Spring Break 2015 - Day 1

We looked at plane tickets to get off the island for spring break. It was a little last minute, but still within the 14 day advance booking window before airline tickets get insanely expensive. However, you surely wouldn't know that by looking at these prices! So we decided Shelby would just take leave and we would do island adventures every day. Our friend Ray took leave too, so Lisa and I sat down and planned a big adventurous week full of stuff we haven't seen or done on Guam yet. First day was hiking to Tarzan Falls. Lisa has the hiking on Guam book with all the trail information, difficulty, what to expect and how to get to the trail heads from roadways. We followed the directions and found the trail head, marked by the muddy shoes hanging on the wires, just like the book described.

We started hiking and quickly learned that hiking in Guam's rainy season makes even an "easy" level hike seem like a tough mudder challenge. The dirt here thick, red clay that is worse than Georgia clay. I felt like I had shoes on top of my shoes from the amount of mud caked on the bottom of them. Now I understand the shoes on the wire at the trail head!

We carefully selected this trail for a couple of reasons. First off it was one with rewarding views, second it wasn't too long and or too difficult for all the kids to do but still felt like a good hike. Lastly, it was supposed to be one of the best marked and easiest trails to follow here in Guam. They have fantastic hiking here, but trails are very often poorly marked and hard to follow, so we went with what was supposed to be the easiest to break us in and acquaint us with hiking in Guam.  I did not sunscreen us up prior to the hike because the guide book said the trail was mostly tree covered and shaded. We hiked and hiked and I kept wondering where this shade was going to begin! Not wanting to stop and lotion everyone up, because certainly the shade had to be right around the corner, I finally covered Caleb with an umbrella to shade him. We hiked and hiked and finally came to the lovely Tarzan swimming hole. We happily dove in to cool off because it was HOT. At this point we put sunscreen on everyone (too little too late, ouch!) and took advantage of the cold water and rope swing. 

After we cooled off and ate some lunch we decided we needed to head back the way we came instead of trying to head deeper into the jungle. We were pretty sure we had gotten off the trail to the falls at some point. So much for easiest trail to follow. We had a former Boy Scout, a former Girl Scout leader a guide book and we still got lost on "Guam's easiest trail to follow." Perhaps hiking in Guam is not our thing? LOL At any rate we saw some beautiful scenery and got a good workout getting to somewhere completely unexpected. 

Here are more pictures from our hike: 

Tarzan Swim Hole Hike

This is what the falls are supposed to look like, courtesy of someone who has actually been there...

After the hike we headed to a village called Inarajan to go to the tide pools there. The village is located on the south eastern side of the island and has some great tide pools with different snorkeling that you find elsewhere on the island. The kids loved playing in the calm pools and the views were amazing. Check out our photos from Inarajan Pools...

Inarajan Pools

One last stop we made was to try to find Gadao's Cave in Inarajan, since it was on the way. Here are the directions to Gadao's Cave. These are taken from 360 Guam, but you find these same directions on many websites and hiking guides. Doesn't sound like a place we are supposed to hike to, but apparently it is ok... After getting to this point the directions are pretty simple...

• When you start entering a slightly more populated area, slow down and look out for the sign to your left (usually covered by trees, which says “Gadao’s Cave” and turn left here. This is a long, narrow road that skirts the left edge of Inarajan Bay. If you start the curve to the left around Inarajan Bay where the statue of Gadao in half a canoe, the church ruins, and ancient chamorro village is, you have gone too far.

• Take a right turn on the first gravel road that you see.

• Soon you will see private property and “Keep Out” signs. You will park on the side of the road before driving through where there are two polls on either side used to string a wire cable across a private driveway, marking the end of the public road. Oftentimes this driveway is left open to allow the residents to drive through. To your right is a chain denying vehicle access with metal cables fencing in a forested area.

• This chain, possibly with a “Keep Out” sign attached, is what you will be hopping in order to start this short hike.

After getting to this point the directions are pretty simple..."After you cross the chain, keep straight through the weeds towards the beach for 3 – 5 minutes. Soon the trail will veer to the left along the water. The first cave-like structure you may see looking through the trees is not Gådao’s cave. Keep walking straight until you see a reddish rock structure, with a ridge along the middle with a clearly etched level to walk along. Climb up to this ridge with just a couple of rocks to step up, and walk along the rock wall on this middle level. The opening to your left is the mouth of the cave, and the pictographs of the two stick figures are to your left as you enter." Again, sounds simple...we couldn't find it! LOL If the day's success was measured by following directions we failed miserably! Good thing we still had fun and enjoyed the misguided trails we did find! I'll post the story and pictures of Gadao's Cave another time, you know, the one where we actually find it!