Saipan’s sunken pool

Any trip or stay on Saipan would never be complete without visiting the Grotto, a sunken pool of amazingly azure waters that is connected to the ocean by passages underwater. For divers, the Grotto is one of Saipan’s best spots but non-divers too can enjoy the spectacular views the place has to offer.

Come with me as we visit yet another one of the unique spots this island has to offer.
The first time I visited the Grotto, I was not able to resist the urge to go down the 100 steep steps. A slight rain had made the stairs slippery and I was wearing sandals with heels but I was not about to let the opportunity pass.
Going down takes real effort as you have to hold on to the cement handrails and watch your footing if you have no wish to crash in a heap at the sharp rocks below.

Once you reach the bottom of the staircase, you will be facing yawning caverns that promise worlds of wonder under the water’s surface. Non-divers can enjoy listening to the thunderous crashing of the waves on the rocks, or watch snorkelers having a grand time in the pool.

If it requires effort on your way down, going up requires double effort. I had to rest every five or so steps and listen to my deafening heartbeat while trying to catch my breath.

Above the pool, a view deck provides a perfect setting where you can gaze for hours at the endless blue of the ocean stretched out before you. The view deck has tables and benches where guests can sit, relax and breathe in the salty tang of the ocean breeze.

The Grotto, located north of Saipan is easily accessible. Just drive past the “last command post” and “Banzai Cliff” memorial parks, and watch out for the sign on the road.

The Grotto is one place you must not miss. All you need is a healthy pair of legs (for non-divers), guts and a pair of itchy feet, and some exercise if you don't mind.
I will leave the divers to describe the underwater wonders of the Grotto, or wait until I will have the chance to dive someday. Maybe that would be when I learn how to swim. Ahhhh, maybe in the next 50 years...

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(Article originally published at

http://www.mvarietynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9610:island-explorer&catid=4:special-features&Itemid=31)

Chasing butterflies

Thursday was one of those days which buddy Ferdie calls "bokya" at the CNMI Superior court. Nothing much went on, save for trials for small claims and traffic violations. I went out with a clean notebook, meaning I got no stories from there to meet my daily quota.
Waiting for the car to pick me up is one of the worst times I always experience in a day. You stay inside the court you freeze to death with the cold blast from the aircon. You wait outside you suffer from the blistering heat of the sun.

I decided to do a little of both , staying inside for a while, then going out to wait. Junhan and Raymond caught me running after butterflies and trying to capture them with my ever-reliable point and shoot Sony digicam outside the court.
I actually found chasing butterflies much more fun than running after lawyers in the lobby (although some of those serious-looking, attache case-carrying species are worth running after...lolololll) after each trial, snapping fotos of orange-clad defendants in handcuffs, poring over court records and digging up cases, not to mention pestering the clerks to have access to the files.

I envied the butterflies...no daily quota, pressures or deadlines to think of.

I had coffee today (uh-oh!)

TODAY is the fourth day after I tried to kick out coffee from my system and I am winning, or I was winning until this morning when I lost the battle and gave in to the temptation. The clock struck 3:30 a.m. and the world was eerily silent, broken only by the sounds I made as I rapped away on my keyboard, pausing once in a while to sip the scalding black liquid in my favorite mug. An unanticipated power outage (yes we know that’s not news on Saipan) forced me to go to bed at 11 pm last night. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and jumped out of bed to erase all traces of sleep from my system. A deadline was beating down my neck and this is one battle I could not lose.

AHhh, the sweet aroma of coffee assailed my nostrils as I paused to sniff before each blissful sip. I remember walking toward the refrigerator to down a glass of cold water but my eyes strayed towards the top of the fridge where the coffee paraphernalia sneered at me invitingly.

Before I knew it, I was already pouring a spoonful of ground coffee in the coffee maker. I remember mechanically plugging it in and closing the door of my room to try to blot out musical gurgling sound of coffee dripping into the glass container. The closed door however could not stop the tantalizing smell of coffee from permeating through the room I had to take a deep breath.

The other night was pure torture. I had to swallow my saliva several times as I watched at my companion sip a cup of coffee at Shirley’s while waiting for our dinner. (I can’t mention his name here because we are not supposed to be seen together anywhere, particularly in "enemy" territory …LOL) Knowing me to be a coffee drinker, he was about to order two but I shook my head (oh if he only knew what an effort that action took) and I ordered a glass of water instead. Uhmm, I mean a glass filled with 90 percent ice cubes and 10 percent water.

I tried to look everywhere except on my companion’s cup. My agony was doubled when his cup was refilled a few minutes after. When the waitress offered a third refill, I was tempted to kick him under the table to get it for me. I had to fork ice cubes from my glass and stuff it to my mouth to fight the urge to order coffee. I won the battle that night and attacked my order of spicy chicken wings with a vengeance.

I never meant to get addicted to coffee. I mean I'm not a coffee addict. I drink my coffee without creamer and I don't take my coffee black. Just half a spoonful every- uhmm three times a day. The first thing I do after turning on my computer at the office is to pour a sachet of two-in-one coffee into my mug, head to the water dispenser in the kitchen and presto, i sip coffee as I check emails and other stuff online. By other stuff this includes "fan" mails from who wish to fan the life out of me by their vicious letters for stories that I wrote the previous day. Thanks to coffee I can bear it all.

The decision to stop curb my drinking coffee came when last week when I took a day off and stayed at home. No coffee in the morning. At about noon my body started to sense that something was very wrong, or some part of me was missing. By afternoon, I was fidgeting and sweating and only became "normal" again after I've had a cup of instant coffee.

I have a jar of Nescafe on top of the refrigerator, dozens of sachets of two-in-one coffee (minus the creamer) which I bought in Manila when I went home last May. Underneath a pile of papers in my desk, I had sachets of coffee and another jar of Nescafe behind my CPU.

I bought a pack of tea at San Jose and tried to convince myself that it’s the same with coffee. I drank juice and chomped on ice cubes and stayed away from the kitchen in our office during coffee break and succeeded, for four days.

I know I filled the four-cup coffee maker. I know I would be too weak to resist heating the rest of the coffee when I arrive home tonight. Okay, just this once...and I'll start the battle once again tomorrow.

UPDATE:

I won i won i won!!! i was nursing a steaming mug of coffee in my hands this morning and was about to take a sip but then I went to the sink and poured the coffee into the drain. What a waste but then it was a victory.

Last Command Post remembered

DRIVING all the way to Marpi on the north end of Saipan will lead you to several areas that have been mute witnesses to the poignant events of the Second World War, and one of these areas is the Last Command Post.
If you had been on Saipan long enough, you may have taken this spot for granted but everyday, this spot gets a fair share of visitors from all over the world.

Tourists wander around the Last Command Post. At the backdrop is the Suicide Cliff.

Located just along the road, the Last Command Post would have been another ordinary park with the colossal 800-foot Suicide Cliffs towering above and flame trees flowering from April to July each year.
Were it not for the markers and memorials scattered all over the park, visitors wouldn’t know that behind the World War II relics, a light Japanese tank and several guns that had been silenced forever is a tragic past that will forever be a part of the islands.
Records would tell you that the Last Command Post, a rock slab is where the Japanese command held out to the very end.
I and my explorer buddies Mark, Moneth, Junhan and Raymond went up the stairs and in to the inner chamber of the cave. I couldn’t help but shiver as I thought of the people who took shelter in it more than 60 years ago. If the rocks could talk, how interesting their stories would be. They had witnessed the unfolding of the fierce battle and sad events that made up a chapter of the world’s history.

Going into the inner chamber of the cave.

A drizzle started and we had to hurry because we were not planning to get wet.
It was a relief to leave the place which holds so many bitter memories. Just as we were driving away, a busload of tourists arrived, excitedly snapping photos from their cameras despite the drizzle.
Generations have come and gone, but like the rest of the war memorials on Saipan, the relics of the Last Command Post will stay as a reminder of the island’s tragic past.
(http://www.mvarietynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9308:island-explorer&catid=4:special-features&Itemid=31)

One of the canon placed near the stairs going to the cave.

MORE PHOTOS HERE

Paradise amidst cliffs and bushes

NESTLED amidst cliffs, sharp rocks and bushes just off the eastern side of Saipan is an isolated nook which is perfect for a day out with family or friends.

Ladder beach, hidden in a cove between rugged cliffs is one of Saipan’s beautiful albeit hidden beaches.
Last Saturday’s adventure brought me and companions Mark, Junhan, Moneth and Ed to several turns on rough roads before reaching a grassy parking space way off the back of Saipan International Airport.
From the parking space, Ladder beach looked less inviting, with cliffs and huge slabs of rocks jutting out.
We descended a flight of stairs and when we emerged into a clearing, I immediately changed my mind. It’s a different word down there!
Ladder beach is a paradise, with spacious caves ideal for holding camp outs or bonfires where you can swap stories and while away the time.
If the urge to feel alone hits you, Ladder beach is the place to be. You could sit for hours and watch and listen to the sound of the huge waves crashing on rocky shores from the Pacific Ocean.
Compared to other beaches on Saipan, the waves at Ladder Beach are a little larger, adding to its charm.
Ladder beach is kind of hidden away, a place where you can be free to meditate, to wade in the water, to enjoy moments of peace or to shout and hear the wind and the waves answer you back in their own wild voices.

If you feel adventurous, you may jump on your bike and sped off toward the place. It is a place where you can discover that even among the crags and bushes, nature’s beauty flourishes. (http://www.mvarietynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9112:island-explorer&catid=4:special-features&Itemid=31)

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Bird Island revisited

A BREATHTAKING view awaits anyone who drives all the way to Marpi at the north east coast of Saipan. As soon as you reach the end of the paved road, prepare to see one of the most spectacular views Saipan has to offer, the Bird Island.

I wasted no time in going down the cemented stairs to the lookout last Saturday with four officemates, not minding the droplets of rain that threatened to develop into a downpour anytime. It was my second time to visit the Bird Island. The difference was this time, I was not in a hurry.

From the view deck, the Bird Island, also called Isleta Maigo Fahang or “island of sleeping seabirds” by the locals, is a small rocky islet standing in the middle of a coral reef that looks so near yet so far.

The Bird Island is one place where you can feast your senses on the scenic spot which nature seemed to carve so perfectly years ago. The island serves as a sanctuary for thousands of birds, and that’s how it got its name.

Here is one place where you can sit and gaze for hours at the endless stretch of ocean before you. It is an idyllic spot where you can commune with nature and hear nothing but the crashing of the waves on the rocks below. This is a place where you can forget the daily pressures of work and the deadlines breathing down your neck, a glorious panorama I would exchange for the glare of the computer monitor anytime.

Gazing down, the temptation to go and wade in the waters toward the islet is very strong. I was told there is a steep hiking trail that leads down to the beach and you can head out to the Bird Island when the tide is low.

Maybe, one of these days, I will have the chance to roll up my jeans and wade in the water and hope that the tide stays out until I get back, or else that would be another story.

Stairs going down to the lookout

When you are at the lookout, just be careful to stay within the fenced area. One wrong step beyond could send you hurtling down the cliff toward the rocks below.

If you have been on Saipan for years and you haven’t been to the Bird Island yet, it’s time you check the place which has attracted thousands of visitors from all over the world. It doesn’t pay to be a stranger in your own paradise.

For more photos PRESS ME

http://www.mvarietynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8057%3Aisland-explorer&Itemid=23

The glory that was La Fiesta

I have passed the now-abandoned La Fiesta Mall several times since I arrived on Saipan in February and had always been curious about the sprawling buildings. I finally had the chance to visit the place when Mr. Sandman (aherm-now I have your attention) took me for a quick look at the place some weeks back. Twilight was falling and we just drove around the parking lot as he regaled me with stories of “The glory that was La Fiesta” more than four years ago, before the bustling mall closed its doors.

I didn’t even try to take pictures because I know my reliable camera couldn’t take any shots. Although the daring side of me was very much tempted to explore the empty halls, I didn’t give in. I didn’t exactly relish the thought of being caught by police authorities and be mistaken as a prowling robber. Nah, I wouldn’t want to hit the headlines!

The chance to really explore the ruins (or some parts of it) of La Fiesta Mall in San Roque came last Saturday when I and four ranch-mates (???) Mark, Raymond, Junhan and Moneth decided to stop by on our way to Marpi. In broad daylight, the buildings didn’t look as sinister and eery as it did when I first went there. I picked my way among the ruins, through the debris-filled hallways, peeking through the rooms and shouting “hello” into the vast emptiness. My voice ricocheted through the walls.

Now, no traces of the once-largest shopping and entertainment center on Saipan remained except for these forsaken buildings with its peeling paint, shards of broken glass from the shattered windows and dangling plywood from the cracked ceilings. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for these mute witnesses to the place

Mark playing superman up there

which once throbbed with life and laughter. The three sections-- Fiesta I, II, and III which used

to house shops, fast food restaurants, designer boutiques, movie theaters and a concert hall where performers belt out live musical renditions every night have become a thing of the glorious past.

La fiesta Mall taken from a15th floor balcony of Palms Resort Saipan.

(Who says I'm afraid of heights???)

I left the ruins with a heavy heart, sorry for the days-gone-by when La Fiesta stood in all its glory. I was not yet here to witness the non-stop activities but from the accounts of people who had contributed to the heydays of the mall, I released a huge sigh and realized I went sentimental over a past which I was not even a part of.