Happy new year everyone! I hope that all of you rang in 2011 with friends and family with a glass of champagne! I certainly did, however my new years was a bit different, just like most of my experiences here on Guam. So, of course there I was working new year's eve, which actually wasn't bad at all because I pretty much got to play games with guests and mess around with friends on the clock all night. I ended up getting off at 11:30 which gave me just enough time to get changed and make it down to the beach, where we had a classic rock band playing for the guests. PIC was the only place on Guam to have a firework show for new year's so I was in a prime spot to ring in the new year. So with a glass of champagne and my new year's kiss next to me, 12am hit and the fireworks went off! It was an amazing new year's to remember. Yes, I was with new friends and in a new place away from those friends and family I love, but it was definitely an experience that I will never forget. After 12am hit we danced the night away to classic rock songs on the beach. I had sooo much fun and cannot wait to see what 2011 brings my way and what adventures I will get myself into.
Speaking of which...So after a visit to the dentist on my day off to a get a chipped tooth fixed from biting into a coconut (God I love those things) I thought I was going to have a pretty mellow day around the resort until I ran into my buddy Kevin. It was Kevin's last day here and he wanted to go explore some new sights. Of course I hopped on board that train and we ended up getting a group of 4 together to go venture out and see what we could find. We started off at this spot called Jones' Point where there was an abandoned stair well leading down to the ocean cliffs. Now I know what you are thinking, and no I didn't jump off of any cliffs this time, just to spare you the heart attack, haha. But, we did get right up to the edge of the cliff to witness a rare event that only happens during the winter season here in Guam. Now let me preface this with some description that was going on; I am walking down these damp concrete stairs that seemingly lead straight down into the violent crashing waves against razor sharp cliffs. I am hearing what sounds like thunder each time a wave strikes the sides of the cliffs with so much force that not only sounds terrifying but also feels as if an earthquake was rumbling the ground below me. Upon reaching our destination we were literally showered with salt water as a wave impacts the side of the cliff, sending a wall of water 30ft into the air. With each powerful crash between water and earth, there was a rumble, quake and downpour of fresh ocean rain pouring down on me. I was quite hesitant at first to get right up to the edge of this cliff to witness this anomaly, but curiosity got the best of me and between the unsureness of how safe it actually was and also the beauty of nature at its harshest, I gathered up enough courage and saw this spectacular event from a rare point of view that I will never forget. (make sure to click the video below).
So just when I didn't think the day could get any better, my other buddy Steve drives us to some caves that are supposedly bigger, deeper and darker than the ones I wrote about before. We started our journey down to the caves on a grassy narrow path with brush on both sides of us that quickly turned into a steep unmarked trail that weaved through dense jungle and over huge boulders. Along the way I saw some things that I had never seen before like trees growing directly out of rocks, roots and vines that went on for what seemed like hundreds of feet, and best of all the rain! I could hear the rain, but couldn't feel it. As we traversed through the jungle, a downpour began but the canopy above us was so dense that it served as an umbrella. Upon arriving at the mouth of the cave, Steve busts out a waterproof flashlight and said to stay close and to watch our step because the slope leading down into the cave was slippery and unpredictable. As we descended deeper and deeper into the cave, I soon realized that the only light source was now coming from the flashlight. On and on we went, sinking deeper into the earth, trusting that our one flashlight would hold through. Then we reached the water. Fresh, cold, crisp water hundreds of feet down created an enormous pool, that we waded through, squeezing between tiny crevices hoping to God that we were the only living things in this underground abyss (doubtful). We then came to a huge opening where the ceiling above us was maybe 20ft high with stalactites (dripping rock formations) piercing down towards the pool. What sounded like an assembly of leaky faucets was the only sound we could here as water from the surface came trickling through the ceiling and into the translucent water. We swam around in the pool for a while and as we did our minds kept playing tricks on us. "Was that a shadow from the flashlight? Or was it some underwater cave creature?" "Did you hear that?". am not going to lie, as amazingly beautiful as the cave was, it also had an eeriness to it that was quite daunting. However, after closing our awe dropped jaws, we finally decided to make the ascent back up the slippery slope we came in on and headed out, not without getting a quick glimpse of the eastern coast of Guam before our excursion back.
After leaving the caves, we were on our way to a friends BBQ when Steve told us we had to see this quaint little beach to watch the sunset. I have never seen anything like it.There was maybe twenty yards of whit sandy beach with beautiful puca shells scattered all over the place. Encompassing the beach were green vines that outstretched towards the blue waters. I seriously wish I could build a house on this amazing little beach and live there it was that beautiful. Check out the picture below.
After a day full of excitement, amazing natural sights, and memorable new experiences, I was quite tired, however I have made some pretty good friends here in the last two months and because many of us that work here are on six month/year contracts some of those good friends were leaving. So later that night our good buddy Art threw a going away BBQ for those friends departing. At this BBQ were traditional Philippino dishes, as well as traditional Chamorro dishes. The food was delectable! I must have had three plateful. Now aside from eating all the food and, I will tell you about one particular delicacy that I experienced. It is called Balut, which is a fertilized duck or chicken egg with a partially devoloped embryo inside that is hard boiled and eaten in the shell. Now let me tell you, I have eaten some interesting things through my travels, but one bite into this egg was so much more foreign than anything I have experienced. Upon biting into the egg I could feel the feathers on my tongue, and as I chewed, there was a crunchy sensation that was later told to me was the developing beak! I will stop there to save you from any more disgust, but all in all I was glad to have had the opportunity to try this Philippino delicacy. The picture below isn't one that I took, but is exactly what it looked like when I opened up the shell.
What a fun, exciting, crazy week it has been. I cannot imagine what the next week has in store.
Love and miss you,
Trees growing out of rocks
Balut
I cant believe you ate that, you are so grose, i started to gag when i was reading it
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