The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #100155 Message #2027741
Posted By: Naemanson
17-Apr-07 - 08:58 AM
Thread Name: Thinking about leaving Guam. Nah, bought a house!
Subject: RE: Thinking about leaving Guam.
Well I suppose I should get started with the description of our weekend. After all, another weekend has gone by and the dream that is Rota is fading. Here is the first installment.
Now, you must understand the difference between Rota and Guam. Here on Guam life is pretty good. We live in the southern part of the island, the rural area, if you will. The Northern part of the island is pretty much an urban center, probably one of the most urbanized areas in the North Pacific (i.e., north of the Equator) if you leave out islands like Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Rota, on the other hand calls itself Nature's Treasure Island and they are not wrong.
Rota is the next island north of us. It is smaller than Guam, only 85 square miles as opposed to Guam's 210 square miles, and it has a much smaller population. Rota has only about 3,000 people. Guam is fairly crowded with 170,000. That makes a world of difference. When we got back to Guam I commented to Wakana that it was like going to Boston after a weekend up at my parent's place. We went from clean country living to the big city.
The geography of the island is very interesting. It seems to have raised itself up out of the ocean in layers. The highest, smallest layer is relatively flat on top. Each layer below that one is larger and also flat. The lowest layer rises steeply from the ocean in places while it is at sea level in others but that does not mean you can actually get to the sea for all around are razor sharp ragged edges of the limestone that makes up the whole island. The only easy access to the ocean are the shores around Songsong Village.
Wakana has been to Rota many times. She wrote her master's thesis on ecotourism on the island. She spent a lot of time there talking to people and getting to know the ins and outs of the place. She loves it and she wanted me to see why. So, she gathered up her secret money stash and bought two plane tickets.
We flew out on Friday at 7:00 AM. The plane was small, only 27 seats, and we expected to have it all to ourselves until a tour group of Japanese showed up. They were having fun and we got to talk to them. They all belong to the same company. It was a company trip, paid for by their firm and overseen by their CEO. The people were all in their twenties and thirties, men and women.
I learned a lot about Japanese corporate thinking on this trip. Wakana explained that the companies provide such travel opportunities in an effort to create a team mentality. I asked about the possibility of office romance and learned that it is common, not frowned on, unless it is an extramarital affair. I guess the idea is that the man and woman can spend time together and still work for the company.
ANYWAY, the flight was uncomfortable because the seats were so small but it was short. We landed on Rota in the cool morning air. It was quick work to get through immigration, collect our luggage and get through customs. Wakana rented a car and we headed off to find a hotel.
Yes, we had no reservations anywhere. I didn't think that was a good idea, it was a holiday in Japan and the Easter Weekend in the States. The hotels must be full. Unfortunately for Rota, they were not. We drove by the Rota Golf Resort and saw an empty Golf course. We stopped at the Rota Hotel and found a deserted lobby. When we finally found the manager he explained that they had only one room booked in a one hundred room facility. We found the same story everywhere we went.
We decided to stay at the Coconut Village Hotel. This is a very pleasant wooden set of buildings, actually like an old style American motel with cottages instead of a large block of rooms. The grounds were nicely landscaped. The cottages were little duplexes, two rooms each with a Japanese style bathroom (i.e., cramped) and two full size beds. Do you remember the full size bed? Not small enough to be a twin but not large enough to be a double. Do you know how tall I am? Let's just say that my feet got lots of air time.
To get to the hotel we drove from the airport. This is a good point to talk about the roads we used in Rota. The main road from the airport to the two villages is a nicely maintained asphalt two lanes leading down by the shore. The roads in the village are also asphalt and though narrow are easily followed. But, you see, we didn't stay on those roads.
There are many names for roads. Some of you are near superhighways, some near interstate highways. There are roads with four lanes and a median and those with a turn lane. Then we get down to the simple roads, two lanes and a shoulder if you have to stop. At the lowest level are those that we call unimproved. Many of us are familiar with the dirt road. What you don't know about are the roads below that level… Rota's roads.
Consider the washed out road, rocks and gravel under the car, the popping sound the tires make and the grind of the grit under the car, the sickening side slip as you try to climb a steep grade with a cliff on one side and tree tops below you, the bumping and thump of the road rubbing the bottom of the car, the swish of the grass that grows high between the low ruts, and then you have an idea of a Rota road.
And in what did we brave these winding tracks? What could stand up to such punishment? Do you imagine a four wheel drive truck with oversize tires and a roaring engine. Oh no, gentle reader, we didn't have anything like that. Our chariot for exploring the depths of Rota was a 1994 Nissan Sentra sedan. My respect for Nissan went way up over that weekend.
On the first day Wakana wanted to show me everything but we settled for the Swimming Hole, the Fishing Cliffs, and the Bird Sanctuary. The water was too rough for the swimming hole which is a very large tide pool carved out of the coral that makes up the shore. The waves wash over the reef and into the pool filling it with clean new seawater. At low tide it is supposed to be a lovely place to go for a refreshing swim but we never saw it at low tide.
From there we went on to the fishing cliffs, As Matmos. We drove out a long track that brought us on to a large shelf, maybe half a mile wide between the cliffs that towered over us and the sea that stretched out beyond. When we walked over to look at the surf we found we were at the top of a cliff that fell fifty to seventy five feet to sea level. And what a sight! Those waves that kept us out of the swimming hole were crashing into the cliffs and sending white sheets of spray high over our heads. And it wasn't just a localized event. The cliffs run on for at least a mile with white water crashing all along the length. There are blow holes and thunder holes. The sound is deep and constant. The cliff tops are wet with seawater from a long way down. It is an amazing sight.
From there we headed for the Bird Sanctuary. One of the amazing things about Rota, for me, is the multitude of birds. Guam's bird population has been decimated by the brown tree snake. We have some sparrows, lots of pigeons and chickens, and a few protected species like the Guam Rail. But Rota has a full population. As you drive down the roads doves fly up in front of the car. Black Drongos cling to tree branches and fences. You see an occasional francolin and plover. We also saw huge collared kingfishers and once I saw a scarlet honeyeater flash among the trees.
At the sanctuary you can follow concrete walkways through the trees to yet another cliff edge. The actual sanctuary is at the bottom of the cliff, way below you where the trees look like toys. Among the trees are white dots that are the egrets that migrate through the Marianas Islands. Flying out to sea are the boobies and frigate birds. Small black sparrows flap swiftly by. And this was in the sleepy afternoon. In the early morning the sky is full of birds as they head out hunting for food from the sea and forests.
From there we headed for the latte stone quarry. In the old days, long before the Europeans found Guam, the Chamorros lived in house held up off the ground by carved stone posts. The upright carried a half round stone on which rested the timbers that made up the floor of the house. The two pieces are called latte stones. The more important the family the larger the lattes. The quarry we visited holds the remains of lattes that were never finished and they are huge. Nobody knows why they quit making and using lattes but I have my own favorite theory. After seeing the size of the stones in the quarry my imagination went to work.
In my theory there were a bunch of people working on carving the stones when one of them piped up and said, "You know, we have to move this to the chief's hose and set it up. Then we have to lift this big bastard up over our heads."
"You know," said his buddy, "you're right." He turned to the guy on his other side and they all talked about it and concluded they were being jerked around and they weren't going to take it anymore. And that was the end of the latte period.