Guam

Guam

We were greeted by Miss World Guam, complete with her tiara and high heels, who presented us both with shell necklaces and welcomed us to Guam.

It was a long ride from the US Navy dockyards where our ship was “parked”, into the town. After a short time we combined with another couple for a 4 hour plus drive around the island. The weather was not cooperating so we started in the rain at the Puntan Dos Amantes or Two Lovers Point where 2 lovers had jumped to their deaths after tying their hair together. Even in the rain it had superb views and was far too pretty a place to end your life.

                                                        Gail and the spectacular view

We stopped at the main museum but it was Monday so it was closed but we did tour the Catholic Cathedral where Pope John Paul had visited along with the famous GUAM sign. Across the road stood the Congress building.

                                                                   Congress

                                                           
                                                          ROB at GUAM

Lots of the stops were close so we visited many parks and landmarks.  At our next stop were Spanish houses and the “Spanish” bridge

San Antonio Bridge built in 1800

We visited the Senator Angel Santos or as it was previously   This is in a beautiful park setting, one of our favourite stops of the day.

called Latte Stone Park, home of the oldest traces of the Chamorro people with house pillars topped with bowl like stones dating back to as early as 500 BC.

                                                             The Latte Stones.

Another short drive and we arrived at Government House.  This was not open to the public but we were invited in by the painters working on the balustrade and gently thrown out by the housekeeper about 15 minutes later.

                                                      Inside Government House.

Nearby was the Hagatna Walking Trail and Fort Santa Aguda.  This was constructed in 1800 with guns to prevent enemy attack.  The lookout provided wonderful views.

                                                   Gail and Rob at the Lookout.

We moved on to the Pacific War Museum featuring items mainly from the US marines along with Japanese war exhibits.  There was a large section on the Japanese soldiers who remained hidden in the jungle till well after the war.  Two were captured in 1962 and the final one remained hidden till 1972.  They did not know the war was over!

The outdoor section contained many armaments and vehicles in quite an extensive display.

                                 Section of a Japanese Aichi D3A “Val” dive bomber.

We drove along the coast stopping at many lookouts and coastal scenes down as far as the southern tip of Guam.  

                                                Gail on the southern coast.

                                                      The southern tip of the island.

We drove to the Pacific Historical Park at Asan Beach but did not have time to visit the underwater observatory.  We did see a channel leading out to the sea that was teeming with tropical fish.

We finished the day in a traffic jam in a tropical downpour as we made our way back to the mall to join the shuttle to return  to the ship.