Guam is a small Pacific island and an unincorporated territory of the United States. The island has a complicated history, including centuries of Spanish rule before becoming an American territory in 1898. During World War II, Japanese forces captured Guam shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and occupied the island until American forces retook it in 1944. Its location in the western Pacific also makes Guam a popular destination for visitors from Japan. When I visited, I came across quite a few Japanese couples who had traveled here for their weddings and honeymoons. I came to Guam with the U.S. Marines to help repair a broken aircraft and was able to spend about a week on the island. Work kept me from exploring as much as I would have liked, so I’d definitely like to return someday for scuba diving, hiking, and some of the cultural and historic places I missed.
The first photo shows some of Guam’s nightlife around the tourist district. There were plenty of resorts, bars, clubs, restaurants, live music, and even fire dancers. Guam has developed into a major vacation destination, particularly for travelers coming from East Asia. One of the island’s most famous places is Two Lovers Point, a dramatic cliff overlooking the Philippine Sea. According to a Chamorro legend dating to the Spanish colonial period, two young lovers were forbidden from being together after the woman’s father arranged for her to marry someone else. Rather than be separated, the couple tied their hair together and leapt from the cliff. The story has several variations, but the legend gave the site its name and made it one of Guam’s best-known landmarks.
Guam is also filled with reminders of its World War II history, including wrecks scattered in the waters around the island. The lagoon above might look like any other tropical lagoon, but beneath the water are remains connected to Guam’s wartime past. The second photo shows a more typical Guam beach where I went swimming because it was directly in front of my hotel. Behind me were luxury resorts and restaurants, while just offshore was the warm, clear Pacific water that makes Guam such a popular beach destination.
I visited Guam before my scuba-diving days. In fact, before arriving here I had never even gone snorkeling. Someone offered to take me snorkeling and I almost declined because I’d already spent much of the day swimming and couldn’t imagine there being anything particularly interesting beneath the surface. The second I put on a mask and reached the coral, however, I saw dozens of colorful tropical fish like the ones I’d only seen before in aquariums and pet stores. I had nothing more than a disposable waterproof camera, so the photos don’t come close to capturing how amazing that first experience was.
At one point the tide dropped while I was farther from shore and I found myself surrounded by shallow coral. I didn’t want to swim directly over it because a wave could push me down onto the reef and seriously injure me, not to mention damage the coral. I ended up carefully navigating my way through the reef while trying to remain over sandy areas. Looking back, Guam was probably the experience that first showed me how much there was to explore beneath the ocean.
One of Guam’s most incredible World War II stories is that of Japanese Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi. After American forces retook Guam in 1944, Yokoi survived in hiding rather than surrendering. He remained hidden in the jungle for more than 27 years, living partly in an underground shelter and surviving on food he could gather from the surrounding forest. Two local men discovered him in 1972, nearly three decades after the war had ended. He eventually returned to Japan, where his extraordinary story made him famous.
Nearby are Talofofo Falls, surrounded by the dense tropical vegetation that covers much of southern Guam. Between the waterfalls, jungle, beaches, coral reefs, and World War II history, I barely scratched the surface of the island during my week there. Guam is definitely one of those places where my original trip left me wanting to return and explore it properly.
