Mi madre, la mer

We're beachcombers, he said.
What is that?
It's people who walk along the beach looking for things of value that might have washed up.
What kind of things?
Any kind of things. Anything that you might be able to use.
Do you think we'll find anything?
I don't know. We'll take a look.
Take a look, the boy said.
from The Road by Cormac McCarthy

What would I do without the sea? I am sure there is a way to live without but I would prefer to always be close to her. It is actually pretty sad that I haven't had a lot of time to spend in the water these past few months. I miss her enough that I plan to see her today. How lucky are we to live surrounded by the water? Can I afford a lunch hour swim? Why not?

A few days ago, DJ, Hayden Lucas, Laurina and I to Wing Beach. It was a good day.
Here's Hayden pointing at a balati (sea cucmber). He was calling it ga'ga' (animal or insect), one of his first words in Chamorro. I tell him Holothuria leucospilota but I'll save that prank for him when he is a lot older.

I love Wing Beach. This was once an ancient Chamorro village. From time to time, you can still find evidence of their presence here. I think it was part of the village of Luyo which usually described at Paupau Beach.
This is prime hunting grounds. Most of the rocks I use for slingstone replicas are from Wing Beach. She offers a lot of colors and varieties.

Hayden's momma asked me, "Why does he look up like that all the time?" I told her it was probably mostly my fault as I tend to point out birds, clouds, the moon and stars to the boy. I think he was looking at a bird flying overhead.
Do you see the two butterflies?
Or do you see the angel taking flight?

The clouds did not offer a clear view of the sun setting. It did however give us a glorious sun burst.
Hayden has a thing for chucking stuff. He laughs at the sound coral rocks make when they hit the ground.
I am sure that arm will be good for something as he grows up. Too bad his uncle's sport growing up was tennis and volleyball. Oh, I see where that can be developed into a smash or a spike.
Is it time to go already?I hope you get to enjoy the sea soon, my friends.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

Did I Just Meet the Future Tesla?

It is science fair season here on Saipan for the grade schools. I actually only joined one science fair in my life while growing up on Guahan. I honestly didn't think that the teachers gave us enough time to really sink our teeth into the experiments so I was often unmotivated to do it for school. I always wanted to be "scientist." My mom could never get the concept of being a scientist as a career, so she often teased me that I'd only end up being a "sayang-tist": sayang meaning "too bad" or "what a pity" or "what a waste" in Tagalog.

I usually had my own thing going on anyway, so I don't feel like I missed out on much. I do however, encourage the kids that I know to learn the scientific method and discover the magic of science for practical reasons.

My BFF's son, DJ, asked me to help him with his project this year. He wanted to see if you could predict a person's height by measuring their feet.

DJ already impress me each time we hang out in nature as he absorbs most everything I tell him. He usually has a hundred questions about everything.I know that the kid is smarter than me, because you see, I have a weakness in math. I love the concepts of geometry and physics, but I have to work on them for a long time in order for me to grasp them. DJ had to deal with measurements, ratios, fractions, and decimals. It was so impressive to see him get into the project and crunch the math like a bag of sembe (his favorite Japanese rice crackers). DJ got selected as 1 of the 3 that would represent his class for the entire school, but unfortunately did not place in the overall judging. I'm so proud of him though!
San Antonio Elementary School Science Fair
I also had the privilege to be a judge at San Antonio. Who can resist right?SAES' mascot is the gamsom. I often tell kids that I do not eat gamsom because it is such a shame to eat such a smart creature.
I had to judge 12 projects with a 1 page (front & back) scoring sheet with 6 criteria, and 31 categories that include, "Does the project follow the scientific method?" to "Has the student acknowledged help received from others?". I didn't think that it would be so extensive! but I had fun anyway as I tried to judge fairly.


These kids has a lot of brain power I tell you. June, Ruth, Jiana, Mary Kay, Davina, Patty, Mae, Christina, Czarina, Jazmine, Tichina, Christian, John, Robert and Reyna Fe: you all did a great job! Thank you SAES!

The Renaissance (Little) Man
My buddy, Hayden Lucas Scott is growing up too fast. He is already tech savvy already at the age of 1.5 years. He also likes the hook on Solja Boy's Churp (..."kiss me through the phone...I'll see you later on"...).

(Sure his phone is pink, but that's just 'cause he has a busy, stressful lifestyle eatin', sleepin' and poopin', but he understands color psychology. Pink = calm). Dig?

He already understands concepts of Physical Science......the importance of not only being smart but looking smart...
... can identify his seasonal shorebirds by their foot prints...... notes the composition of sand being an avid psammophile and naturalist.
When one spends a lot of time in nature, one becomes a naturalist. Once a naturalist then one elevates one's self eventually to a naturist. It is the evolution of the man of science: The Renaissance Man!
I am sure he'll make me regret this when he is older. I love you, DJ and Hayden.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber.

A Mystery Solved

Have you ever seen this painting?Chances are slim unless you frequent the laboratory or the dialysis unit at the Commonwealth Health Center. I've often wondered about this painting because of the curious rock formation jutting as the focal point of the picture. Where is this place? Is it a real place or is it made up? If it is a real place on Saipan, how come I haven't seen it? If it is made up, why paint such a curious formation? No one I asked at the hospital could give me any answers about the curious painting.

I've had the bug to go hiking this past Sunday because I wasn't able to go hiking with my church family to Forbidden Island. Hayden Luke turned a year old and he had his party on the same day. So, Sunday morning I was ready for an adventure.

I asked Laurina and DJ if they wanted to go exploring in some place new. The mother and son team is always ready to go so, we grabbed some breakfast, packed some fruits, snacks and some drinks for a full day of hiking. Here's the pair making their way down a steep descent in the trail to Old Man by the Sea.

The false rattan (Flagellaria indica) were in bloom.
So were the Sea hibiscus or what the locals call Pago (Hibiscus tiliaceus)
The mature flowers of Pago are orange-pink while the younger are bright yellow. The leaf litter had yellow petals strewn here and there that looked as if previous hikers went down the trail puling them off and discarding them.

I need a tropical fungi guidebook, but I've seen these white ones before and they are usually attached to rotting wood.
The Sumac or (Aidia cochinchinensis) were also displaying their pretty and fragrant blooms.

When we finally made it down to the beach, the tide was really low. Buenas, Old Man!

The sea seemed somewhat calm due to the negative tide, but always be careful at this part of the beach and beyond the reef flat. The currents are dangerous and the waves are unpredictable.
We went through this hole...

Headed for the boulders on the north side of the beach...

Squeezed in between the rocks...

Finally reached the "wall"!

After testing the rope and assessing the difficulty level of the climb, it was gut check time for both Laurie and DJ. After praying for safety, the two struggled with whether or not this was a climb they would want to risk. I positioned myself as best as I could to assist midway the top. DJ tried first but after the first 6 feet, he got scared because it was really high and quite sheer. I thought that I would have to go on alone on this one, but after a minute or two, he psyched himself into trying again. He even assured his mom by saying, "Just clear your mind, mom. Embrace the darkness." Laurina and I had a good laugh.

Laurina is also very afraid of heights which worried me. The two did well though and were all smiles when they got to the top. I made them look down the wall and told them that they need to mentally prepare themselves for the climb down later. After a few minutes of following a trail, we finally reached our destination.

Welcome to Saipan's Second Grotto!

The Second Grotto is a collapsed limestone cavern. You can hear the sea surging in and out even though you couldn't see the water from above. There were some nice stalagmites, stalactites, drip and flowstones, and even a pair of White-tailed Tropic birds (Phaethon lepturus) nesting within. The Chamorro name is Fagpi-apa'ka or Fakpe. They were clearly warning us to stay away with their calls that soundeds like keee-keee-krrt-krrt-krrt. Their extra long central tail feather always amazes me!

It was amazing to see the huge hole that used to be a cave really. This was a good opportunity to talk stories with DJ about his interest in rocks, gems and geology.
Can you see her at the bottom right of this picture? This place is huge! It reminded me of the huge sink hole close to the Hilton Hotel on Guam that my friend Brian and I used to visit.Time to climb out! After a drink and snack break, it was time to go. The two were too tired to look for the cave entrance that would lead us 20 feet into the cavern so we just spent time exploring the outside and looked at the awesome vista.
The view from the outside. Aha! This is what made it click! The mystery!

This is a view of a possible underwater access to the Second Grotto. There is evidence of cliff fishing here which is pretty sad because people leave their trash where they fish. Pick up after yourselves, messy people!
Can you see the Haggan (green sea turtle). It was taking in gulps of air directly under the cavern roof!

The seaside view.
Caveman DJ at one of the interesting holes cliffside.

After the viewing, it was time to climb out.I can see the back of the head of the Old Man now!
After this hike, it was hot and we had the urge to go swimming so we decided to go to Tanke Beach, Kagman. We will save that adventure for another story.

Monday morning came and I just had to look at the painting again at CHC. The mystery of the painting was solved!
I hope you enjoyed talking stories once again. Ti napu.

The Beachcomber