Tarzan Swimming Hole Hike

Yesterday marked our first attempt at the Boonie Stompers, a local group that meets every Saturday to hike some trek on the island. You just have to show up on whatever Saturday you want at the Chamorro village at 9 am (the hike schedule is on line about a month in advance), sign some forms, pay 2 bucks for everyone over 12 and you're ready to go! The guides give a brief overview of the hike, and then everyone caravans out to the hike site.

these little beauties were everywhere

Yesterday's hike was to the Tarzan Swim Hole. It was a medium hike, about 1.5 miles each way. I strapped the baby on the front, put my back pack on my back, and started out. The hike itself was beautiful (though occasionally quite muddy), and I was amazed at how far we could see around us.

the boys are up there.....somewhere

When we got down to the river, I was very thankful to be out with such an amazing and friendly group of people. The guides and others in the group helped quite a bit to get the kids across the river without incident. Once we crossed, it was only a short distance to the swimming hole.

The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing. There was a high boulder to jump off, a rope swing, and a natural water slide. We all had a blast playing and swimming.

getting ready to get back on the rope swing

Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit earlier than the rest of the group. The oldest girl slipped on a rock and split her chin open. Thankfully again, the group was quite helpful in getting us up and out from our location. Not only did a guide escort us up so we wouldn't get lost, but others came along to help with kids, one guy carried my backpack so I wouldn't have to worry about it, and the guide actually carried the baby on his shoulders for the last 1/3 of the trek! It was such a blessing to have such wonderful people around to help with everything.

Once we got out we grabbed the van, got a quite bite to eat and headed straight for the Naval Hospital. Unfortunately they were quite busy and it took about 6 hours for us to get through there, but as always they were very helpful and highly professional. My friend was wonderful enough to come and stay at the hospital with us as well to help watch the other kids.

Despite the hospital trip, it was a wonderful day, with clear reminders of how blessed we are to be here!

Busy few days

Saturday and today we went out with our Realtor (who for the record is amazing) and looked at rental homes in the area. (more on the house situation later) That night we went to a Guam food festival downtown. It was a beautiful evening, and gave us a chance to try some local island style BBQ (pork, chicken and squid) and sausage. It was delicious!

They also had a Whopper eating contest sponsered by Burger King, a best burger on island contest (didn't try it, too preoccupied with foods I can't get anywhere else), and a local fruit and vegetable stand. Finished up the night with calamansi juice and headed home.

Sunday we went to church and then took the kids to go see "The Lorax". It was a cute movie, and the kids appreciated the change of pace.

Since Sunday, storm clouds (that are now part of the newly formed tropical storm) have kept us from doing too much exploring outside.

our "view" of the Solar eclipse

We've had plenty to do otherwise though. Yesterday we registered the kids at medical. Medical here, I have to say, is much more customer service oriented than I've seen in a long time. It may be an old building (they are building a new one), but the care and concern among the staff for the patients is huge! I had a Commander stop us and give us a positive comment on the size of our family too (not the normal smart remarks I get). Bonus for the visit: The lady who set our records up is a local, and after talking she realized that I have a genuine interest in her island and the local food, and gave me a few pointers on places to go!

After medical we hit another Payless market, this time in the Agana Shopping Center. The center as a whole is a smallish mall, but has what appear to be cute little shops, and there's a "Tokyo Market" with quite a few of the food things I came to love while in Japan. The Payless there is a bit larger than the last one we went to, so of course we had to spend some time figuring out all the things they had there for sale.

Today it was back to medical for Levi's 6 month shots (I found out they require an MMR by 6 months here unlike12 months in the states) and an appointment for the younger girl before heading out to look at more houses with our Realtor.

We've seen quite a few homes over the last few days and finally selected and put a rental offer in on a house today. Unfortunately, it doesn't have an ocean view but we'll never find a place that has everything we want, even in the 3 bedroom range.The one place we found with the view we liked had no way to enjoy it (a porch or big windows that faced it) which made the view a bit pointless. Village choice and area is what won out, and given the 5 kids probably one of the more important factors. If we get it, there is more than enough room for guests, which is another big upcheck! Now, we just have to wait on the reply, get housing to approve the lease, etc. etc. Fingers crossed it all goes well!