It looks like we’re going to be moving there for a couple of years in the New Year. What can anyone tell me about it?
Didn’t live there; Stopped there for a couple port visits.
It can get real hot. Seriously. And humid. And when it rains, it’s like standing in a shower.
Didn’t see that there was all that much to do. Landscape wasn’t terribly impressive. Scuba and surfing looked like the things to do, if you’ve the time.
Sorry, that’s all I got.
Japanese tourists and snakes running amok eating all the birds, and bird eggs
A cousin of mine lived there for a while, and this is the impression I got of it:
Humid
Friendly
Meh-quality local food (from the perspective of an American.)
Bugs.
Overall, though, he liked it.
I have also heard that the humidity can do a number on natural-fiber clothing.
It has been a number of years since I lived there, but I enjoyed it. There is a saying the only thing more American than an American is a Gaumanian. And it can be that way in Agana. But once you get out of the city and head south it can be really island. For heaven’s sake, there were a couple of Japanese WWII holdouts that were there 30 years after the war was over.
I never found it “that” tropical of an island when it came to weather. Honestly, I didn’t find it especially humid, but I had been living in the islands for a while so that could be the reason. Check it out, it is not really in the tropics.
As to the food, I enjoyed it. The traditional island food is pretty basic to be sure -fish, taro and breadfruit, but so many different cultures have lived in Guam it has become kind of fun to wander through the different foods and their offshoots. Spanish, Japanese, Phillapino and American influence can be seen in regard to the food if you look (and you don’t have to look very hard).
The Japanese tourism industry has really affected the island, but not brutally.
I enjoyed the sailing, snorkling and the scuba. The surfing is not that good (at least it wasn’t when I was there.
Travel off island is fun and not “that” expensive. Trips to the different parts of Asia are very doable. I also enjoyed bopping around to places like Yap, Palau, Siapan and Truk. At the time at least, they were pretty afordable.
It looks like traveling back to the US will be a little expensive but we the Asian options look good. Thanks for all the info so far.
I guess others have more experience there, but my impression from two days there was that it was equal parts Hawaii and West Virginia. I wasn’t endeared.
Don’t eat the local cycad pancakes-you can get alzheimer’s disease!