2nd Anniversary Spent in Tinian

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers:
Even though it was a couple weeks ago, I thought I would blog about our second wedding anniversary spent on the island of Tinian. We flew to Tinian on a small plane from Saipan a trip which only took 10minutes. We took the early flight so that we could have all day on the island and be able to spend time at the hotel and surrounding beaches the second day, since we would have to fly back around 6pm (the last flight of the day).
The first day we rented a car with our local discount for $45 and spent about $15 in gas after using it. We rented a car so that we could see as much of the island as possible and yet be in modest comfort of air conditioning. We took our little Toyota Corolla all over the island. Many of the people we talked to gave us advice before heading to Tinian and told us to rent scooters because they were cheap and fun. We, however, found that many of those people did not see the same things we did on Tinian! I believe this is because of rain, dangerous pot holes, wasps, and terrain that sometimes required a car or ATV. For example, one place we visited not too far from the Dynasty Hotel was missed by some of our friends was the Barcinas Cannon (16cm cannon). On the Tinian map it is found on the west side of the island and is labeled “Japanese Defensive Gun.” The road leading to the cannon was more like a jungle trail and although the grass had been pushed down by previous visitors and their vehicles, you really would think it was just a random trail. Seeing nothing but random trail we knew that the cannon had to be somewhere nearby. We noticed there was a trail to the right that led to the cannon and an open grassy field area. You could get to it on scooter but it would have been really uncomfortable and dangerous because the grass was tall, slippery, and it began to rain for a short time while we were there. I’m glad we rented the car instead. While at the cannon I found what looks like a butter knife, but it is so sharp, I am wondering if it may have been used for some other purpose. Another example of a car being of good use is while trying to visit the Tinian Grotto and Fleming Point just down from the Barcinas Cannon. Due to the government not paying workers to cut trail for tourists we went down to try and find these two places and indeed we found the trails but even having gone so far in with our car we still could not get to the end in order to visit the Tinian Grotto. I have no doubt that in the current state of the trail it would be maddening to take a scooter as far in as we took our rental car, with a truck or ATV this would be no problem at all. If I took our rental car any further I would have damaged the paint and been fined, not to mention I could have gotten stuck and not been able to get out. This destination is also funny because the paved road ends shortly after the poor, dilapidated Sea Bees monument (if you can call it such). The Sea Bees, for those who do not know, is a branch of the Marines that build bases and roads etc…like those on Tinian. As we continued on the west side we visited sight 16 on the map which is “Unai Chulu” a beach that was an invasion beach for the Marines in July 1944 WWII. This beach is fairly shallow, but the sand is smooth and it was fun to just wade and relax in. After Chulu beach we visited the bomb pits where the atomic bombs were loaded. It was fun to drive on an old, abandoned WWII runway to see such a sight. If our car had wings I would have felt like a pilot during the war. At that point we returned to the hotel to get lunch as we were both famished from riding around in the car and from swimming. Oh and I forgot to mention that we did visit the remains of the “House of Taga.” The remains are of ancient latte stones that were used to hold up an ancient Chamorro house, primarily Chief Taga. There is ironically one stone still standing and I think there is a running joke about what will happen if that one stone falls over eventually perhaps the end of the world or at least Tinian.
After lunch my wife and I decided to see the east side of the island. We went and saw the Tinian blow hole that is seen on the map and is a popular tourist destination. Right next to the blowhole is a large fenced off area with signs that warn people to keep out due to unexploded ordinance. We also visited beaches on the east side, but can only remember the name of one of them. The one I remember was the Unai Dankulo Beach and Trail. While at this beach we did follow the trail that leads to ancient Chamorro latte stone ruins, but we did not find the ruins. Once we figured out where the trail head was we went in and walked along the trail, which is straight and then loops at the end. While on the trail we found 6 or so trail markers with historical information on them that was interesting and saw some Chamorro village remnants, but we never did see the latte stones. I believe we simply missed them because the trail was hard to follow. We knew there were more markers but could not see where the trail went and while following the one we had been following we hit the loop and it turned us around, so we just headed back. We were tired from the day and didn’t want to try and find the trail again after that, but at least we got out and did some exploring. It could be that the trail was just too over run, but if we had more energy we may have been able to find the trail again. In a way I have to look on the bright side I saw real latte stones at the House of Taga, I didn’t get lost, and I was with my wife of two years. I also enjoyed going to the top of Mt. Laso, which is not all that exciting really, but there is a foundation to an old army hospital near the top, which we visited. After all the fun we had we went to the Tinian version of Suicide Cliff and took pictures of the jump sight and the many memorials to fallen soldiers of both sides.
On our second day we spent most of it in the hotel pool, but also spent time at Taga Beach (which has a fun jump off) & Tachogna Beach (which is more rocky, but popular with locals). The only thing I forgot to mention are a few other Beaches we visited, small memorials, and WWII places that were near the bomb pits that we also visited. If I had the chance to do Tinian again, I would want to go on a couple more trails (we didn’t have time to hike all the trails) and perhaps rent an ATV if possible to better see the Tinian Grotto. All of the island trails looked like fun. I think that a person could spend more than two days in Tinian, if they like to be active and have the money to stay at the hotel or camp out somewhere. I think the more willing to explore one is the longer they could see themselves staying. Sorry for the blog being so long, if you are thinking of visiting Tinian 2 days may be more than enough, but for me…I could have stayed longer, if I had more money and more time. Kara will soon blog about her side of the story. Enjoy the pictures!

1. Me in front of the last standing latte stone at the House of Taga site.
2. Kara in front of the blow hole.
3. Me next to the Barcinas Cannon.
4. Kara checking out one of the atomic bomb pits.
5. The plane we flew in while on our way to Tinian from Saipan.
6. The Dynasty Hotel from the pool side (not the front of the hotel)
7. Kara and I at the cool jumping spot.
8. The faces I made in the sand of KJ and I as a memorial to our time spent on the island together. (We had a little help from some Chamorro children.)

Saipan Time: