News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 26 Dec 03 - 06:39 AM

could it be Theodore's rock, found in the centre of Guam, large, bear shaped and a sacred site (like our Uluru?) does it light up red at sunset?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Dec 03 - 07:40 AM

I haven't heard of Theodore's Rock. Bear Rock is a large rock sitting on the shore. It looks like a bear sitting on its haunches looking out to sea. It's a dark stone formation, possibly limestone, possibly volcanic rock.

Open Mike – Your son-in-law is going to have to wait until I get a computer that can handle a scanner. This one can barely haul itself into an awake mode so I can work. I use a film camera so there will be no downloaded images right away.

Haolie = white person on Guam and a few other islands.

The south has very few military installations. Anderson AFB is on the northern tip of the island. I work on Orote Point which is on the west coast at the midpoint of the island and forms the southern side of Apra Harbor. The south is very rural and the people like it that way. I do too.

Barbara – Good luck to David and to you in your new life without him at home. Happy New Year.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 06:20 AM

I haven't been able to get on the web since yesterday. Here is my report for Saturday. It was a good one. I went up to Nimitz Hill to the Seafarer's meeting. Larry was supposed to get a tattoo and there was a long lost son of the island revisiting for the holidays. As it turned out Maria was sick with the flu so no tattooing occurred. We had an interesting discussion about building sprayed concrete dome houses and then we got into a discussion on building the new utt (canoe house). Gordon wants to use pieces of concrete telephone poles. There are plenty of pieces lying around after the last supertyphoon. He has a plan and we discussed it at length. then we had to try to figure out how to ship an outrigger canoe down to Palau for FesPac next July. Some of the guys want to sail it down but that would require leaving in June and no one can get that much time off, much less our navigator. So we have to ship it which may require taking it apart and that is not the easiest thing to do.

All the while that was gong on we read abstracts about the canoes of Oceana written in the 18th and 18th century by such notables as William Dampier, Commodore Anson, and Woods Rogers. We are trying to figure out how the Marianas canoes differed from the canoes of the Carolina Islands and the rest of Oceana. Apparently one early name for the Marianas Islands was Islas De La Velas, which apprently refered to the many sails that plied north and south along this island chain.

We stood around the canoe discussing various aspects of its construction while Manny worked on the yahms with his adze. Then he started talking with one of the other guys about the Christmas Drops. The military on Guam collects necessities and some luxuries and airlifts them to the outer islands for Christmas. Most of those islands don't have airstrips so the stuff is dropped by parachute. Manny reminisced about being a boy and getting a pencil with an eraser and a pencil sharpener and a toothbrush. I could tell from his voice he was still excited about that grand gift.

And behind us two of the company were hard at work cooking in the outdoors kitchen. I was told they were preparing for an event in the afternoon so I gave it little thought. After a while one of them came out to the canoe and announced it was time to eat. We headed in under the carport and ate barbecued steaks and pork chops with taro root and tatillas. We ate with our fingers, no plates or cutlery. There was also some steak kelaguen that was pretty good. I must be getting used to it.

There were stories being told all around. They told of one man who was killed by a turtle. You see, to catch a turtle you swim down and grab it in a half nelson and then swim it to the surface. This guy apparently didn't notice that he had grabbed a female turtle that was being courted by a male. And the male didn't notice the human hanging on behind his love interest. And a male turtle's, uh, equipment, is as long as your arm and barbed… Let's just say love can kill you if you are not prepared for it… Charley, do you see a song in this?

They also got to talking about live ordnance left over from the war. They told of people who find old shells and bombs and remove the explosive to use for fishing. Manny told of a friend who built a fire for cooking while he (Manny) went fishing for lunch. Suddenly there was an explosion. Apparently they'd built their fire on a live grenade or something. His friend's neck was nicked by the shrapnel. Gordon told of using a metal detector to find a property marker. He had a strong signal and dug down a ways but found nothing. Later he decided to dig deeper to see what was there Almost right away his pick hit something hard. He brushed away the dirt to find an unexploded shell with a fresh scar where his pick had hit the detonator. Manny told of using old shells to support a big cooking pot over a fire. Some neighbors saw his rig and asked him to bring them some shells next time he went out so they could copy it. He brought them the shells and reminded them that they had to remove the explosive. Apparently they didn't. The last time anyone saw that cooking pot it was headed skyward. Manny says there were some injuries but he didn't elaborate. He also described some villagers trying to break open a bomb they'd found. They used a block and pulley to raise it up on end and then let it fall on some rocks. He never heard an explosion so he assumes they were either successful or they gave up. He didn't stick around to see for himself. He says the bomb was at least 8 feet long. He also described the military EOD team and how they came in and marked a whole bunch of unexploded ordnance with little flags for later defusing. They carefully explained to the people they had to avoid that area. When the team came back they found that all the shells were empty. The people had gone in and taken all the explosives out of them. It's all pretty hairy stuff.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 28 Dec 03 - 10:54 AM

Brett-

"They told of one man who was killed by a turtle."

This may have to be your new song. I'm burnt out from my "Barbie Lobster" collaboration, which I've just put to music.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 01:34 AM

I came to work this morning in a driving rain. Usually the clouds and rain clear off during the day and we end with a nice day. I was sure enough of this that I loaded my swimming gear into the truck. Now it's quitting time and for most of the day the rain has poured out of the sky. We had a glimpse of sun and blue sky but now the clouds are gathering again. Sigh.

They say this weather is supposed to last until Friday. Ordinarily Guam gets a little over 5" of rain in December. So far we've had over 10". This is SUPPOSED to be the dry season.

Tomorrow night I am headed for a New Year's Eve party. I have been asked to bring my guitar. I'm hoping to meet the other sea music fan on the island.

My Christmas packages just arrived from my family. I have a nice little pile of loot. I got a book on the samurai, an atlas of Middle-Earth, and a book on the making of Master & Commander. I also got a calendar with old photographs of New England and a shirt. Plus a CD of Mexican Waltzes. Interesting. My niece created a workof art for my refrigerator and wove a God's Eye for my Christmas tree. I also got my brother's annual Christmas letter with a picture of stockings hung with care... from the rigging of the sailboat they used to explore the coast of Belize!

And now it's quitting time and here comes some more rain... Sigh.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 02:52 AM

Have a very good New Year, Brett. You've certainly come a long way since this time last year! I'm really impressed!

SRS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 07:06 PM

It's funny you should mention that. I was thinking of the last year this morning and how things have changed in my life. My niece wrote, "to my most adventurous uncle" on the artwork she sent me. I am slowly getting over my last heartbreak and I find I am feeling better about myself. As long as I can keep on that track I will be fine. It can only get screwed up if I let someone into my life who isn't already in here with me.

To all of my friends who have helped me through the heartbreak and the move to Guam, thanks you and have a very happy new year.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 07:36 PM

Brett:

May your coming year be full of rich surprises and warm rewards.

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 09:47 PM

Any sign of snakes, Brett? Happy New Year!
Portland is warm and a bit cloudy. The last snow is almost gone. Bracing for January.
SINS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 05:34 AM

new year greetings from Sydney's entertainment capital at 9.30pm on New Year's Eve.

The noise generated by the 9pm fireworks has subsided - firework THUMPS & human screeching over for a few hours. Fortunately none of my neighbours appear to be having noisy parties, but there is the rumble of voices from nearby, and it is a bit early yet. I hope to be asleep before the real midnight noise starts.

I have a very tiny, almost unmeasurable, hearing difficulty & just for one moment wished I was the proud possessor of 2 hearing aids so I could remove them & miss all the noise.

bah humbug, I'm sure all the noise makers will have sore throats tomorrow & maybe hangovers!!

Of course if I was at a singing session with close friends I would feel differently, but most of my friends are away at festivals celebrating the change of years in a more civlized fashion than is being done around here.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 09:09 AM

happy new year - sydney 1.05 am!

I have just come back from Woolloomoolloo, by the harbour, on top of the roof of a 4 story building watching the midnight fireworks over the harbour!

fantastic - happy new year Brett, Sandra, Charlie, Judy and everyone else who reads this thread!

best wishes

amalina

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 03:56 PM

Amalina-

Happy New Year to you and all our friends in Sydney as well. We've still got 8 hours of 2003 to run but not to hurry, it's been a pretty fine year. And here's one to every one adjacent to Woolloomoolloo Harbour!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, gearing up for a quiet evening with Judy, 3 cats and one mouse at home

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 07:04 PM

Charley, did I mention that a better name for that mouse would be NotEven as in "...all through the house not a creature was stirring, NotEven a mouse..."?

Happy new year to all and to those on the other side of the International Date Line, hello from 2004.

Sins, actually there was a sign of snakes last night. I went over to Gordon's house to celebrate the evening. Gordon makes jewelry from various polished semiprecious stones. One of the styles he makes uses vertebra from snakes. He explained how he finds the snakes dead on the road and cuts off the head and tail and runs a wire up the spinal column. Then he sets it in water until the flesh dissolves away and he has a whole wire of jewelry accessories.

It was a nice gathering. I met members and friends of the family. Just before midnight we climbed ladders to the neighbor's roof to watch the fireworks disply at Rizol Beach. All around us was noise. A party at the end of the street had a sound system that broadcast all over the neighborhood. We were a block away and could barely hear each other. Guns and fireworks were blasting the night around us before, during, and after the official display. At one point I heard a fully automatic weapon going off somewhere close by. At midnight we toasted in the new year with sparkling cider and applauded the display.

And now, it's New Year's Day in Guam. The sun is shining and I am going to find some breakfast. I have to throw out most of the food in my kitchen as I plan to start the Atkins diet today and most of it is not compatable with that diet. Sigh. Throwing out food goes very deeply against the grain.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 07:53 PM

Better the grain than the groin...did I really say that?
M.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Dec 03 - 10:41 PM

Groan!

Still an hour and a half to go!

Charlie

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 01 Jan 04 - 12:26 AM

I still get a kick out of living on this side of the date line. By my calculations Charley and Sins are now 1/2 hour into the new year. While I slept away the wee hours of the day you were all attending to business, moving through the day I had just finished. Call me naive but I love it and it always surprises me.

Last night the crew got to talking about the green flash. For those who don't know about it this is a phenomenon that occurs just at sunset. Just as the sun disappears below the horizon there will be a brief, very vivid, green flash in the sky. According to the crew this takes place when you have a clear flat horizon, with no clouds obscuring the horizon. They've each been here over 30 years and each has only seen little more than a dozen of them. I have been looking forward to seeing it since I got here with no luck yet. According to these guys it can also happen at sunrise. It has been reported in Kansas and one Maine person has reported seeing it at sunrise. So, Charley and Sinsull, get up before the sun and get out there to check it out.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 01 Jan 04 - 12:52 AM

Happy New Year from New York! Thinking of you.

love,

barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 01 Jan 04 - 01:09 AM

I was without internet at home for several months, Brett, so I haven't been able to follow this thread very much. But I don't think I'll let that stop me from whishing you a very Happy New Year!!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 01 Jan 04 - 11:29 AM

Me??? Get up before sunrise to look for green flashes? Has the heat and humidity gone to your head? It is not going to happen, Brett. Happy New Year, officially.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Jan 04 - 12:24 PM

Happy New Year, everybody! No fireworks here last night and the midnight noise consisted of, I think, 3 firecrackers, and a couple of dogs barking. Pretty tame.

Naemanson, I hope you have a great day and a wonderful year. Thank you for this window into your world.

Eb

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Jan 04 - 07:11 AM

I went up to Gordon's "ranch" today. I put it in quotes because he doesn't grow anything up there, it is not a productive farm. However, I'm beginning to think that "ranch" is a generic term and doesn't necessarily mean "farm". Back home many people have a house situated on a lake. Some of these are rather rustic, others are full scale houses. But they are all called camps. I think "ranch" is the Guam term for the same thing. But none of the ranches are on the water. Instead they are in the boonies, the bush, the outback, the boondocks, the jungle, etc.

I have been thinking more and more of staying here until I retire. I keep thinking of buying a house and settling here. Gordon wants to build monolithic domes. You can see what he wants to do if you look here. I am kind of taken with the idea.

Saturday I was just heading out the door to go to the weekly meeting of the Seafarers when the plumber arrived to replce the broken bathroom sink. He also had to repair the leak on the toilet upstairs. It took them a while and when they were done the toilet still leaked because he had only replaced the angle valve and had not brought a replacement water pipe. And there is no hot water in the sink because he had not brought, wait for it, a replacement water pipe. So he'll probably be back next weekend to finish the job. Sigh, I'd complain but it isn't me paying for it.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 04 Jan 04 - 07:45 AM

it looks like a big hobbit hole, naemanson!

could be a good investment..

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 05:51 PM

It occurs to me whenever I drive around here that I haven't mentioned the names of the many convenience stores around the island. I sometimes wonder at the difference in culture that leads to naming conventions. Back home we either have chains of stores like 7-11 or Cumberland Farms or we have the little mom and pop stores like Tyler's Market. Stores back home are named for the owners or the location.

Here they seem to pick out words that bring a positive connotation. Thus you get the Joy Market, Happy Computers, and Luck Store. Most of the stores I've been into seem to be run by Korean families. Maybe that is the method they use back home. It's interesting to see these differences.

I am also still looking forward to... the Christmas specials. For some reason our TV runs two weeks behind mainland USA. So this Thursday we will have the Christmas day specials on some of the channels we watch. ACM will have Christmas cowboy movies and SciFi will be running Twilight Zone all day (I think). We still have Christmas commercials too. If I see that Santa riding the electric shaver one more time I'm gonna barf.

Merry Christmas!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Jan 04 - 06:34 PM

Koreans often give their businesses names like "Lucky" and "Happy". I always thought it as an attempt to attract good fortune.

This week I saw a History Channel program on Hawaii which mentioned that the natives called whites "howlies" (sp?). Odd coincidence? Wonder how the term made it to Guam.

What are the acoustics like in one of those domes, Brett?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 12:49 AM

I think haolie is a generic term used around the Pacific just as a--hole is used in many parts of the USA. *Grin*

I'll have to check on the acoustics. That will be a stumper of a question for Gordon.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 01:59 AM

Well, it's official. The rainfall for 2003 came to 100.35 inches or just over 8 feet. The average annual rainfall is about 83 inches. The rainfall for December alone was 20.33 inches and October was 21.74. No wonder this place is humid.

Looking at a graph of the numbers the increased rainfall seems to coordinate with my arrival on the island. But that couldn't be, could it?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 09:02 AM

the Rain Gods welcomed you to Gaum, Brett

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 09:31 AM

hmm

hmm rainfall is a consideration if you're buying property - is Guam one of those shallow islands that are worried about going under? I work with several Pacific Island communities and a couple of them have genuine fears about water levels, given global warming.

(better keep those gumboots handy!)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 06:40 PM

I believe most of this island is safe even if the Antarctic ice sheets melt. As I remember the estimate is that world sea levels would go up 20 to 30 feet if that happened. Most of this island is higher than that. The land slopes gently up from the water for a way and then runs up into a cliff line that varies from 50 to 200 feet high. We'd probably end up as two islands with the center swamped at high tide but I can easily find a house lot that is out of reach of the water. Right now I live at quite a high elevation up in the hills. Of course the office would be gone but who cares about that!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 08:54 PM

Glacial melt brings eary retirement for Naimanson! I can see the Mudcat headlines now. In fact, I've just written them.

Brett, we're freezing here now in Maine and I thought you'd like to know. It was 7 F this morning and it's supposed to be colder for the rest of the week. Send us a coconut.

Cheerrrrrrily,
Charrrrrrley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 09:53 PM

It's really not that cold, Brett. I still haven't dug out my winter coat.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 12:01 AM

7 degrees. Should I send you my ice scraper? It has been unemployed since last April. It sits by the door hoping for cold weather and every day I have to tell it, "Not today, buddy!"

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 08:41 AM

it's been stinking hot here in sydney. i had to go and sit by the harbour and have cool drinks to recover!

fred

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: The Barden of England
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 08:47 AM

It's raining heavily here in Kent, S.E. England, but it's not cold - about 13 degrees Celsius. Not bad for early January in England. We need the rain as we have a drought would you believe.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 02:41 PM

It's a bit after noon and it just got up to zero (F) (that's about 18 below for you Celsius folks). Of course, with the wind chill it feels about 19 below (or -28C). Are you sure you don't want to come and visit, Brett?

Hmm - I wonder where I can find rainfall charts for Maine - I have a feeling we've had a lot less rain than average since last spring....

JudyB

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 06:40 PM

For the last several weeks my family has been on pins and needles because my dad needed an operation to repair an aneurism on his aorta. On Thursday morning he went under the knife. They had to lift out a lung and move his diaphragm to get in to work on the problem. It was close to the spinal cord and there was some danger of paralysis. I just spoke to Mom and she says he came out of surgery OK and has even moved his legs. He will be in intensive care for the next 72 hours and in the hospital for about a week before he can go home. That will be the hardest on him. He is too active to be able to lie around for a week.

One of the problems they had in preparing for the surgery is that his heart beats too slowly. Apparently his resting heart rate is 38. Even with exercise they couldn't get it up over 60. They had to put a pacemaker in to speed it up for the surgery for some reason. My sister was laughing about the anesthesiologist watching the pulse and sweating as he waited for the next beat. At a heartbeat every 1 1/2 seconds he could be dead a long time before they realized it.

But he's a tough old coot. I imagine he'll be back out in his shop before the end of the month.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 07:35 PM

Best wishes for your father, Brett. I can easily imagine him in his hospital bed, chomping on the bit to get home.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 11:47 PM

I'm pleased to hear that it went okay Brett,

best wishes - freda

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 12:09 AM

Naemanson, my father also had a very slow pulse and low blood pressure. As he got old, it became a problem on occasion- if he stood up too quickly, he swooned. Two months before he died- in good health and at age 93- the doctor prescribed pills to speed the rate but it finally got him.

There are very much worse ailments. The best of luck to your dad, and to your family.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 06:28 AM

Brett - best wishes to the tough old coot!


welcome, new member JudyB - I hope you enjoy your stay at Mudcat, we're all mad - some a bit more than others! but we are a lovely lot of people.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 08:03 AM

I object to that, being called mad. there are three sane people on the 'Cat - Me, Myself, and I. The only time things get lively around here is when we get into an argument.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 08:12 AM

surely you are not different to the rest of us? Good thing you have your 2 friends, otherwise you'd be lonely (so don't argue with them!)

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 11:17 AM

We are having truly impressive low temps in the NE USA at the moment. My new little car told me this morning that the outside temp was -1 degree F.! Wind chill is taking it much lower. I understand Maine is even cooler.. Don't you wish you were here, Brett?

love,

Barbara

P.S.--Best to your dad!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Jan 04 - 06:44 PM

Gee, Barbara, let me think about that. Do I wish I were in sub zero temperatures? Yesterday I took my team to Gab Gab Beach for a staff meeting. We sat at a picnic table and carried on business as the trade winds tossed the casuarina pines and with whitecaps danced on the bay. The wind was pretty strong and a solitary windsurfer raced across the bay. As we talked the Atlantis surfaced not far from where we sat. The Atlantis is a tourist submarine, taking people on a tour of the reefs and showing off the beauty of the underwater wildlife. After the meeting I drove back to the office taking a side trip to San Louis Beach ostensibly to check that the lifeguards were posted there as well.

If I were in Maine I would have been huddled over a space heater in a cold office and would end the day trudging through ice and snow to my truck and racing for the warnth of my apartment...

Sorry Barb, but I have to prefer this place.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 07:54 AM

At the Seafarer's meeting today we got to talking about building a traditional canoe with modern materials. The hull would be strip molded and the wooden members would be laminated beams. The hull would replicate the Quest, our current canoe and the rig would be the same. The idea is not to improve on the tradition. The intent is to build a canoe that the rest of us can train in and learn to sail. If we can we might even be able to raise enough interest that we could start having canoe races in the bay. That would be a sight to see.

We also talked about going to Manny's home island. As it turns out he isn't from Puluwat after all but from Hoak. Gordon wants to go down there and I want to go too. It's a rather complicated trip. First we'd have to fly from Guam to Chuk (the correct name for Truk Lagoon). That runs three times a week. We'd catch the Sunday flight. Then we'd catch the flight from Chuk to Puluwat. That runs on Tuesdays. Then we'd find someone to take us the 20 miles out to Hoak on a powerboat. Gordon figures the round trip would take two weeks with a week and a half on the island. Total distance traveled? Round trip about 1,000 miles.

This is a whole different way to travel as compared to grabbing a flight to the other coast.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 10 Jan 04 - 09:42 AM

Good decision, Brett. Today, it's even colder. Just wanted to help you feel happy in your new home. I'll be updating my "bbc has moved" thread after a couple more developments here.

love,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Jan 04 - 07:01 PM

Sunday was a beautiful day. Bright blues skies held a few puffy clouds and a brilliant sun. Early on a heard from Gordon that he and his wife would take me up on my offer to take them out to the Spanish Steps. They can't get on the base because they don't work there. Gordon's been here 30 years and his wife was born here. Neither had ever seen the steps.

Now, the myth is that the Spanish built the steps so they could get water from the well at the bottom of the cliff for the fort at the top. That myth has been passed around so often the edges are worn off. It has a nice comfortable feel. However, it is a lie. Larry has done the research and knows they were built by the U. S. Marines around 1900. He mentions it every time someone mentions the Spanish Steps. His objections are starting to feel worn too.

We started out at the cliff top ninety feet above the jungle. There is a nearly vertical drop with a length of 2 inch nylon braided hawser running down the cliff. There are plenty hand and foot holds but climbing backwards down a cliff is not the most secure feeling in the world. That only runs about 15 feet or so and then there is an old iron ladder for another 10 feet. After that you are on a steep path that works its way down the slope. Here and there are the remnants of the "Spanish Steps". They are concrete and coral structures built into the cliff face. They certainly don't look Spanish to me. The rope runs on with additional ropes to help out as needed. They are very useful. There is loose gravel underfoot and a dizzying drop to your right. The jungle is thick and quiet. We aren't anywhere near the water yet.

After a few more short vertical drops we reach the jungle floor and the well. It is a square stone structure jutting up from the ground. It's about 6 feet deep. There is no water. It has been filled with dirt over the centuries if that's how old it is. While Larry claims the Marines made the steps he has no knowledge of the age of the well.

Now we have to walk in single file along a path recently cut into the jungle. It winds through the stands of Frederica, Fadang, Papaya, Daok, Myrtle, and the various vines that hang from the trees. Spider webs surround us and huge hermit crabs trundle along under foot. The jungle is quiet. There are almost no forest birds left on the island thanks to the tree snake. We see old lures for attracting the coconut crab hanging from the steep cliff walls. I hear an occasional whine of the Guam mosquito. There are old rotting coconuts underfoot with holes cut in them by the crabs. At one point we see a broken coconut swarmed by hermit crabs.

After a relatively long walk we emerge into the sunshine. We have found a tropical paradise. Before us in a long wide ribbon of brilliant blue-green is a flowing tide of water surrounded on all sides by jungle and cliff walls. A ridge of rock make a 10 foot high island topped with green plant life. Through the space between that rock and the main land is a mushroom shaped rock, worn at the bottom by the continuous wave action and topped with more green plant life. The water would be crystal clear if it weren't for the current flowing through. It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

The beach is not sand but coral fragments and limestone. The jungle is thick at our backs. The sun is bright and reflects off the white rocks. We take pictures of each other and the surroundings knowing the camera will never to justice to the sight.

It's hot. We are sweaty and we didn't come prepared to swim. We sit in the shade and drink the water we brought. If you freeze a bottle of water and carry it with you then you will have cold water to drink along the trail. It helps. There is very little trash on the beach. Gordon picks up an ancient Coca Cola bottle and a twisted hunk of metal that may be bronze or copper and stuffs them into his pack.

After we leave that beach we head in to find the other beach and the cave that is supposed to be down there. Larry had said the cave was off to the left of the trail. We figure we will have to cut through the jungle to find it and are discussing our options when the cave appears in front of us. It's deep and tall with walls rippling with curves. There is light at the other end from the back entrance. This was supposedly used in the pre-latte time frame around 3500 BCE. Archeologists have excavated artifacts that place humans there at that time.

We wander now back to the well and take the other path. After scrambling up and down through some rough ground we come out on a big sand beach looking at the harbor entrance. There are some people here sitting on towels in swimsuits. We wander down the beach to where the cliff meets the water. There is a bit of surf and the waves are noisy. There by the cliff face the waves bounce off and form reflection waves the meet the new surf at and angle and make for a wild spray of water. The colors are bright blue and white and the sand is soft under foot. There is a lot of flotsam on this beach, trash that has washed ashore and will be exchanged for different trash in the next storm. There are ingle shoes and flipflops, foam buoys, a huge rubber ship's fender, bottles and cans and a tangle of two fishing reels and monofilament. Gordon tells of watching the surf from the Glass Breakwater there across the harbor mouth and how two waves collided and sent enough water into the air that it swept three of them off their feet. One of them dislocated her shoulder and two of them lost their glasses but they stayed out of the bay.

We finally head back up to the cliff. I dread the climb but we take it easy, resting along the way. The mosquitoes are thicker up here but they are nothing compared to Maine's mosquitoes. Finally we are at the top and back at the car. It's almost 4:00 and we are hungry. As we drive out Gordon talks of the fossil crabs he used to collect at Dadi Beach. We head over there and walk the beach studying the sand. He starts to find them almost at once. He has a good eye but the sun is low now and the shadows are lengthening. He says this is the hardest time to find them. In less than an hour he's picked up about a pound of crabs. None are complete but they are all distinctly crabs.

All in all it was pretty nearly a perfect day.

Sorry about the present tense of this post. It seemed to flow that way.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Jan 04 - 08:33 PM

Nice work, Punchenelo!

Charley Noble, another day of subzero weather in Maine

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 11 Jan 04 - 09:12 PM

Wow - what a wonderful day!

Our day was also nice, though a bit different. Here's a little reminder of what December is like in Maine - thought you might like it as wallpaper for your computer!

Thanks again for sharing your adventures - it does sound wonderful and magical.

   JudyB

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Jan 04 - 12:26 AM

Judy, I forwarded your picture to some friends here in the office. They decided that thermometer must be broken. I tried to assure them that it really gets that cold in Maine but they are skeptical.

I have made my airplane reservations for coming home! I fly into Manchester, NH, on March 6, rent a car, and drive up to my sister's house in Monmouth. Then I'll head up to Houlton for a week. I am not telling my mother of this. I plan to walk into the kitchen and calmly announce, "I was in the hemisphere and thought I'd drop in." Dad knows and was chortling to himself about it before his operation. It will be a big surprise. I only hope the class doesn't get cancelled or I will be out my money.

I will be in San Diego from February 23 to March 5 attending the class and pestering Amos and anyone else I can pester. Stand by SD, I am on my way.