I went on a tour of the island today. What beautiful place. I heard some wonderful stories from our Chamorro guide, Dave, and saw some dynamite countryside. I have now seen brown tree snakes, latte stones, Spanish forts, Chamorro arts and crafts, and tourist junk shops. And I have eaten more Chamorro food.

The first stop of the tour was at the museum on the base. It is, unsurprisingly, devoted to WWII on Guam and in the Pacific. They have exhibits of weapons and photos of soldiers (Allied and Japanese) and combat conditions. There are uniforms and models of ships and aircraft. And out front they have a Japanese two man midget submarine.

Then we stopped at the USDA shed where we got a lesson in the animals of Guam and the brown tree snake. They showed us pictures of the birds of Guam, a live monitor lizard, and a live snake. The monitors here on Guam apparently get up to 5 feet long. They have very sharp claws and will scratch pretty badly if cornered or annoyed.

The snake population is controlled around the ports, shipping and airports. They have traps baited with live mice. The mice are in a separate compartment in the center of the trap. The snake climbs in, cannot reach the mouse and cannot get out either. They say they catch about 12,000 snakes a year. They brought out a live specimen, he looked to be about 4 or 5 feet long. It was hard to tell because he kept writhing about the man's arm. They showed us the teeth and the fangs.

Every ship and plane that leaves the island has to be inspected for snakes. The use small dogs, Britanny and Jack (something) terriers. We got a demonstration of the dogs at work. There were six cardboard boxes set out with snakes in two of them. Sure enough, when the little dog got to the snakes she sat down and was rewarded with a biscuit. Then they took us out back to see the snake pit. I was expecting a massive ball of writhing snakes. Instead it was a set of cages with about five of the snakes. Four of them were sleeping. The fifth was the one we had seen earlier. He was not a happy camper and kept striking at us.

After that we drove down around the southern end of the island stopping at various scenic overlooks. We saw Ceti Bay and Umatak with it's Spanish fort, Cocos Island, the Inarajan tide pools, Talofofo, and Ylig River. Then up through the middle of the island up to Two Lovers Point, a scenic overlook high on a cliff. Then it was off to the Chamorro Village for lunch. The Chamorro Village is a misnomer. It is actually an outdoor shopping area with touristy shops and restaurants. I got a fiesta plate consisting of rice, pancit, shrimp kelaguen, cole slaw (made with red cabbage), chicken and pork barbeque, and an item that can only be described as a shrimp flavored hush puppy. Other choices appeared to include whole tilapia (fish).

At Two Lovers Point I went into a gallery of Chamorro arts and crafts and saw some wonderful stuff including some original old artifacts, machetes and woodworking tools, and old carabao driven plow, and wood carvings and ceramics. I bought a book about Chamorro master craftsmen (men and women).

Later at the Chamorro Village I made an important discvery. I found a CD of traditional Chamorro chants but I'd spent so much on the book I couldn't shell out the $35 for the CD. However, I know it's out there so I am on my way.

After lunch we drove up to the Plaza de Espanol where we toured the old Spanish governor's house and then we walked over to see the latte stones and some Japanese caves. The plaza included the gardens, now just grass and hedges, and the original chocolate house where the governor would serve hot chocolate to his guests. The latte stones are the foundation stones of the old Chamorro homes. They were of different heights depending on the social status of the owner. These were seven feet high. There were 8 of them in 2 rows.

Then we were off to the heights to look down on Tumon Bay where the invasion came ashore in 1944. It's quite a view from up there. You can see the whole sweep of the bay with Agana laid out on the shore.

And, finally we came home. I had to wait out a rain squall before I rode my bike back to the room. I got here just in time. It is raining now. It was a wonderful trip and I am very glad I went.