Guam Vacation Day 3

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

It is time for day three of our Guam vacation.  The morning started out with a quick run to K-Mart because I had found a tear in my swim suit the day before and did not want to offend anyone by giving them a show.  The trunks I bought were a little big so when I got back to Saipan I re-stitched the ties in front in order to better wear them.  Kara and I then went to Underwater World Aquarium. Before we actually went in to the aquarium Kara spent some time shopping at a store called DNA Evolution where she found some on-sale items that look cute on her.  As we entered the aquarium the ticket person told us the shark feeding would take place in an hour. So we waited around freezing our butts off in the very chilly underwater tunnel. It was well worth the wait to see the sharks and rays being fed.  I think my favorite part of the aquarium was seeing the sea horses in a small tank on the second floor. Kara’s favorite part of the aquarium was seeing the two large and endangered sea turtles that were swimming around that had been rescued from an illegal trade at an airport in Japan.  After the aquarium, the first thing on our minds was snacking.  I visited a little coffee shop on the first floor of the aquarium building. Kara on the other hand with to a place called “OVeryBerry” that provided great smoothies.  It was located in a little outlet mall on the strip heading southbound from the aquarium. 

            Our next stop was the War in the Pacific Museum.  It is the sister National Parks Service museum to Saipan’s American Memorial Park.  Unfortunately, the exhibit was a temporary traveling exhibit that didn’t have a whole lot to do with the war.  The exhibit was titled “Setting Up Fences.”  The exhibit did have a lot to with Guam in its present state, however, which was interesting.  Fences may not seem like something that relates to Guam, but if you are a resident (or visitor, I suppose) you cannot avoid seeing the miles of fence that has been put up around the military compounds to the north and south of the island.  One fact in the museum gave the actual number of acres, unfortunately I did not copy that factoid down.  The basic figure, however, is that the U.S. Military owns technically 1/3 of the island’s land (that couldn’t have been used for farm land).  Many locals today dislike the military presence and are afraid of the proposed military build-up that will happen in the next ten years as things heat up in the Pacific region.  People are worried about more land being grabbed, noise pollution from a proposed firing range, and perhaps just that fact that more people will be on Guam.  I think my favorite part of the exhibit was a case that had examples of antique barbed wire fencing haha  Having had experience on the ranch with straightening barbed wire, I got a kick out of seeing the evolution of barbed wire.  Kara liked the fact that there was mention of Nebraska in one of the exhibits.

After checking out the exhibit, we watched a short nine minute video clip of the battle for Guam.  I felt bad for the American force who originally held the island before the Japanese came.  There were only 135 Marines on the island against a Japanese force of about 17,000+ men.  When the Americans landed on Guam to liberate it, they first bombed the island for 13 days straight because they had taken such a beating on Saipan (having only bombed 2 ½ days there.  By the end of the battle for Guam 17,000 Japenese soldiers were dead and approximately 1,000 local Chamorro.  Sadly, the Japanese never wrote down their captives names or gave them a proper burial so the true number may never be known.  To the Japanese, the locals were just a work force to be utilized. Our next stop was the hotel to relax for a little while.

            Once our afternoon siesta had fizzled out we went to the Chamorro Village Street Market that takes place on Wednesday nights at the Chamorro Village complex on Marine Drive.  We had a lot of fun just walking around and seeing the sights.  Holding the coconut crab was a lot of fun for me as was talking to an old man who was one of the first to make the famed local machete’s (which are made from the back suspension rods of a truck).  He was a really neat old man who could barely hear.  Unfortunately he no longer makes them, but his knives (fashioned after the ones marines on Guam may have made after the war) were selling for $150.  After we had walked around for some time, and Kara had ridden a Carabao, we went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner.  It was the best meal I had that entire vacation. I ordered Trout Almondene and Kara had a mix and match plate of min-burgers and other delights. 

            I hope you enjoy our pictures, don’t forget to click on them for a larger image.

A curious sea turtle poses for a picture as an excited Kara
clicks away. 

One of my favorite exhibits at the aquarium are
these potbelly sea horses (I'm not kidding that
is actually their name haha)

I had a splitting headache from not having had coffee for
the first two days of our trip as I looked for a coffee place.
This coffee shop is locate on the first floor of the building
that houses the aquarium.  It was tucked into a corner of
the building, but I knew my pain would be taken away
because the girl behind the counter was listening to Christian
music on the radio.

At first, I had to do a double take of the title to this smoothie
place because I thought it said "Ovary" haha Don't worry it
is not a clinic or something but a great smoothie place haha

Kara standing in front of a two man Japanese submarine that washed
up on shore during the war.  Another museum on the island said it was a
 three man submarine... not sure which museum is correct.  This sub
is on display outside the War in the Pacific museum in Guam.

 A display of the antique barbed wire at the museum that I
thought was interesting.

This was a machete on display at the Chamorro Village street
market.  The tape says it was made in 1984 making it as old as
me.  This is the type of local machete I've been looking to buy
but can't find on the island. It was made from the suspension
rod of a truck making it rust resistant and incredibly strong.

Kara riding a Carabao at the Chamorro Village.
It is a tradition in the Philippines. 

Me holding a Coconut Crab at the Chamorro Village. I saw one
up close in Saipan at a property I was exploring, but this is the
first time I had held one.  They grow to be really large using
their claws to tear open coconuts and drink the juice and eat the
meat in the coconut.  The are almost extinct on Saipan because
hunters over harvest and do so illegally.  They are mainly nocturnal
animals that like to hide in crevices among the rough terrain on the
islands.  They are supposedly very tasty because their meat is
sweet like coconut.  In Chamorro they are called Ayuyu
(pronounced  ah-zoo-zoo)

A cute picture of Kara and I after a long day of having too
much fun in the sun. Taken at Ruby Tuesdays, Guam.