My original plan was to travel over to the Philippines, but I’ve decided to change my plans and go island hopping around the Pacific Ocean first after seeing this advertisement in today’s newspaper on Guam:

Continental Airlines which is the main airlines around Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands is having some great specials for their 40th anniversary. A great travel package to Saipan which includes the airline ticket, hotel, and I think car rental for 2 days is only $222 USD, and to Rota it is only $234 USD. The advertisement also said longer stays are available and to call Continental for pricing, which I am going to do tomorrow. In addition, there are some other great deals to other islands on the website that are just to hard to pass up!

Being the economically sensible guy that I am, it would be a lost opportunity for me to just jump on a plane to Asia without exploring the thousands of small islands in the Pacific Ocean for such great deals! I think my readers would enjoy it also, since it is rare to see travel sites cover all these small, unknown Pacific Islands. So for the next month or two the small islands in the Pacific Ocean are going to be my home!

P.S. - I’m still doing some exploring on Guam and have loads of photos, videos, and experiences to share with you which I hope to have them posted on the site over the next few days before I take a flight to the other islands.

The topic of this post is going to be about Guam Latte Stones. I received an email from one of Traveling Project’s readers, named Jeffrey, for the “Ask TravelDude A Question” feature of this blog. Jeffrey, who wrote to me from Canada, saw the latte stone picture I posted in This Thread a few days ago, and wanted to know more about latte stones because he said the picture reminded him of the Maoi stone statues on Easter Island.

Latte Stones, although they look like some kind of monument, were stone pillars used to hold up ancient Chamorro houses. The latte stones are actually made up of two pieces; the top round piece or capstone is called “tasa” in Chamorro, and the longer bottom column is called “halagi”. These stone pillars can be found throughout the jungles of the island of Guam, and wherever you find them there was usually an ancient Chamorro village around the latte stone site. The local Chamorros respect the latte stone sites as part of their ancient culture, and it is important tourists visiting the latte stone sites also have respect while in the surrounding area. Archeologists who have examined the latte stone sites have found ancient Chamorro bones and burial sites, and the locals believe these sites are places where the ancient ancestral spirits of the Chamorro people, known as taotaomonas, are still present. Latte stones can also be found throughout the many islands in the Marianas, and they have become the signature of these islands.

A popular tourist attraction to see latte stones is at Senator Angel Santos Latte Stone Park which is located in the village of Hagatna. Eight latte stone pillars were moved to this park as a tourist attraction, and many tour companies now bring tour buses to the park. The pictures I took of the latte stones are actually from Senator Angel Santos Latte Stone Park.

Over the last year the U.S. dollar (USD) has continued to decline when compared to other international currencies. While this may be a good thing for travelers in other countries who come to visit the United States, it’s not as good for U.S. travelers who want to visit other countries. A weak U.S. dollar means services and goods in other countries will cost us more after we exchange our United States dollar for the local currency of the country we are visiting.

Below I took a snapshot of the 5-year exchange rate for the U.S. dollar to both the Japanese yen and the Euro. You can see that in both exchange rates we get a lot less of the countries currency for exchanging one U.S. dollar. It’s not only with these two currencies either, it’s pretty much like this across the board.

As far as when the dollar will get stronger, I don’t see this happening for awhile with the current state of the United States economy. So what’s the point of this post? I guess there really wasn’t any except bringing to attention it’s not so great a time for U.S. citizens to be traveling abroad; but on the other hand, it’s a great time for international travelers to take a trip to the United States because the exchange rates are in their favor. (While looking at exchange rates online I just thought it would make an interesting post.)

Today I had a chance to make my way over to Two Lovers Point, which is probably the most popular tourist sightseeing landmark on Guam according to locals. Two Lovers Point is located just north of Tumon Bay on a 400 feet high cliff line that overlooks the ocean and gives visitors a striking view of Guam’s western coastline.

Although Two Lovers Point is just north of Tumon Bay it is still one of those sightseeing destinations which is “off the beaten path” like most of Guam’s attractions. There is a paved road that leads to Two Lovers Point, but if you don’t get directions before trying to find the place there is no way you would ever be able to find it. After turning off the main road (Marine Corps Drive) and onto a paved road which leads to Two Lovers Point, I’m surrounded on both sides of the road by jungle. Traveling down the road a few minutes, I see a turn and sign that says Two Lovers Point, so I take the turn and follow the road again deeper into the jungle which seems like I’m just driving out to nowhere. After another few minutes I see what appears to look like a gate and have the feeling I arrived at Two Lovers Point; passing the gate it opens up into a parking lot and there are a few tour buses and cars parked. I’ve arrived at Two Lovers Point.

I park my car, get out, and look around thinking to myself the area looks like a recreational park. A few hundred yards away I can see a platform about two stories high with many people looking off in the distance, so I head my way on over in that direction. The actual lookout platform of Two Lovers Point is surrounded by a gate and there is a $3.00 admission fee I have to pay to get into the lookout platform. As soon as I get to the platform I’m astounded by the spectacular view which consists of the huge cliff line, a panoramic view of the whole coast of Tumon Bay, and the waves of the Philippine Sea crashing below.

The short version of the story behind Two Lovers Point is two lovers supposedly tied their hair together, and jumped off the cliff line to their deaths because their families wouldn’t let them be together. If you ever get a chance to visit Guam I recommend Two Lovers Point as a sightseeing stop you have to make during your stay! The images in this post don’t do justice to the real life view you will experience while at Two Lovers Point.

I’m currently on the island of Guam, and over the next few days I’ll be journeying to popular sightseeing attractions around the island while documenting my activities on Traveling Project. I thought it would be a good idea to give an introduction to Guam as a good starter post.

The island of Guam is located at 13º 30′ north latitude, 144º 48′ east longitude on the globe in the Pacific Ocean. It is a small island between the Philippines and Hawaii, and north of Australia. Total land area of Guam is 209 square miles with an estimated population of about 180,000 people at the time of this post. Guam is a territory of the United States and people born on Guam are United States citizens. The official currency of Guam is the United States dollar(USD), and the official languages are English and Chamorro. Everyone on Guam speaks English so you won’t have a problem communicating with the local population if you know English. The majority of the population on Guam are of Chamorro or Filipino descent, with smaller ethnic groups from Asia and the Micronesia islands also present.

The indigenous people of Guam are the Chamorro people, and they account for about 57% of the total population on Guam. Traditional Chamorro culture is very similar to other island dwelling cultures within Oceania with deeps roots in sea navigation, fishing, cultural dance and songs. There is a huge Spanish influence on Guam due to the Spanish colonization of the island when Spain used Guam as a stopping point on trade routes to the East Indies, Mexico, and Philippines in the 1600s to 1800s. In fact, many local Chamorros are also part Spanish.

The Spanish also spread Catholicism throughout the island, and about 95%+ of the population is Roman Catholic. If you ever get a chance to visit Guam be sure to check out the lavish and beautifully designed Roman Catholic churches in various villages throughout the island, specifically the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagatna village.

Located almost directly on the equator, Guam has a extremely hot, humid tropical climate and takes a little getting use to when you first arrive on the island. Lifestyle on the island is extremely slow and easy going. The main tourist area of Tumon is the busiest part of the island with hotels stretching down one strip of road along Tumon Bay. Finding attractions and sightseeing destinations is a little difficult unless you have a personal guide or guide book. Many of the best sightseeing attractions are “off the beaten path” so to speak, and have a long traditional history or story behind them so prepare to ask around for tips and directions from the locals.

The main activities to do while your on Guam would be to enjoy the tropical beaches, visit the local attractions and sight-seeing destinations, go shopping, and check out some of the local discos, clubs, and bars at night! I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to Guam and stay tuned for more posts and photos in the next few days!