First couple days in Saipan

Unfortunately, it has been sometime since I have updated the blog. Things sure go fast out here and we have been keeping fairly busy (also the internet has been kinda slow). Anyhow the first couple days out on Saipan were spent getting used to our surroundings. Our instructor took us on a tour of the island ("Saipan 101"), it was about a 6hour tour where we were able to view a lot of important historical landmarks as well as beautiful scenery.

One of our first stops was a marina over near Capitol Hill. Off in the distance is a small island called Managaha. The island is a well known tourist stop with a ferry running out to it several times a day. Having flown in at night it was amazing to see the water for the first time and to see how clear it was.

This was located at one of our stops along the tour. It was built by the US government during the cold war. It was used as a scare tactic and is no longer in use. Pretty neat and Star War-sy looking.

One of the stops was at Last Command Post. There were several Japanese bunkers in the area. The above picture is a Shinto shrine (I think) in memory of the fallen Japanese.

One of the Japanese bunkers with a huge hole in it from a tank.

So, we were lucky enough to have a tour guide (hah) that knew a lof of the history of the island. Saipan played a large role in World War II and the day was laid out in such a manner that we were able to see the climax and end result of the war from the view of the Japanese and locals. Many Japanese jumped from two cliffs in Saipan after hearing that the Japanese had been defeated it was spread around that the Americans would do horrible things to any Japanese found in Saipan, so many of them leapt from the cliffs. This picture is the view from Suicide Cliff, looking to Bonzai Cliff.

One of our last stops on the tour was the Grotto. It is a really neat swimming spot and cool place to go snorkeling and see some neat marine animals.

Bird Island- a neat protected area on the North East part of the island.

Fresh green coconut! Probably the most delicious thing I've discovered since moving out here is the coconut. Many places around town you can buy a coconut with a straw in it for $1! Perfectly refreshing!

And while all of the above pictures look like so much fun- there had been a lot of work done. Directly above is some of the gear we were getting together for our snail and coconut crab survey.

Our bait traps for coconut crabs. Suffice to say- there were a lot! However- it paid off (for some) and we were able to catch some of these elusive critters.

(Hopefully I'll have some more free time to do some more update and uploads. I have hundreds of pictures and so many stories but unfortunately the internet and being so busy limits my ability to upload everything). Next up: our trip to Rota.