DAY TWO
You’ve booked a dolphin watching tour for today so you leave the hotel early. Before noon you’re sailing along the southeastern coast and can see the island’s tallest peak, Mount Lamlam. Another record — if Lamlam was measured from the deepest point in the Sea, the Marianas Trench, it would clock in as the world’s tallest mountain. Your guide tells you that though Mount Lamlam is only 1,332 feet high, the distance from the peak to the bottom of the nearby Marianas Trench is perhaps the greatest change in elevation on Earth over such a short distance. The Trench reaches a maximum known depth of 6.78 miles. If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth at 29,040 feet, was set in the deepest part of the Marianas Trench, there would be 6,760 feet of water left above it.
No wonder James Cameron was so eager to dive here.
Your deep thought is interrupted by an eruption of cheers from your fellow tourgoers. A pod of dolphins is swimming just next to your boat, as eager to check you out as you are to see them. The boat stops near the reef and you hop out to snorkel.
Three hours later you are back in Tumon’s Pleasure Island lapping up spicy tuna rolls or whatever Japanese delight floats your boat… which leads to a quick nap on the beach. You’ve heard Tanguisson Beach is a must-see, so you drive past Two Lovers Point (which you’ll come back to) to take in the monolithic limestone plumes of Tanguisson.
Feeling refreshed and a bit adventurous, you journey past Tanguisson Beach towards Shark’s Cove. After a 20-minute walk along the winding beach, you plop down on a desolate patch of sand and notice just how crystal blue the water is. This calls for some snorkeling and no, you don’t see any sharks.
Just before the sun sets you make it to Two Lovers Point and read the legend of the ill-fated Spanish beauty and her forbidden Chamorro beau. It’s Guam’s Romeo and Juliet story with every bit as tragic an end. The views of the Philippine Sea and the sharp cliffs are spectacular.
You clean up at the hotel then dine at Kai, an unabashedly mom-and-pop restaurant serving authentic Japanese tapas. You don’t regret ordering the pink dragon roll and a plate of sizzling local fish. You autograph your sake bottle while the owner’s wife snaps a Polaroid and hangs it on the bar. Your sake is waiting for your return and you hope it will be soon.
You’re almost too tired, but a brief rest in the hotel renders you refreshed for a nightcap at Globe Nightclub. Thankfully, what happens at Globe stays at Globe.
