Scuba Diving in Guam

I was in Guam for more than 4 weeks. It was another business trip with my second company/employer. I remember landing at the airport, which was overlooking the city and the sea. Guam is pretty much small; we were able to drive around the main island of Guam in about two hours! I liked it. It was small and sunny. I can say it has the best of both worlds. As my boss says, you live a life like you are in the Philippines due to similar weather and timezone, but you earn green money!

We walked along Tumon Bay, and they say it's a smaller version of Hawaii's famous beaches. Hotels line up the bay area. It was something new to me since in Manila, all hotels are enclosed and thoroughly airconditioned, while in Guam, they bath in the sun's radiance. I noticed though, that most of the signs are in Japanese. I learnt that the most frequent tourists in Guam are Japanese, so they had to adjust to them. Guam also had its share of war stories. We went to the South Pacific Memorial Park, which is in memory of the people who died on the war with the Japanese. We chanced upon a wedding being done in the nearby church/chapel. And yes, the Japanese choose to take vacations here than in their own country since it would be cheaper to go abroad. Isn't that weird?

The highlight of my trip to Guam was to try scuba diving. It was sooo exciting! We took a short lecture, classroom-type, for just about 30 mins. We were taught the basic underwater signals, how to get your reg when you loose it, and how to control your BC. Then off we go to the beach, at Piti Bomb Hole. Entering through the beach was haaaard. Our tanks were heavy and we had to walk till it gets deep. It took more than a kilometer to go to the deep part of the beach. My legs and back were aching. Then after a few more practice and last minute lecture, the divemasters led us to the deep, just 20 feet or 7 meters. I loved the feeling of being one with the ocean though I had trouble controlling my depth underwater. I was going up and down like crazy, my divemaster had to hold me instead. This caused me to spit out blood when we surfaced. Bad bad mistake. So underwater, there were fish of all colors and anemones! I waved at the people behind the metal wall that separate us. They waved back. They are in the Fish Eye Underwater Observatory. Below me were a few women in skimpy swimsuits enjoying the Seawalk tour. They were wearing helmets like the old and ancient divers used. Interesting, really.

I spent a weekend with my workmate's family gathering at the Ritidian Point. White sand. It was nice too. The tide was low so I was able to walk to the far end. I was curious when one man was at a distance and fishing from there. I walked over many sea cucumbers to get near him when my workmate warned me not to go further. I was disappointed. I wanted to go where the man was but she explained it's dangerous at that distance. She said Ritidian is like a mushroom-type stucture where it's shallow in the top of it then suddenly breaks into deep waters. Falling off would entail death. Ok, fine. So I walked back to the shore with her.

Another interesting tourist spot is Two Lover's Point, the tourist Mecca of Guam. "Legend states that two 'star-crossed lovers' tied their hair together and jumped to their death in order to avoid a marriage arranged for the girl with a Spanish occupation officer. During and sometime after WW11 this was known as "Suicide Cliff" because the enemy rather die that way than meet the US Marines; also they thought it was a disgrace to surrender, so they jumped." [source: somewhere in the internet]

Going to Underwater World was my favorite. I have never been to any place like that before. It amazed me! I think my friends think I was crazy because I turned into a 5-year-old in astonishment. It was there that I saw a real Manta Ray swimming above me. We also got the chance to pet on starfish.

In the midst of all these natural sights and vast ocean view, lies a modern city. They have K-mart, which is the largest store one can see in all of Guam. They have Guam Premium Outlet for your shopping needs. During my first few weeks, we got the chance to visit the Snow Festival where there was, err... snow inside the warehouse. We had fun sliding down the slope. It was cold and wet. My heeled boots got worn out. I should have worn rubber shoes instead.

View my Photo Album here: Tropical Guam

Getting Lost on My First Day

I got lost in Guam on my first day. We arrived early morning (around 4am) and had to take a short rest. At 9am, we drove to the office to see the site. Met a few new faces whom I shall call my counterparts. Going back home, my boss' instruction was for me to follow him, driving his car, while he will be in his Harley in front of me. As I was driving, I got distracted switching radio stations of the car radio, then I realized I can't find him anymore! I got scared! I thought of pulling the car over and make a phone call. I realized I can't because I dont have my wallet nor phonebook with me! And it was my first day! I prayed and hoped I would see him again after driving some more.... so I continued driving and hummed a song I don't remember anymore... after 10 or 15 minutes of driving aimlessly, I saw our office building! There was hope!!! I parked and told my counterparts what happened to me and was worried. After a good 10 minutes of fast heartbeat, my boss appeared. Pale. Or maybe red in anger. I was relieved. Geeez! Stupid car radio... hee hee

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