BACK ON GUAM

So I set up my primary experiment on Saipan and now I have returned to Guam to set up the same experiment here.  The objective is to set the experiment up on Saipan and Guam as close together (temporally) as possible.  Since I can only be on one island at a time and dont have a field assistant, this island hopping will have to suffice.  The plan now is to stay on Guam for 3 more weeks (running other secondary experiments) until I go back to Saipan (to run the same secondary experiments as well as clean up the primary experiment).  I know some of you probably dont care what silly science fair experiments I'm running and just want to see more pictures.  I just thought I'd share in case you were wondering about all these inter-island trips.

Like I said, I've been on Guam since the 8th and have been busy setting up experiments.  Unfortunately, I dont have many cool pictures or fun stories to share this time.  :(  So this post will probably be short and help put you insomniacs to sleep.


3 unrelated stories:

En route to one of my sites is a pitch black cave with a large fresh water pool.  People will hike down and swim in this pool by candle light.  The hike to the cave is a little long and the rocks are slippery when wet (my backside can attest) and the cave itself is hard to traverse w/o a flashlight.  But the cave is a cool (figuratively and literally) spectacle and refuge from the mid-day humidity and sun.  I was alone and had never been into the cave so I wasn't sure how far I had to descend to actually get to the pool.  It didnt take long before I found myself shin deep in frigid water.  The water is so glassy, clear, and calm that I had stepped right down into it w/o ever seeing the water surface.  Ohh well, what can you do?  I took my shoes off and had lunch on a rock with my legs dangling in the water.  The far end of the cave was lit by a couple wax candles (so I must have just missed other visitors).  My beautiful wife, surf'n'turf, and a violinist were the only things missing to make this romantic rendezvous complete...maybe some other trip

I had just stopped for lunch between sites and didn't have much time to explore.  Perhaps I'll go back and wander around and deeper into the cave.  Then I'll have more to share.  Here are a couple pictures of the entrance into the cave and the pool

Pagat Cave pool

Looking up at the cave entrance/exit from the fresh water pool

I am REQUIRED to walk along a beautiful, secluded, white-sand beach to access another one of  my sites.  It's a real drag having to look out along the gorgeous coast with the teal/blue ocean to my left and the lush green jungle to my right.  Let me tell you, I could not be more miserable hiking through this picturesque scene.

(I am kidding for those who haven't picked up on my dry sense of humor)

While walking on the beach-forest edge I saw this rusted wheel lying in the shallows with a Blue Sea Star (Linckia laevigata) attached to the tire wall.  Not much of a story here just a pretty picture of one of the Mariana's sea creatures. 

Many of you know that I love to 'people watch'.  Luckily, I married someone who enjoys this activity as much as I do.  The improvisational commentary that ensues when we are together makes it that much more fun and hilarious!  One of our favorite times of year is when the State Fair/Houston Rodeo come to town.  Besides the amazing (and unhealthy) food, the people watching is some of the best in the world!  I feel obligated to also give props to the shoppers at Walmart who come in a close second.

Well, I may have found a new player in this competition for "The best places to watch mankind do stupid stuff/ look completely ridiculous/ generally make me feel better about myself"!  This beach in front of the Hyatt Hotel was a prime location.  It had been a long day and I was sitting in a chair reading and watching the sun set.  The hotel was hosting a BBQ of sorts for the hotel guests (which are predominantly Asian [mostly Japanese] couples on their honeymoon or ENTIRE extended families on vacation).  It was a few minutes before 6:30 and the sun was painting delicate shades of pink and blue on the towering clouds on the sea's horizon.  About this time, I noticed the the band had stopped playing and dinner was paused so that a hoard of tourists could RUN to take a picture of this sunset.  I dont know why I was surprised b/c Asian tourists are incapable of letting a photo op like this pass w/o getting a shot of their significant other sporting a peace sign (using the camera that is always w/in arms reach).  And boy, they come out in full force like Catholics when the Pope drives by.  As these people ran to the waterfront looking out onto the ocean and taking pictures of this Monet-like scene, I'm sitting in my chair having trouble holding my camera steady b/c I'm laughing so hard.  I've turned around towards the beach shooting the army of tourists trying to get their perfect shot.  Unfortunately, as I look through my pictures of these picture-takers, I dont have a good phtot of this ordered chaos.  All I had with me was the camera on my phone so the quality is blurry and hard to see.  So the best I can do is describe it to you.


Wow, that post turned out a little longer than I anticipated.  I'll wrap it up and extend to all the moms out there a Happy Mothers Day!  Thank you for everything you do and love you lots!

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