Wednesday, December 23, 2009

'round Guam...

The first day my parents were here we had the ultrasound. The second and third day we saw the island.

It started with a drive down south, stopping at all the WWII stuff we could find. My dad likes the war stuff.

Asan Memorial

This memorial is at Asan beach, one of two locations where the US approached when re-taking the island.


Dad's Ride



Caves and fallout shelters left behind by the Japanese are common here.



After some WWII stuff, we went to Tolofofo Falls. These are picturesque falls and also the spot where a Japanese soldier, Yokoi, lived in a homemade cave and hid from the war for 28 (or so) years. Some call him a hero, others think he was a moron. I'll let you be the judge.









And we also saw relics from the old Spanish rule.

Courtyard

This is an old courtyard in downtown Hagatna.



Spanish Fort

This is Fort Soledad, where the TV show Amazing Race filmed two years ago.





And, of course, we saw some Chamorro stuff. The Chamorro are the indigenous people of Guam. One of the most iconic symbols of Guam is the Latte Stone. These stones go so far back in Chamorro history that they don't have any actual evidence of what they were used for, but it's pretty well accepted that they were foundations for homes.

These Latte Stones were found in a village down south that was annihilated by US soldiers in WWII, so they were brought to central Hagatna.



We concluded the day by visiting Chamorro Village. And out-door market place that comes alive every Wednesday. Mom bought trinkets to bring home and they got to try some local food. They even had a carabao there. In Guam, a Carabao is nothing like the ones you have heard of before. Really, it'a a water buffalo. It reminds me of the Veggie Tales song. Here, that song is safe to play because it's not too hard to own a water buffalo. This one had a Santa hat on for the tourist to pose with. I didn't want to pay for a pic, so I just snuck this one in quickly so you could get the idea.

Christmas Caribao

Tomorrow, we are going to really play tourist by relaxing all day at a resort.

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