9/5/17, “26 Hours in Guam”
Hagatna, Guam
The number 26 has
played an unusually significant role in my travels, much like the number 1138 in the works of
George Lucas and the number 19 in the works of Stephen King. It was the number of Olympic Stadiums when I
began visiting Olympic Stadiums, and it was my age when I formalized my 17
Goals. However, it all started ten years
ago, when I went to a different US Territory, my first, in fact.
It was a spontaneous trip to Puerto Rico, and
we spent exactly 26 hours there. Now,
here in Guam, the time from when I got off the plane at Antonio B. Won Pat
International Airport last night to the time I will board tonight is also 26
hours. When I first got my new passport,
and I drove up to Canada, the time from crossing the border into Quebec to the
time I crossed back into New York was, once more, 26 hours. Like my 26 hours in Puerto Rico and Quebec,
it rained on and off the whole time, but you can do a lot in 26 hours, even if
it rains part of the time. That is three
meals, a full night of sleep, and enough time for activities from sunrise to
sunset, if you so choose.
I suppose the
number 26 is not entirely coincidental, as, if you take the same flight going
back the next day as you took coming in the previous day, that period of time
will usually be around 26 hours, as the plane needs 2 hours to get ready for
the return flight, plus the 24 hours of the full day. Still, the number shows up far more frequently
than I would expect. I have said, “Guam
Complete,” and I have some time to kill (and to recover from this draining day)
before I fly to Saipan. I have
thoroughly enjoyed my time in Guam, and I every much look forward to an equally
enjoyable time in Saipan before flying back to Hawaii. This is very much my kind of island.
After I closed last night, it was a bit of a
hassle to get a taxi back to my hotel, and I wound up waiting over half an
hour, much to my chagrin. When I got
back to my hotel, I lit up a PDR and posted my photos before passing out. When I woke up, I thought it must have been
around 8 AM, which was when I wanted to get started. It was 6 AM, too early to get out of bed. I got out of bed around 7 AM, got ready,
packed, and walked into town. I lit up
an Oliva and took my first Official ceremonial pictures in Guam.
I continued into town and arrived at a place
called Ture Cafe, where I wanted to get breakfast. To my delight, they said smoking was allowed
on the deck, so I sat out there and had my breakfast with my cigar. I got a local specialty, which consisted of
seasoned beef, eggs, and rice, along with coffee. It was quite good. After breakfast, I continued further down the
road, into Chamorro Village, where I checked out the souvenir shops, but very
few of them were open, even though it was already past 10 AM. I found one, but they didn’t have flag pins,
and she said that no one did. Fuck. I confirmed that none of the open vendors had
them and then walked across the street towards the legislature.
I knew I was in the right spot, but I wasn’t
sure I would be able to recognize the building.
Then it occurred to me. I just
needed to find a building with the flags of Guam and the US out front. That would have to be it. Sure enough, I saw two flag poles and went
inside that building. It was it.
I got a private tour of the building include
of viewing of the session chamber. I was
quite thrilled. I then went outside to
take my ceremonial picture. There was a
museum next door, where I got my t-shirt, but still no flag pin. I asked if she knew where to find one, and
she recommended a vendor. I went back to
Chamorro Village, but that vendor seemed to be closed, and another vendor
seconded the thought that she would have the flag pins.
I kept looking and found another vendor that
looked promising, and he had two flag pins left. I bought them both. That was when the fun began. The rain came back, and I called a cab, the
idea being he would take me to the War in the Pacific National Historical Park
VC and then to the site itself, and I would walk back from the site to my
hotel, stopping for lunch at Chamorro Village, a total walk of about 5
miles. I once again regretted not
renting a car. It was a bad
decision.
When we got to the VC, I did
my business there, and they told me that Asan Beach overlook was the better
place to go than Asan Beach itself. I
figured it would be an easy enough walk from the overlook down to the beach, so
I had him drop me off at the overlook leave me there. I figured wrong. Very wrong.
There was no direct path down from the overlook to the beach, and it
would take over an hour on foot to loop around.
Whoops. I lit up a Graycliff,
took my ceremonial picture and announced, “Guam Complete.”
Fortunately the rain had stopped, but the
heat and humidity were still there. It
would be about three miles down the hill to the main road and then another mile
to Chamorro Village. It was a grueling
climb down, made worse by the fact that there were no proper sidewalks. Soon enough, though, I saw the coast and was
on the main road in about an hour. I was
spent. I sat down to recover before
continuing to Chamorro Village, ditching my cigar outside.
I went to Chamorro Island BBQ for lunch, the
place I had intended to get dinner last night.
I was completely drained when I got inside and very thankful for the
AC. I got a beer right away and needed
time to recover before I could order, eventually opting for the BBQ pork ribs
with red rice. It was next special, but
it was perfectly fine. After lunch, I
lit up an Aroma de Cuba and began walking to the hotel, stopping at the first
bench I saw along the water, where I sat down and proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close so that I can walk back to my hotel and recover
some more before I have to go to the airport.
Antonio B. Won Pat International
Airport, Guam (GUM)
So, I found a smoking lounge in
the airport. I finished the above entry
at 3:30 PM, and my flight wasn’t until 8:30 PM.
Figuring I needed to go through security at 7:30 PM and finished my
previous cigar at 4 PM, that would have left plenty of time for two cigars
before heading to the airport, or one before and one outside the airport for an
entry. Well, I decided I cared far more
about being protected from the heat than I did about having more cigars.
I was seriously heat-stricken, that long walk
in the grueling heat and humidity, while literally buring 1000 calories, did no
favors for my comfort. I had been
worried about how I would get my exercise this trip. I now know.
All the walking I did during my brief time in Guam, I probably burned
well over 2000 calories. That’s
certainly more than the total calories I consumed during my time here.
After I closed in Hagatna, I walked back to
my hotel and practically collapsed into the couch when I got there. I lazed around for well over an hour, booking
cars online for Saipan and American Samoa so that I could avoid a repeat of
what happened here. The prices weren’t
cheap, but they were much cheaper per day than I spent on taxi fares here. I was shocked how expensive the taxis were
here, and, if I had known, I would have rented a car. I have learned the heard that just because an
island looks small on a map doesn’t mean that everything is an easy walk. I should have learned that after Tasmania and
St. John’s, but I am slow learner it seems.
I have now learned my lesson.
Around 5:30 PM, I changed into my suit and repacked my bag.
The car picked me up at 6 PM, and we went to
the airport. I went through security and
was hungry again, due no doubt to my body continuing to try to replace the
calories I lost to the walk and heat. I
was hungry, I said, but I didn’t want to eat.
I considered a small chicken nuggets from Burger King (when I have ever
turned that down?), no interest, too much salt.
I considered a cookie, but they all looked too big. I then saw it, exactly what I wanted: coconut
chips, just coconut, sugar, and salt, 40 grams of it.
I had seen a sign for a smoking room, so I
scarfed down the coconut chips while I searched for the smoking room, asking
numerous people before I finally figured out where it was. Once I got there, I sat down, lit up a
Tattoo, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I
finish my cigar before my flight. My
time in Guam has come to an end, and, other than the adversity I described, I
have loved every minute of it. I am
looking forward to an equally enjoyable time in Saipan to close out the
appetizer course of the trip.
Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana
Islands
It’s not the heat, it’s the
humidity, or so the saying goes. That
would explain why I feel like am on the verge of death, why I want to write
this entry as quickly as possible and get to bed, inside the air conditioned
room and off the hot and humid balcony, the moment I finish my pipe. I walked almost 10 miles today, and then, as
soon as I had started to recover from the walk, I ran and lost it all
again. Oh, right, so about that.
After I closed, I finished organizing my
photos, and I checked on the status of my flight. It was 7:42 PM at that point, and my flight
was scheduled to depart at 8:30 PM. I
was almost done with my cigar, anyway. It
said that my flight was due to depart in 13 minutes, 35 minutes earlier than
scheduled. What the actual fuck?!? I sprinted to my gate, not even properly
packing up, grabbing my laptop, suit jacket, and water bottle in one hand and
my bags in the other hand. I got to a
monitor, and it said that the flight was departing on-time at 8:30 PM.
Now I was confused, so I stopped and
reorganized myself. I then realized that
I had left my band in the smoking lounge.
I went back for it and a security officer asked me if everything was
okay. I told him, and he said that my
flight had started boarding, started being the key word. I sprinted back to retrieve the band and
briskly continued to my gate. It looked
like boarding had finished, but they said I still had time. I walked down the stairs and to the small
propeller plane, gate-checking my bag, which meant I would be able to retrieve
it on the tarmac, which made me very happy.
At 8:09 PM, the boarding door closed.
At 8:30 PM, the same time we were originally scheduled to depart, we
began making our descent. It was a very
short flight, not even enough time for my heart rate to fully recover from my
earlier panic. Getting through customs
and picking up my car was an easy enough process, and I was glad we were ahead
of schedule, as it meant I might actually be able to get to a restaurant before
they closed at 10 PM.
I lit up a Cohiba
and drove to my hotel. I left my cigar
outside, checked in, and changed as quickly as possible. I had narrowed it down to two choices, Salty’s,
which closed at 10 PM, and Shirley’s, which was open all night. Both served local food. I was thinking Shirley’s for breakfast
tomorrow, so I retrieved my cigar and went to Salty’s, walking through the
heart of the resort district of Garapan, complete with a Hard Rock Café. Apparently here when a restaurant closes at
10 PM, that doesn’t mean you can sit down and order at 10 PM. The kitchen had closed at 9:30 PM.
I went to Shirley’s, which had a nice
selection. I opted for the fried
parrotfish, which was served whole and was a bit of a challenge to eat with
chopsticks. It was quite good, though,
and I was glad to have my first Official meal in the Northern Mariana
Islands. After dinner, I once more
retrieved my cigar, which I had left outside, and walked to my hotel. I finished my cigar outside and then went to
my room to relax and recover a bit. Once
I had relaxed, I went out to the balcony, struggling with the most securely
locked balcony doors I had ever seen, lit up an Ardor, and proceeded to write
this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and post my photos
before I collapse.
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