at Umatac Bay, but of course historians dispute the actual landing site. What is not disputed is that the bay was used for the Spanish trade route from Mexico to the Philippines, and that there was a fort at both the north and south ends of the bay.

When we arrived in the bay area, we started at the north end of the bay to try to find the ruins of Fort San Jose. We found a pull off to park at with beautiful views, but failed to figure out where the ruins were. (Now looking back on it I think I know where they are, so we'll have to go back and try again).

Then we continued around the bay to stop and look at a cross situated on the bay and admire the small catholic church across the street.





Next we arrived at the beach park with the Magellan memorial marker. We read all the signs, explored the church ruins of an old catholic church across the street, and then went back to the beach side to explore the beach a bit. This beach was much different than many of the other's I've seen thus far on Guam. The rocks were different and the sand was black in color. It was still quite beautiful, just different.

historical marker

church ruins-and little ones distracted
by a coconut.

river flowing into the bay

 From there, we continued around the bay to our final destination: Fort Nuestra de la Soledad. There are no actual signs I saw to mark the site, but I can now say that if you're heading south it's the second right turn following this:

Pretty cool, huh? I could actually see the Fort from the marker for Magellan's landing, so I knew about where to go, and just guessed until I figured it out. :)! It was completely worth it. We got to explore, and the views from the top were breathtaking.

On our way home I pulled off at a random overlook area just south of one we stopped at the the last time we were in the area. The views were completely amazing, and I can't wait to explore some of the trails we saw the starts to there!