Tarzan Falls Waterhole, Part 2 - Beauty

 My last post, about Tarzan Falls Waterhole, was very long, so I saved photos of the beauty I saw along the way for a second post, which will also be very long.

An unusual seed pod, spiralling around a stem.

A very dry, brittle fern with fingers branching off. I believe each branch divided in two directions.  It reminded me of a cross between a sword fern, a deer fern, and a maidenhair fern.

This flower was about as big as my pinky nail.  I would not have seen it, except we had to wait at the trail head for another car load of people to arrive, and I almost sat on it.  It has six petals.

If my memory is accurate for another time and place, this might be called Rat's Tail.

In one cut made by the jeeps and erosion, there were green stripes down the banks wall, contrasting beautifully with the red clay.

The hills were mostly covered with open fields of grasses.

The grasses were abundantly sprinkled with wild orchids.

 The yellow flower reminded me of something I'd see in the Pacific Northwest.

Pandanus fruit growing.

Across from the kids whirlpool hot tub was a rock wall.  I sat there for a long time looking around.  I did not expect to see any wild flowers there, because it is so hot, and feels the farthest thing from spring.  But in the deep shade, surrounded by ferns was a single white flower.  It reminded me of Bride's Bonnet, but it is not a lily, having only 5 petals, and leaves I do not recognize.  I sure wish I had a flower book for Guam.  I feel half blind without one.  I can see the flowers, but I don't recognize them as friends.

 The ferns were also interesting, with a long finger-like projection sticking out of the top of each one.  I've never seen a fern like it before.

On the way back I found this plant. 

 Is it an orchid, or something else?

 The only thing I am certain on is its beauty.

 The walk back from Tarzan waterhole took a lot longer then going there for a few reasons.

1.  The sun was more intense.
2.  We were going up hill now,  in the intense, hot sun.
3.  It was even less obvious which jeep trail led back to the cars.

We wondered and pondered, and made some back tracks.  But in the end, we made it back.  Some of us got there directly, and some took a different path.  Rob ended up on the road, a ways to the east, and couldn't decide which way to go back to the cars.  But Richard came by in the truck, headed to pick up some supplies, and picked up Rob and brought him back to the right place.

The boys would want you to know though, that they made it back first, on their own.  And why did we take "forever" to get there they questioned?