A Walk Through Jungle and Ocean

A subject of great contention and discussion in Guam is the apparent expansion of military to the island. Basically a huge amount of personnel are moving here from Japan. With this expansion, more land will be designated as accessible for only military, including important Chamorro historical sites. Pagat Cave, the area we hiked to this weekend, is one of these places and the local newspaper has encouraged locals to see sites like these while they can.

Pagat cave is filled with waxy candles, trash (as is found, unfortunately, in most naturey places on the island), but is interesting because one has to wade through water to a large stalagtite and pond filled room. We swam around, dove through passageways, and found an interesting bouldering problem for some "shallow water cave soloing."

Outside of the cave we hiked over to the Philippine Ocean which is still beautifully untouched by human development (we'll see after the expansion comes) and is bordered by sharp rocks, tide pools, and crashing waves.

On Sunday, Darren and I played beach volleyball with friends at the ABC. I then dropped off Darren so he could go hiking, and I tried unsuccessfully to help with a health fair (I got lost). I read while waiting for Darren to return and then he and I tried to meet some peeps at Gun Beach for some snorkeling and SCUBA diving. We saw some turtles, puffer fish, and a various assortment of other wildlife. When we were finished, I was still bummed that I had missed out on Darren's hike because I hadn't even been able to help anyone at the clinic. Darren agreed to hike a little bit with me before the sun set. It was beautiful weather and the sky was magnificient. Even though our walk probably was just an hour or so I really enjoyed walking through the tide pools, talking with the fishermen, and feeling the cool water around my legs.

Myriads of starfish, sea cucumbers, and sergeant majors surrounded us

This is a view of Tumon from our hike through the cliff near Gun Beach