This Sabbath's hike was to Sella Bay, just south of Adventist World Radio, on the island of Guam. You can see this view quite close to the beginning of the hike. For those who have been to AWR Guam before, you might be interested to see all the new towers that are up and working.
We joined a pretty large group that was going on the hike.
Alyssa was my main hiking companion, so she is going to be your tour guide on this tour of the Sella Bay trail.
The trail started out through some savanna land of grasses and hills.
Wild Bamboo Orchids bloomed tall in the grassland. In the photo above you can see some lavender dots. Those are the orchids.
Note the Katydid type insect on the on flower below, on the right. It was a surprise found when I looked at the photos on the computer.
The trail is only about 1.5 miles. You know you are getting closer to the ocean when you start walking through the jungle. There is even some oozy mud to navigate. Someone had laid down coconut palm branches for us to walk on, making me think of the day that people laid down palm branches for Jesus to walk on.
The bridge is still in quite good condition, and strong enough to confidently walk over. Once again Alyssa is our tour guide to the size and structure of the bridge.
Rob enjoyed resting among the foliage growing on the bridge, in the shade.
The photo below shows the view to the right from the mouth of the little River.
This next photo shows the view to the left.
But before we started exploring, Alyssa and I sat down on a rock in the river and soaked our feet in the fresh water. Little fish came to nibble on Alyssa's feet.
All of a sudden I was struck with the amazing thought that I was sitting with my feet in a river on January 21. Take that to mean that in the middle of winter, I was sitting comfortably, without coat, hat, gloves or snow boots! What a great feeling! The water was not cold, but rather comfortably refreshing after a hike in tropical weather.
Near the bridge, not far into the jungle, is the remains of a stone oven. Here is a link to another stone oven found on Guam. It has broken down over the years, but it's purpose is still clear.
Just steps from the stone oven was a grinding stone. The link tells you about more stone tools that the ancient Chammoro used.
He was successful.
The hike back was just as nice. I think we all would love to go back down there again to this wild place full of history.
This is Priscella from Brazil. She was delighted she finished the hike. She told me that when she got out to the water's edge, she finally knew she was really on an island. Sella Bay makes Guam really feel like a tropical island.
We joined a pretty large group that was going on the hike.
Alyssa was my main hiking companion, so she is going to be your tour guide on this tour of the Sella Bay trail.
The trail started out through some savanna land of grasses and hills.
Wild Bamboo Orchids bloomed tall in the grassland. In the photo above you can see some lavender dots. Those are the orchids.
Note the Katydid type insect on the on flower below, on the right. It was a surprise found when I looked at the photos on the computer.
The trail is only about 1.5 miles. You know you are getting closer to the ocean when you start walking through the jungle. There is even some oozy mud to navigate. Someone had laid down coconut palm branches for us to walk on, making me think of the day that people laid down palm branches for Jesus to walk on.
Just a bit further and all of a sudden, you know you are there. The Spanish Bridge, built in the late 1700's over the Sella River, comes into view. Beyond it is the ocean.
Rob enjoyed resting among the foliage growing on the bridge, in the shade.
The photo below shows the view to the right from the mouth of the little River.
This next photo shows the view to the left.
But before we started exploring, Alyssa and I sat down on a rock in the river and soaked our feet in the fresh water. Little fish came to nibble on Alyssa's feet.
All of a sudden I was struck with the amazing thought that I was sitting with my feet in a river on January 21. Take that to mean that in the middle of winter, I was sitting comfortably, without coat, hat, gloves or snow boots! What a great feeling! The water was not cold, but rather comfortably refreshing after a hike in tropical weather.
Near the bridge, not far into the jungle, is the remains of a stone oven. Here is a link to another stone oven found on Guam. It has broken down over the years, but it's purpose is still clear.
Just steps from the stone oven was a grinding stone. The link tells you about more stone tools that the ancient Chammoro used.
After hiking, Mr. Quaile was hungry for some coconut.
He pulled out a large bush knife, and easily whacked those hard shells open, getting to the yummy mature meat inside. Then he generously shared with everyone. Coconut tastes good everyday, but is best after a hike, right at the edge of the ocean, where the trees grow wild.
Matt Marsh had a hammer along with him, he used it to get into coconuts in a different way.
He was successful.
Alyssa was the most helpful of all. She climbed the coconut tree and knocked down green coconuts, and I got to drink some of the juice. I haven't had a tastier one since we drank them when shipwrecked on Ant Atoll, Pohnpei.
Here is Alyssa with her prize. She is a true island girl. I think she is close to qualifying for the Pathfinder Tree Climbing honor.
This is Priscella from Brazil. She was delighted she finished the hike. She told me that when she got out to the water's edge, she finally knew she was really on an island. Sella Bay makes Guam really feel like a tropical island.
Oh, I can almost imagine I am right there with you! What a beautiful hike!
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