Pacific

A Guam Thanksgiving I’m guessing that most people from the U.S. who have vacationed in Guam were drawn there by military friends and family. That’s why I went. But now that I’ve been, I know a lot of reasons to visit Guam – the beautiful beaches, hiking, diving, the tropical sun and flowers. World War II history. Asian, Australian and Russian tourists come to enjoy the natural beauty and the entertainments of Guam USA. You can, too. I went to Guam for a special Thanksgiving with friends. It was a hot day, a view of the Pacific over the palms and chicken adobo for the main course. A refreshing change from chilly weather with turkey and gravy! I enjoyed my Thanksgiving, and my friends devoted the rest of the holiday to making sure that I saw the island’s main attractions – the beautiful, the historical, the interesting and the weird. The beautiful – beaches and a mountain I experienced several beaches, and found that whatever you want in a beach, there’s one for you in Guam – scenic beauty, family-friendly, resort beach, hidden beach. These are my favorites, although it’s hard to choose. Haputo Beach. I couldn’t have found this beach on my own. It’s on Haputo Ecological Preserve (on U.S. Navy property) at the north end of Guam. We drove a steep road down into the trees where we bounced through wheel-swallowing potholes full of water and frogs. Then we walked a jungly, slippery path to the shore. But – wow – white sand, protective cliffs, jungle growing right up to the beach, clouds of black butterflies, red hermit crabs, rusted detritus from a shipwreck – I was in love. Could I ever love another beach? Haputo Beach Asan Beach. This pretty beach along Highway 1 is easy to get to and has good parking. As an extra treat, they say it’s easy to find dark blue starfish here. Kids can find them pretty fast, but it took me a long time, and I’m not sure the one I found was alive. I didn’t nudge it or try to pick it up. Still, I have its picture and even if it was dead, it still looked good. Asan beach is part of the War in the Pacific National Park. Tarague Beach. I’m so fickle. I loved this beach too. More white sand and cliffs, but with rocks and rock pools that I don’t remember from Haputo. Tarague is on Andersen Air Force Base. You’ll need a base pass to visit. Gab Gab Beach. Another pretty beach on a base, this time Naval Base Guam. As with Tarague, you’ll need a base pass. It’s a good family beach, with easy swimming, a three-sided ocean pool and lots of sea life. The day we went to Gab Gab wasn’t pretty though –it was cloudy and then rained. And unhappily, I left my dry clothes at home, so rode back damp, wrapped in towels. It seemed like a long drive, especially with the stop for groceries. I didn’t fall in love again, but give Gab Gab a visit on a nice day and you might. And don’t forget something to change into. Mountain climbing, sort of Mt. LamLam (Lightning) is the highest point on the island. If you consider that its base is in the Marianas Trench 6.8 miles below sea level, it’s the highest gain in elevation on the planet. We decided to climb it. Local people carry crosses up the mountain on Good Friday and flatten the tough six-foot-high grass, which makes it a good time to climb, but nothing like that happens at American Thanksgiving. For the most part we could see a path, although it was steep and rocky in places. And then there was the sword-like grass that was taller than I am. Add on clouds of insects each time we passed under clumps of dwarf trees. We hadn’t really prepared and only got part way up. I was a little embarrassed when a man carrying his son on his shoulders came trotting down from the top. That’s when you then you say, “We should have kept going.” But I’m not ashamed of getting part of the way there, and when we turned to go back, our view was of steep hillsides, tropical greens and the Philippine Sea beyond. Nice. Later on I read that the ridge of the Good Friday crosses is not on Mt. LamLam but on Mt. Jumullong Manglo. You’re on the way to Mt. LamLam, though. I also read on a climbing site that the Mt. LamLam summit is a windy pinnacle that’ll accommodate one person at a time. That person won’t be me. The history – Guam and WWII – War in the Pacific Guam and the surrounding waters were WWII battlefields. Even without trying you’ll see some of Guam’s many WWII sites. For more, you can plan your own tour, or book a guided tour. The War in the Pacific National Historical Park includes former battlefields, gun emplacements, trenches, and historic structures. There is also a small partially open-air Pacific War Museum with vehicles, artifacts and displays. An enthusiastic guide tells visitors that all the museum’s WWII trucks run – stopping is the problem. Wonder how many times a day he says that? The museum has a tidy, homespun quality that made it seem especially poignant. Sergeant Yokoi’s cave – or a replica – is in Talofofo Falls Park. Shoichi Yokoi (1915-1997) was stationed on Guam during the Japanese Occupation. After the U.S. re-took Guam, he hid in the jungle for almost 28 years. Sergeant Yokoi was found in 1972. The interesting – life and culture Guam Museum’s mission includes promoting appreciation of Guam’s culture and natural heritage. The Latte of Freedom is part of the complex. A real latte is a pillar capped by a stone, used as a building support by the Chamorro people. The Latte of Freedom is a very large latte-shaped viewing tower, overly-concrete for me,