Guam Day 2: Jeff's Pirate Cove

Part of the museum complex at Jeff's
Pirate Cove

by Pa Rock
World Traveler


Still heading north along the eastern coast of Guam, our next objective was lunch.  We found a touristy little spot a few miles north of Inarajan called Jeff's Pirate Cove - a combination museum, gift shop, and food stand.  We ate our meal in a large open-air pavilion at the back of the store.  The food was average, but the warm sea breezes were exceptional!

A bit of beach at Jeff's.  The food pavilion is on the right.

One of the souvenirs that I bought at Jeff's was a souvenir tee-shirt honoring the Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, who managed to hide out of Guam for twenty-seven years after the end of the war - never realizing that the war was over.  As we were preparing to leave Jeff's, we ran into a couple that Valerie had been visiting with on the beach at Inarajan.  They told here that since seeing us at the beach, they had visited Talofafo Falls and seen the cave where the soldier had hidden for those many years.  We decided to backtrack and take in that sight as well.

Didn't get many pictures at Jeff's.  Not sure why - but possibly just worn out by so much sun.

Guam Day 2: Inarajan

by Pa Rock 

Three young servicemen overlook the bay at Inarajan.
Will they jump?

World Traveler


As our zippy little rental car rounds the southern tip of Guam and and begins to head up the eastern coast, one of the first villages that we come to is Inarajan - which has both staples of all of the seaside villages - beautiful beaches and a Catholic church.  We disembarked there for a couple of hours, exploring the sights and shopping in the local grocery.  Valerie even went for a swim.  It was around noon, and I was already beginning to sense the sunburn, so I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.

A sleepy lagoon.

Roadside market at Inarajan.  The restrooms were
out-of-order, unless you made a purchase!

Water retreating to the sea.

Guam Day 2: Umatac and Merizo

Pa Rock

The bay at Umatacby 

World Traveler

Day Two and we are continuing our drive south.  The final two villages on the drive south are Umatac and 

Merizo.  After Merizo the island's coastline forces us briefly eastward and then we head north along the eastern edge of Guam.  It is Monday, most people are at work, and the traffic is light.

Old bell tower at Merizo

Roadside flora

Twin bridges at Merizo

House for sale on the highway and ocean at Merizo.
No, I did not put in a bid!

Guam Day 2: The Marina

A few boas at the marina

by Pa Rock
World Traveler

More boats at the small marina

A few miles south of Fish-Eye we came upon a small marina.  Valerie wanted to look at the boats and I wanted to capture some local color with my small camera.  While we were there, Valerie struck up a conversation with a fellow named Mike who had a large boat and took tourists out on excursions.  That afternoon he was planning to take a group out to watch dolphins playing in the blue Pacific.  Valerie asked Mike if we could take pictures of his boat. Later he asked me if we were from a magazine.  "No," I admitted grudgingly.  "We are just garden variety tourists!"

Valerie aboard Mike's boat

Captain Mike and Valerie

As you can see, the day was gorgeous!  

Guam Day 2: Fish Eye

Old man smoking under an island pine

by Pa Rock
World Traveler


Valerie and I spent our second day on Guam trying to drive around the island, and although we did not completely circumnavigate it, we did see a wide variety of sights and enjoyed much beautiful scenery.   Here is our first top on that trip, an underwater observatory called "Fish-Eye."  You will see scuba divers among the fish because there was a dive class occurring nearby.

Reminders of WWII were frequent

Japanese tourists walking back from Fish-Eye Observatory

Fish-Eye Observation Platform

Underwater view of fish cruising people

Fish swarm a feeding tube

Here comes trouble!

Excuse me, but is this the Nautilus?

Guam Day 1: K-Mart, Circle K, and the Beach

The only K-Mart on Guam

by Pa Rock
World Traveler

This past Sunday, November 20th, was our first day on the island of Guam.  We flew through the night, arrived at daylight, checked into the Hilton, slept until noon, and then went exploring.  Our first stop was the local K-Mart for some odds-and-ends, souvenirs, and trip necessities, followed by lunch at the Circle K (hot dog and a beer for $1.99), and a quick drive about along Tumon Bay that ended at a secluded little beach park.

Circle K's, however, are everywhere!

That night we went out to supper with our friend Lenny and her grown son, Joe.  Joe lives in Hawaii, Lenny lives in Okinawa, and occasionally they meet up on Guam, the island that they both call home.

A few photos of our first day on Guam are attached.  Enjoy.

Secluded beach at the end of Tumon Bay

Secluded beach looking south toward luxury hotels

Where jungle and beach meet

Well it's a jungle out there!

Valerie by the hotels' tiki torches

More from Toguchi Park

Small shrine under a cliff

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer


My friend, Daniel Murphy, has had his brother Joe here visiting from the States all week.  Today I joined them to go for a boat ride at Kadena Marina, but there were no boats available.  Our alternative plan was to drive to Valerie's apartment where we did the tour of the beautiful park next to where she lives.  Since the last posting I have learned that the official name is Toguchi Park.

Enjoy the photos.

Old Okinawan turtle-back tomb

The Murphy Brothers

Two Okinawan fishermen

(L to R) Valerie, Daniel, and Joe)

(L to R) Joe, Valerie, and Daniel