Just before we return to Guam allow me to show you a photo of Tinian island, which is just 18km to the south of Saipan and is very infamous. Tinian is where a Boeing B52 Bomber called the “Enola Gay” took off on the morning of 6 August 1945 to drop the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima that killed 70-80,000 people and started the end of WWII with the surrender of the Japanese.
Please also enjoy a photo of the entire island of Guam taken on my United 737-MAX8 flight from Saipan to Guam.
Welcome back to Guam for the completion of my discovery of the southern part of the island – I had to route through Guam in order to fly to The Federated States of Micronesia, which will be my next UN Country on Kokoline.
Since you already know about the makeup and history of Guam lets get straight into what I did and saw on my second stay.
The flight between Guam and Saipan is only 40min so after landing back in Guam at 1030am, I hired a car and headed straight to the main beach in Tamuning and completed my 2km swim which I could not do in my first visit due to tides and wind. After this I visited the following places to the west of Tamuning ahead of my huge southern drive tomorrow: Asan Beach (Swim), United States Landing Monument, Filipino Patriot Monument, Our Lady of the Assumption, Piti Guns & Park, Guam Veterans Cemetery, Apra Harbour (SMS Cormoran, a German merchant trader from WWI, and the Tokai Maru, a Japanese ship from WWII), Drone flight from a Cafe half-way between Tamuning & Hagatna). What a pity I am not a certified diver so I could make the 31m plunge to see the German SMS Cormoran and Japanese Tokai Mary lying side by side, sunk during two different World Wars – amazing indeed !!!
The following day was HUGE and took in all theses sites, both historical and natural: Pago Bay Overlook, Tagachang Beach, Talofofo Bay Lookout, Talofofo Beach, Inarajan Natural Pool, Bear Rock Lookout, Merizo Bell Tower, Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Magellan Monument, Cetti Bay Overlook, Mount Lamlam Summit (37,820 ft from the bottom of the Mariana Trench), Sella Bay Overlook, United States Landing Monument, Apaca Point (War Park), T Shell Newman Visitors Centre War in the Pacific Museum. My favourite was the Museum, which was almost identical to the one in Saipan – you start with a short film and then gaze at several storyboards and electronic displays with original recordings from the past.
The south side of the island is heaps better than the north since it has no military presence and full of small Chamorro villages on a coast with more coral. Wait til you see the drone footage of the southern tip featuring the exclusive Coco Island.
When you run in countries you notice strange things… I have seen stray dogs and cats everywhere but not chickens – Guam and indeed Saipan are full of them – all alone and doing whatever they want !!!
Having driven 373km around the entire Guam – I conclude that it is in fact two islands in one. The north more military and California like and the south more traditional with more coral and better beaches by far. It is hard to believe that war raged here just 70 years ago with 50,000 souls lost in a rage of violence under hot steamy humid conditions. This tiny spec in the middle of the Western Pacific changed the course of history by steering WWII in a vastly different direction. Who knows hoe much longer WWII would have lasted if it wasn’t for what happened here in Guam and Saipan.
Enough of war – now comes the spectacle of this place in a barrage of images that I hope will tempt you to someday visit…
A taste of what is to come in the film KOKOLINE by a new rising star drone called "Mini" !!!
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