The Korean Memorial

Liz and I ventured to the Korean Memorial, the Scenic Overlook, and the Lime Forest Trail today.

The Korean Memorial is located just outside the village, next to the Northern Marianas College extension building. It also has a religious grotto--a cave with a statue of the virgin Mary inside, along with pictures of the stations of the cross. The timing was good, as a few rain showers came by and we had a place to escape.

Then, with the clouds covering the sun (a bad thing for a photographer!), we drove up to the scenic outlook. As usual, it is a postcard picture view of Tinian from there. They were working on the road in that area as the new casino is located just down from the overlook. They are widening the road just before and just after the casino entrance.

Right next to the overlook is the Limestone Forest Trail. It is a trail through the jungle that eventually ends at another cliff view of the ocean and village. It is called the Limestone Forest because they have put crushed limestone on the trail. It makes the trail look white. It is a good thing too! As mentioned before, if one goes into the jungle here, it is easy to get lost. Once inside the jungle everything looks the same and it is very easy to get disoriented. By putting limestone on the trail, it saves everyone from losing their way.

Just as we were leaving we ran into a few locals who were harvesting fruit from a tree. It was orange/tangerine type fruit. They shared some of their fruit with us, and even shared some fresh coconut water they cut. The young couple had just been married, and their Japanese parents had come for a visit (the mother had lived on Tinian before WWII). They were kind and it was fun.

One of the best things about living on Tinian is the friendly people who live here. I have walked around the entire village and I am always 'running into' locals on my walks. In every case they are friendly and helpful and willing to talk about themselves and their island. It simply puts a cherry on top of the sundae that is Tinian island!