Juniper

There have been many things that have surprised me while living here. One of them is the livestock that just roams the street. I have mentioned roosters before, but there are also a lot of cows in our neighborhood.

A few weeks ago I woke up to see they had moved one of the cows into our backyard. I got very excited and went outside and wanted to pet it (all while Eric stood on our deck and laughed at me because cows don't really like to be pet). She did let me pet her but then ran away, and jumped a bit. It was then that we realized she was a baby. She jumped and played and drank milk from a carton on the ground. Eric thought we should name her Juniper. I went out the next day and took some pictures of her being all cute:

The day after I took the pictures they moved her :( and I have not seen her since. I was very sad, but I am sure I will find more animals to harass in the time I have left here.

I have taken some other photos I just need to edit, and I will upload soon.

Don’t go chasing waterfalls…

Saturday morning started with torrential downpours and dark skies. I thought we might be stuck in for the day. Lucky for me though, around 9 am the sky cleared up and we were able to go and check out one of the islands many waterfalls. Eric thought it would be best to choose the least known about one.

Namo falls is kind of small and quaint. As you walk through the “woods” you can hear the rushing sound of water which leads you straight to the falls. There was no one else there but us which was wonderful. We were able to climb, swim and just hang out without having to dodge people, or being uncomfortable. Here are some of the shots I took:
On a side note, although I had a great time, there were a couple things that did not go well. One- As I said, it had rained the night before so the rocks were slippery. As I was falling the woman in charge of the falls said “it is slippery” Um, yeah I noticed. Two- Waterfalls are pretty powerful; Eric found that out the hard way when he put his hands under the falls and screwed up his wrist. And Three- Apparently the spiders here grow to monstrous sizes. You can all guess what happened when I saw not one but 3 spiders bigger than my head (OK, they were not bigger than my head, but they were freakin huge!!!!)

I love waterfalls, I always have. There are so many here on the island, I can’t wait to check them all out. Poor Eric is going to be stuck going with me…

Sunset

The first day Eric was gone, I went to the beach to photograph the sunset. I never get tired of watching the sunset, It is different every single day. You could watch it from the same place every night and it would always be different...

I love this tree. It just seems so lonely and beautiful swaying in the breeze.

Well thats all for now. Eric and I plan on doing some hiking tomorrow, so I will have some more photos soon!

Guamalicious

Hey everybody! I decided to start a little blog to keep y’all up to date on life here in Guam.

I have been here exactly a week today, and starting to feel a bit more normal. I pretty much know my way around and can drive like the locals (30 MPH over the speed limit of 25). There are still things for me to remember such as: “Hafa adai” means hello and it is only polite to say when talking to anyone, even if they speak English (which everyone does), SPF 50 is needed just to drive to the end of the street, Spam comes in 50 flavors and needs an entire aisle at the supermarket, and Roosters do not show favorites, they will go to every house in the neighborhood to make sure EVERYONE is awake.

We have not done too many “touristy” things since I have been here. My first few days, I was just trying to get used to my new location and find out how to get around. One thing we did do before Eric went back to work was go to this cliff called “Two lovers point”. It is one of the biggest tourist destinations on the island and I can see why. The view of Tumon bay, the white cliffs and the ocean is just breathtaking. I was able to snap a few shots:

Eric and I also went to the beach a couple times. I have never been much of a beach person. -I know, I know, then why did I move to Guam? You ask. Well here is my reason:

Yup, that guy. Handsome, isn’t he?

Anyway, back to the beach. Even though I was never a beach person, I really love the beaches here. The ocean is a crisp blue, and the view no matter where you walk is gorgeous:

Oh, and check out the hermit crab. They are all over the beaches here. They inhabit most of the shells. So you have to be careful when you pick one up that you don’t get bitten.

Well I think that is enough of an update for today. I will be lonely for the next few days, so be prepared for some photos of my exploring the island (and probably random self portraits). Adios! :)