No, not that romantic thriller with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. I hate to disappoint, but my life out here isn’t exactly a $100-million dollar budgeted explosive piece of awesome. Instead, it’s a $200 dollar per month explosive piece of awesome : ) Yes, that is my budget. I get paid more than that, but given my car payments and other bills back home, my expenses outweigh my income and have been doing so for 4 months now. The life of a field Biologist! So, $200 is all I allow myself give or take a few bucks. And I prefer it that way. With little to no money to spend, being in a new place is never about getting sucked into the ritzy and often garish tourist activities that cost far too much money. Instead, it is all about how you’re going to experience the place and see it for what it genuinely is. Who needs to experience the superficial alter ego of an already charismatic place, right?
So, yes. I finally went to some of the FREE tourist hot spots on the island!! Yay!! Beautiful places, full of history and wild untamed jungle. The first was the top of Mount Tapotchao, the highest point on the island of roughly 1500 feet. This was the most important look-out point during WWII as all sides of the island are visible. The Battle of Saipan could be won, ultimately, by whoever controlled Mount Tapotchao. After thousands of Japanese, Korean and American soldiers died, the U.S. took Tapotchao and eventually the rest of Saipan.
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| The View from the top of Mt. Taputchao |
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| Pacific Blue-tailed Skink |
The assault moved north up the island. We followed in it’s very old footsteps and reached The Last Command Post. The command post is surrounded by rusted out tanks and machine guns…a hidden limestone residence that once housed Japanese and Korean soldiers remains intact behind the arsenal…Suicide Cliff rises up tall behind the limestone, the backdrop of the scene. White Terns fly in front of the cliff face contrasting drastically with the grey limestone wall and tropical dark green vegetation.
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| Nature wins. |
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| Tee hee :) |
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| Flower Power |
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| Japanese Peace Memorial + Suicide Cliff |
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| A White Tern! It was really windy and hard to get a decent shot of one! |
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| For Peace Meditation |
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| The Last Command Post |
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| There used to be a gun here! |
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| Small front entryway into command post |
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| The top of those stairs takes you the small entryway to the hidden abode of many soldiers...if not for those stairs, you wouldn't expect to find anything in that giant limestone rock would you? |
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| Korean Peace Memorial |
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| This picture was taken to give you some perspective as to the massive size of these guns. It came out quite romantic...I swear, I don't love weaponry that much. |
We then ventured up to Suicide Cliff. The cliff’s name offers us it’s story. The view from the cliff is beautiful, although I can imagine what it may have looked like as a burned and broken battle scene. U.S. Troops moved North from Tapotchao, cornering the remaining Japanese and Korean soldiers, many of which chose to jump to their death from this cliff rather than being killed by the hands of others or taken alive.
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| Japanese Peace Memorial |
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| One view from the top left of the cliff |
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| The BIG view |
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| A straight shot down the side of the cliff |
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| North end of Saipan from Suicide Cliff |
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| View of the reef on the way down the road from Suicide Cliff |
Bonzai Cliff was our next stop, where yet more soldiers took their lives. Peace memorials abound. May Peace Reign On Earth. Indeed!
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| One of many Peace Memorials that line the coast at Bonzai... |
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| Meditating on Peace |
These sites are full of history, loss, rebirth, sadness and beauty. I was surrounded by life’s ephemeral quality and the joys and sorrows of the human condition. The plants taking over the machinery is just one magical eerie example of it all. The whole island brings about that feeling in me...
Well, we left the past behind, came back to the present and went to the Thursday Street Market. Some of the kids out here made Christmas decorations out of recyclables/trash as part of a school project/competition! There are 3 blocks of Christmas trees along the strip with all the decorations on display. They gave out awards to the winners and had dance and singing performances throughout the night! It was pretty fun :)
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| Every part of every tree was made out of recyclables and, well, trash! |
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| My favorite :) |
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| Dancers! |
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| Tire Snow Men! |
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| Brent and his Snow Men |
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| Failed attempt to give the Snow Man bunny ears... |
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| The ultimate tourist - sticking my head in the Santa SaiPANDA!! |
Merry Christmukkah from Saipan!!! I hope your Holiday season is full of relaxation, family and friends :)
Stay warm y'all and be merry!
Big hugs!
Erin
P.S. Look what I found at the store....
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| mmmmmMMMmmmm |
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| Oh cheddar!! My favorite!!! |
