It was a delayed start this morning due to the very late arrival of the Immigration officials. We waited patiently, or less than patient at times for over an hour for their arrival… Once we completed Immigration, Ann, Cathy, Ellie and I met our driver Noel at the port gate and we started our Guam adventure. I used Dino’s independent taxi owned by Noel in 2013 and he graciously agreed to chauffeur us on this island adventure…by the way, we left few stones unturned in Guam. Noel had a planned itinerary and we started the day at the Pacific National Park overlooking Asan Beach and Agat where the former battlefields, trenches and historic structures serve as a silent reminder of the bloody World War II battles. Onto Ga’an Point, the landing beach used by the US Marines to retake Guam from the Japanese on July 21, 1944… here we saw the camouflage bunkers used by the Japanese. Continuing along the south shore of Guam we arrived at the double arched Talifak Bridge – a prime example of Spanish architecture from 1785. Exploring the tropical beauty of Guam, we stopped for photos at Umatac Bay to see the Magellan monument honoring the discovery of Guam in 1521.. We continued to Fort Soledad for breathtaking vistas of the surrounding landscape and ancient canons overlooking the Pacific Ocean. A favorite beach hangout, Jeff’s Pirates Cove, was a welcome midday stop. We made our way to Two Lovers Point where we had lunch overlooking stunning views of the ocean. Our next stop was Gun Beach in the hotel district, Fort Santa Agueda and to Latte Stone Park to see the Chamorro pillars (latte) used in construction of houses as early as 500 A.D. I included a photo of an illustration showing how the Chamorro pillars were used…. We made our way to the Hagatna Boat Basin to see the small replica of the Statue of Liberty that is visible to boats approaching the harbor. We made a brief stop at the Governors Complex to climb the Latte of Freedom towering above Guam but unfortunately it was closed. Our last stop of the day was the beautiful Asian Beach Park that we have seen earlier in the day from on high. This Park stands alongside the Philippine Sea and was the one of the sites the US military landed during the liberation to retake Guam in 1944. We had a delightful day in a beautiful tropical island. This a two part blog, this is part 2.
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