Hafa Adai!

Hafa Adai, pronounced half-a-day, means hello and welcome in the native Guam language of the Chamorro people. The last two days were spent exploring the island of Guam. We got here on Saturday morning and we are moored at the US Naval Base right next to an aircraft carrier and a battle cruiser. It has been awesome to be on base however the base is quite a bit out of the way of town. On Saturday, after we did day work, I decided to go off by myself so that I could cover more ground and see more stuff, little did I know how much walking I had to do to get anywhere. I finally ended up at the Navy exchange and got myself a beach towel, a new pair of sunglasses and a much needed haircut. After I decided to make my way to the restaurants on base and get some lunch, after a delicious burger I started walking to the beach and ended up getting a ride by a Marine Corps officer who took me to this beach called Gab Gab. It was the dream beach, white sand, clear water and riddled with palm trees. It was there I met up with a friend who had rented a car (thank god) We went to the Navy recreation center, they rented all sorts of water sports equipment including kayaks, bikes, and snorkeling gear. We got a full set of snorkel gear ($5/24hr) and headed back to the beach. We spent a few hours right before sunset snorkeling around...WOW! I have never seen anything like this before, the huge coral reefs with thousands of colorful tropical fish and everything you see in the movies and pictures right at my fingertips. I LOVE SNORKELING! It was such an amazing experience and not to mention it felt great in the 85 degree water afte being out in the 95 degree sun with 85% humidity all day. I want to try scuba diving, especially after snorkeling. After the beach we drove out of the base and towards hotel row where we decided to get some dinner at Chilis and then call it a night. Stay tuned tomorrow for what happened on Sunday also lots of fun pictures!

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy