Yesterday we tried another hike. I had my doubts, since last Saturday's excursion ended in a lot of mud and whinyness... But, a friend Friday night volunteered to go with and help with the girls, (B had plans to go try some spear fishing with a friend) so I took her up on it. And I'm so glad I did! It really was beautiful and fun.
The hike was down on the Navy Base, called Spanish Steps. It was quite an undertaking. Guam is, you know, largely surrounded by huge black cliffs. The old Spanish Steps go right down the cliff. Getting two small girls and one fairly out of shape and overweight Mama carrying a small baby down, and then back up the cliffs safely looked pretty doubtful. But it really did look much scarier than it was. My friend helped the big girls, so I could focus on not hitting Miss R's head on anything.
The trail went right down some big rock cliffs, with a rope to hang on to. Then wandered along some ledges. Do you see that groundcover everywhere by the way? It's like, a houseplant. Crazy. Still can't believe I live in the freaking tropics. Big move for a zone 4a girl...
Both girls were brave beyond belief! Especially little Miss M (3). A little too brave for comfort actually... She even did some jungle peeing. The trail kept going down, down a metal ladder, lots more rocks, and then the old Spanish stone steps. Once we were down the cliff, the trail flattened out into some seriously gorgeous jungle. The type that makes me think I'm back in the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Groves of trees so thick that when it started to rain (it is the rainy season here...) we only felt a few small drops. There was a thicket of the cutest baby palms, growing out of their shells. We even saw a few crabs.
And then a few more.
And then... we came across crab central.
It was pretty freaky actually. Every little shell you see there is a huge old crab. They were in the trees, climbing the cliff, every where! Hundreds of them. We thought they were mutant huge hermit crabs, but when we got home, B informed us that they were juvenile coconut crabs, hanging out in giant African land snail shells. Crazy. It was pretty Indiana Jones-esque.
Here is a picture of some cute hiking girls (of course I don't have any photos of poor Miss R on my back, but she really was there), and a good friend, after we escaped from the crabs...
And then we got to the beach!
Isn't it beautiful! I still can't believe I live on this little tropical island in the middle of the blue Pacific. So different from where I came from! I'm glad. That point out there in the distance is, I believe, called Udall Point, and it is the very western-most tip of the United States.
The girls, of course, were straight in to the water. I had given them strict instructions not to get their clothes wet, but Miss A accidentally stepped in a hole (her face was pretty funny when she came up out of the water) and then all bets were off. Soon they were swimming around everywhere anyway, and that's fine. I'm not really sure why I told them not to get wet anyway. Actually, I'm not really sure why I didn't just dress them in swim suits to begin with! It's finally starting to dawn on me that everything on Guam requires a swim suit.
We saw an eel, a big spider, tons of cool rocks...
A bright blue starfish...
A heart in the rock...
More cool rocks...
I like rocks, if you can't tell...
It was a perfect, paradise place. Nice rocks to climb on, no sand, crystal clear turquoise water, sea creatures, amazing jungle. We will definitely be going back with a lunch and our snorkels!
But, now, for the hike out... I was worried, but of course going up steep rocks is always easier than going down.
The girls did great! And, even more surprising, so did I. Miss R was not at all happy by this time (more on that in a moment), so with her crying, and big girls all wet and dirty, we were all ready to get back to the top.
Just a note of gratitude for my friend! There is really no way to do this hike with three kids and one adult. She was great to help them, and to be excited about all their little thoughts and things they wanted to show her.
Now, Miss R...
Turns out... Before we started the hike, I, of course, sprayed myself and my children with bug spray, knowing we would be trekking through thick jungle teeming with swarms of voracious mosquitos. Of course I did. But. I sort of forgot about the fat, tender-skinned, juicy baby sitting on my back...
So they ate her.
These pictures don't really convey the full horror, but there is not a square centimeter of her flesh that was uncovered by her shirt and shorts that does not have a mosquito bite on it. Right down to the bottoms of her fat feet. It's awful. I feel like calling child protective services on myself. What if she gets malaria or something? They probably drained half her blood. She just lays on the carpet and kicks to itch herself... It's pretty pathetic.
So lesson learned, right? I'm pretty sure I'll never forget to spray her again! And, on the up side, I did for once remember to sunscreen her. Not as important as the bug spray, since we were in dense woods on a cloudy day, but, you know, I have to make myself feel better somehow...
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