Guam - Green and Gorgeous! (Part 2): The Japanese Who Hid After World War II, Waterfalls, and the Glory of the Chamorro Culture

- December 23-24, 2022, Friday to Saturday.

- Guam is a little island with some interesting things to see and do! Admittedly not as touristy as Hawaii (which is another famous American island in the Pacific,) Guam does have its charm. Since I did not know much about Guam, I thought the best way to do that was to visit the Guam Museum!

- The Guam Museum has actually existed in the 1930s, but was destroyed during the Japanese Occupation during World War II. It took decades for the government of Guam to built a new building to house the museum. Currently, it is the only "main" museum of Guam. The museum opened in 2016 in Skinner Plaza in Agana, Guam's capital.

If you look closely at the words, you'll realize that they have so many Spanish-loan words. If you know Filipino or any other Philippine language, you'll see similarities too.

A traditional Chamorro boat.

The museum.

Inside the galleries.

Woven handicrafts.

Everyday things.

Chamorro traditions.

- I later had lunch at the Agana Shopping Center, which I learned is owned by the late Henry Sy and family. This explains the small SM Department Store inside the mall. However, I think the mall was quite small and there was nothing much to see or do. The mall opened in 1978. After an afternoon at the Agana Shopping Center, my family decided to go to Micronesia Mall to have dinner since there was more happening there. (Micronesia Mall is Guam's largest mall, after all.)

Agana Shopping Center.

It looks spacious but there doesn't seem to be much in this mall.

It's version of SM Department Store. It was small and items were....hmm....I'd rathe shop in an SM Department Store here in the Philippines let's put it that way.

- On Christmas Eve, we started our day by having a drive to Talofofo Falls Resort Park. From the entrance, one would need to ride a cable car to go to the falls. The 2 waterfalls looks nice and wide, small but majestic nonetheless. Apart from the falls, there are other attractions in the park, which have elicited mixed responses from locals and tourists. Apart from the falls, there is a mini-amusement park, a small history museum (OK, this one is fine I guess,) a horror house, and an erotic mini-park called "Love Land" (like the one in Jeju, but to be honest, it wasn't as explicit; also, only adults are allowed to enter Love Land.) However, I feel that the most significant of these is Yokoi's Cave. More like a cramped tunnel under the ground, this was home for Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi. He was a Japanese "holdout soldier", the term referring to Japanese soldiers who hid during the war and were probably not aware that World War II ended. Yokoi hid in Talofofo for 28 years until he was discovered by locals in 1972. He was aware of Japan's surrender in the 1950s but continued to hide as Japanese soldiers believed that it was better to die than to surrender. 

Talofofo Falls entrance.

I love how it looks.

Oh and a rainbow appeared!

On the way to Yokoi's Cave.

There were Buddha shrines everywhere. (He didn't die here by the way. He eventually went home to Japan after being found!)

He was treated as a hero.

The "cave" was covered. Probably due to the rain showers in the past days.

Another of the many Buddha shrines.

Falls number 2.

The water looks pearl white.

Entrance to the haunted house that I didn't go into anymore. It was too dusty and I fear that if the thing malfunctions I won't be able to get out alive anymore.

Love Land.

- Since there was not much to do in Talofofo Falls, we headed back to the city to have lunch, take photos by the beach, and rest before our evening schedule.

View from Crowne Plaza.

The actual sand is below the grassy area where I am.

In costume, as always.

- That evening we were were picked up by a bus service that goes to the Fish Eye Marine Park in Piti (note: PRE-BOOK your tickets in their website here). The park opened in 1996, and was meant to be an underwater observatory. I personally liked this because it made people feel like they were in a submarine. (From what I remember, submarine services in Guam temporarily halted due to the pandemic, so I think the underwater observatory a good and less claustrophobic option.) 

On the way to the observatory!

Had to take a photo by the walkway.

The entrance looks like a UFO.

Observatory.

This is the actual sea.

Got a visit from a small shark!

With one of the performers. (He was Pinoy!)

- Visitors may also opt to avail of their dinner with traditional show, which I did. As far as I know seats should be booked beforehand as they always get filled up by tour groups or big families. The buffet dinner was decent, but I was really excited for the actual show! It showed the best of Chamorro / Pacific culture, from Chamorro-style hula dances to warrior dances and fire dances. (There is a concern of too much borrowing from Hawaiian dances though - but that's a long discussion not within the scope of my blog.) I did enjoy the whole performance, and made me miss performing on stage even more. I think this was one of my favorite experiences in my trip to Guam!

This was the opening number. It was a song about the richness of the Chamorro culture.

Haka.

Chamorro-style hula.

As usual, fire dances.

I know they're trained, but I'm always worried that one of them will get burned.

Fire poi.

They juggle/throw sticks to each other.

Finale number. I really love how they were able to fit a whole boat in the narrow moat around the stage!

- Christmas was just around the corner and what better way to spend Christmas Eve than to be inspired by Chamorro's nature and culture! It's probably not the white Christmas I wanted (because I thrive in the cold,) but Guam's colorful culture made me happy still the same. I still have two more days left to explore Guam, and I assure you that there is more to see and do in Guam!