Hi everyone! I’m actually dictating this message into my phone due to an unfortunate spillage incident involving my laptop, which no longer turns on. I’m hoping it might perk up in a day or two, but perhaps it was naive of me to think that I could do this long, remote trip without something like that happening at some point! Anyway, this update is about Guam, which I found absolutely delightful. Some of you, like me, might have first heard of it in the film Matilda – but for those who haven’t, it’s an island in the Western Pacific which is an unincorporated US territory. It’s a strange place because it’s so remote and it literally is the US but it’s also thousands of miles away from the mainland. There’s a native people there called the Chamorro who are American but also have their own ethnicity and language.

I spent three days in Guam in total. I arrived in the early hours of the morning from Seoul and picked up a rental car, which turned out to be a good decision but was initially quite nerve-wracking due to my limited experience of automatics and the strangeness of the “turn right on red” possibility. After a pep talk and some tips from my friend Alex (thank you!), the driving was fine and I appreciated the freedom and convenience of having a car in a place with virtually no public transport. Another thing I rented in Guam which was incredibly useful was portable WiFi, which gave me Internet wherever I went for only $5 a day. In general, I’ve been able to access roaming at a capped and very reasonable rate, but as my travels have got more remote, it’s become more difficult.

I checked into a rather forgettable hotel for one night to rest, and then drove up to a clifftop viewing area called Two Lovers’ Point, which is named after a local legend that two lovers tied their hair together, held hands and threw themselves off the cliff into the water below, rather than be separated and forced to marry other people. It only cost $3 to access the viewing platform and the views were spectacular. There were also some statues, memorials, more of the bloody love padlocks (!), and records of Japanese marriages that took place just after the turn of the millennium (as part of a peace pact between the two places).

Next, I checked into the main place I was staying, called Ocean Villas, which turned out to be a great choice. It had been very difficult to find the right accommodation in Guam because most of it is in huge, multi-storey hotels and those that have direct beach access are rare and expensive. The place I was staying at however was much smaller and had a gate leading directly on to the beach, from where I could see a small island and fabulous sunsets. The water in the bay was very shallow, so it wasn’t that great for swimming, but I did swim just outside the accommodation on the first day. The water was lovely and warm, like a bath, and bright blue. There were also some chickens roaming around the grounds, some with chicks that were really cute!

On my second day in Guam, it was raining so my options were a little limited. I drove down to the south of the island (not far!) and went to the War in the Pacific National Park. First of all, I visited a beach which had some Japanese outposts built into the rocks as a method of disguising them. The beach surrounded by jungle was very picturesque and it was hard to imagine that this was the point where the occupying Japanese first saw the approaching massed US forces. After that, I went to a small museum next to the Navy base, which gave a really good overview of the war and how it affected the island nations in the area – not just Guam but also some other countries that I’m going to be visiting as part of this trip. I discovered (among many other things) that one Japanese soldier refused to surrender and hid in Guam, mainly in caves, for nearly 30 years!

On my final day in Guam I decided to have a surfing lesson, which is not something that I’ve ever tried before but I thought it might be fun. I really enjoyed it and found, to my surprise, that I was able to stand up straight away and ride a couple of waves. I did fall in a few times but that’s to be expected! I had a one-to-one lesson with my instructor Fred, who explained everything really well and gave me lots of background information about Guam and also about Micronesia, where he has family. After the lesson, he invited me swimming at a beach nearby and we had some cocktails and a really good chat, which was a lovely way to end my time in Guam.

The only downside to my final day is that I got quite badly sunburnt, especially on the backs of my legs but elsewhere too. I was wearing brand new SPF 50+ suncream, and a lot of it, so I was upset and disappointed that it didn’t seem to work at all and have made a complaint to Amazon. I’m still recovering from the burn, which has been very painful and made it difficult to walk, but I’m otherwise fine.

Overall, I would say that I really enjoyed Guam but found that the restaurants within walking distance of where I was staying were quite basic. I’m sure there are better dining options elsewhere in Guam but I didn’t personally experience them. There was, however, a beach bar right next to where I was staying which was a bit of a dive but was friendly and cheap, with great views.

After returning my rental car and portable Wifi device, I flew to Micronesia, which will be the topic of my next post. Bye for now!

Cross-stitch progress update (and sneak Micronesia preview!)