The Beautiful Flowers of Guam

Our Guam Cultural Experience: Talofofo Falls

Our last day on Guam was a FULL day of site seeing. One of the last places we went to was Talofofo Falls. Here it is on the map:I thought the falls would be....well...just some waterfalls, but we were amazed when we found out at the end of DanDan Road there was an entire eclectic theme park in the JUNGLE. Who knew. We got out of the car (there were maybe 5 other cars there total) to approach the window and pay our entrance fee when we heard a gun fire...in the jungle theme park. I looked at Dean and said, "Was that a gun?"

We approached the window, and the girl working the booth asked if we were military. When we told her no, she said, "Are you just visiting?" We told her that we were tourists. She said in a whisper as she leaned closer, "I'll give it to you for $12.00 each." The normal fee was $20.00 each, so we were grateful for the discount. We grabbed our park map and headed for the ride down the hillside. Here is the park map:

Really, the map makes the place look kind of classy, and it's really not that classy. If you notice on the right side of the brochure, there is a guy shooting a gun.....this is because there is a shooting range AT the themed park in the jungle. If you look closely, it kind of looks like the guy is shooting toward the kiddie rides. The whole concept is a bit disturbing. On our way out of the place, we saw these wild boars hanging around by the kiddie train.

Like I said, this was a cultural experience. Dean kept trying to suggest that the roaming pigs might be part of a petting zoo experience, but I was not buying it.

It was really pretty down near the falls. Here is a really nice picture of Dean.
Just down from this spot, there were beautiful bamboo clusters in the jungle.

Thankfully, the jungly spots around the falls had been cleared. It really was a dense area, in general. Guam is a tropical island with a lot of rainfall and a high degree of humidity. We wondered if this is what it might have been like in the jungles of Vietnam. Whatever it was or wasn't like, it would have been unbelievably difficult to cut through that place with a machete. I don't even want to think of what might be creeping and crawling and running through that jungle.

The falls were pretty.
To get to the other side of the falls area, we had to climb a set of stairs and cross a suspension bridge. After careful consideration, we decided that it might be wise for us to cross the bridge one at a time. As I'm almost all the way across, a staff member volunteered to take my picture. He then insisted that Dean join me on the bridge to take another photo. Um, I'm thinking...do you know how much we weigh? The entire point of going across one at a time was practical more than anything else. We lived, and so did the bridge.

After the bridge, the staff guy insists that we walk out onto the falls to take another picture. I was so not thrilled with the picture taking of me. I'd been snorkeling earlier in the day, and I was all icky. Oh well. I don't look any worse than when I was sweating in Japan.

At the top of this fall, there is a gift shop run by a Korean guy and his two kids; there is also the most bizarre "museum" experience I have ever had....including the time that I had a gun pulled on me at a museum in Novi Sad, Serbia. (I'll have to share that story some other day.) We paused for the requisite "stick your head in this big plywood board thing and take a picture." Here's my tropical flower Dean.

A short walk across another extension bridge led to the other waterfall. On our way out of the falls area, there was a Buddha in a cave...with mini-Buddha's in tow.

And the guy running the cable car was listening to Linkn Park smoking his coconut...and no, that is not a euphemism. Smoking coconut with on-looking bird.

There you have it. Our trip to Talofofo Falls. The end.

The island is now a memory

My trip to Guam was about as perfect as a business trip could be. While Guam is way out in the middle of the Pacific, the flight wasn't too terribly bad (it's 7 1/2 hours past Hawaii...for those who don't know).

Guam has a very unique history, and one that I'm certain that many Americans are not familiar with. Long ago, it was ruled by the Spanish. The Japanese occupied it during WWII, and it is now a US protectorate territory. Between now and 2014, the US will be closing Japanese military bases (like Okinawa) and moving thousands of military personnel and their families to Guam. I'm hopeful that this will help build the local economy and strengthen the infrastructure.

Click here to read a pretty good overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Guam

Guam is a lot like Hawaii, but the economic conditions are considerably worse. We took a trip around the southern tip of the island and saw many of the villages. It's very clear that most of the economic action on the island takes place in the central and north.

Regardless of north or south, village or city...the scenery and the people were beautiful. I'm appreciative of the opportunity to meet people at Guam Community College and the University of Guam.

Here were a few pictures I took at Two Lovers Point (a very famous cultural landmark).

Click here to read the legend of Two Lovers Point: http://www.twoloverspoint.com/legend.htm

It sure is beautiful.

Tumon Bay: A view from Two Lover's Point

This last picture is of me at the property on Two Lovers Point by the symbolic representation of the latte stones: the iconic symbol that represents Guam. The stones remind me of a challis, and they are everywhere across the island. Click here to read about the stones: http://ns.gov.gu/latte.html

Wendy is in Guam....

Yes, I'm in Guam for work, and it's been a very nice trip so far. The real work starts today (Tuesday), but I've been able to cram in a mini-vacation into a day and a half! Here are some gorgeous pictures of the island.

This is me at the beach by the Hilton in Tumon bay. The water was absolutely wonderful! I got in and snorkeled for about an hour. I discovered Sea Cucumbers. I thought they were big whale turds or something, but when one moved on the bottom of the ocean floor, I was all done!!!

Pretty flora on the Hilton property.

A monument to Ferdinand Magellan who landed on the island in 1521.

Talofofo Bay...on the southeast side of the island.