Thursday, January 31, 2008

Goodbye to Liz


After more than three weeks our daughter Elizabeth is wending her way home to Utah. The time went way too quickly for all of us. During her visit Liz took over 2,000 pictures of the island. We hope to put together a small picture-book about the island of Tinian, and also print some postcards about Tinian.

Last night Liz and I went through many of her pictures, trying to decide which ones might be good to put on postcards. I was amazed at the quality and beauty of the photos--it made it very difficult to make any kind of decision. Looking for 'tourist' pictures (rather than artistic ones), we came up with about 60. That didn't help much, as we need to pick around 10-15 to put on postcards--not an easy task. We may be asking for help to decide what photos would sell the best.

As for the picture-book, kind of a photo essay on Tinain, that will most likely take over a year to put together. Adding this book to the WWI coffee-table book we are putting out, Liz has her work cut out for her!

The last day Liz was here we finally made it to lunch at the Dynasty Casino, in the Broadway Restaurant. They have a buffet they serve to the guests. Ramon Apostol is a chef at this restaurant--a good friend of ours and a member of our local congregation. He was kind enough to show us around and to introduce us to the other chefs and to the restaurant manager. The food was wonderful, and plentiful. I only wish I had a larger stomache so that I could have tried everything! I guess we will just have to go again!

So far, Terri and I have been very impressed with the restaurants and food available here on Tinian. When we first moved here, we were not sure what we would find--it is a small island, after all. But we have been surprised and delighted at the variety and quality of food. We can hostestly say that we have not had a bad meal since coming here (well, not counting the meals I fix for Terri at home...). Just another reason for people to take the extra time it takes to come to Tinian to visit!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Beaches of Tinian
































Monday was a rainy day, so Liz and I stayed in and watched movies most of the day. Tuesday turned out to be an on-and-off rain day, so we tried our luck at hitting several beaches to take pictures.

The morning was clear with a few clouds, but we were a little worried, so we kept close to home by going to Taga and Tachogna beaches first. Then we traveled up the west side of the island to Tinian beach and what we call spider beach (this is a secret beach just north of Tinian beach that has lots of spiders one has to pass to get to the beach--so bring your spider stick!). In-between these two beaches is a small graveyard with white crosses in a grassy field.

Terri had asked for the clinic vehicle at lunch so that we could drive up to the Japanese Shinto Shrine far up in the Carolina hills. It is a steep climb that our scooters wouldn't have been able to make, and Liz was not up to the two mile hike to get there! The timing was perfect, as the sun came out from behind the clouds just as we arrived, bathing the area in a warm glow and making the beautiful shrine even more enchanting.

After lunch we decided to continue to press our luck and hit a couple of beaches we had missed on the far north of the island: two small beaches called Unai Chiget and Unai Lam Lam (in a previous post I had talked about Liz and I visiting Unai Lam Lam, but was corrected by my friend and resident expert, Howard Cole, that it had been Unai Chulu we had seen).

As we neared Unai Chiget, it began to rain. We debated whether or not to go home, but Liz convinced me that since we were there, we should try to get some pictures. Once we got to the beach the rain had stopped (although it was still threatening). We got our pictures just as the rain began again.

Now we had a decision to make: drive to the other side of the island to the other beach, or head for home. Looking east, it did not bode well for the rest of the day, as we could not see anything but clouds and rain. But Liz showed remarkable faith--she said she was already wet, so why not go to the other beach and see what happens! So that is what we did--we cut through the treacherous airfields (remember, we always get lost here...) and arrived unscathed at Unai Lam Lam.

To my surprise, just as we arrived the clouds above us opened just enough to give Liz both sun and blue sky for her pictures! Liz took it in stride telling me that God loved her and always took care of her...After what I had seen, who was I to argue?

We returned to the apartment after a full day, watched a movie and got ready for dinner. We ended the day by going down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, and a perfect end to a great day!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Visiting Tinian


I have received lots of questions from people who want to, or are planning to visit Tinian. Just a word of caution. If you are not planning to stay overnight on Tinian, you need to plan ahead for transportation here.

If you arrive by plane, via Freedom Air, there are rental cars at the airport. However, if you arrive via the ferry, there may not be transportation available at the dock itself. Most days, especially during tourist season, the car rental companies send cars down to the dock when the ferry comes in. However, that is not always the case.

So what do you do if you want to rent a scooter, or if there is no transportation at the ferry? Simply walk out to the first street and turn right. If you follow the road that travels along the beach to the end, you will find yourself at the Dynasty Casino. It is just a five minute walk, and a nice walk at that!

Once the beach road ends you will see the scooter rental shack and the casino. If you want to rent a scooter it will cost about $15 for four hours, or $30 for the day. If you want to rent a car, walk into the casino and the car rentals are inside. The car will be about $45 for the day.

As small as the island is, there is a lot to see! Liz and I have been at it for two weeks and still have not seen everything (of course, we spend a lot of time at each site taking pictures). Most people can see almost everything they want to see on the island in a day.

After getting transportation, stop at almost any small store and get a map of Tinian. There is a great map available (we have been using it, and there are few mistakes or problems with the map) and will aid you in traveling to the sites you want to visit.

If you go all the way to the north end of the island to see the bomb pits, it will take about 30 minutes to travel there, and 30 minutes back. There are many sites along the way, but that gives you an idea of the travel time. If you drive around the south end of the island to Suicide Cliff, it will take you about 15 minutes there, and 15 minutes back. So it you add a few more sites, it will take you about 2 hours of travel time to run around the island. That is just the travel! Then add whatever time you intend to spend at the sites themselves. There are 10 to 15 sites on the island that most people have an interest to see. Even if you only spend 15 minutes at each site (you will want to spend more!), that is another 3 to 4 hours. that makes a good six hours at a very fast pace!

If you only have a short time on island, it would be good to decide what you want to see ahead of time. If you come on the morning ferry and leave on the afternoon ferry, it doesn't give you much time. Most people want to see the bomb pits at the north end of the island--that is an hours drive, plus the time spent at the site. Very hard to do in a short time, when you add the time to get the transportation and return it.

So that should give you a feel for the time constraints on the island. Tinian is worth the trip, so give yourself enough time to make the visit worthwhile!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Tinian Tasi Festival: celebrating Senor Santo Nino











Tonight after holding sacrament meeting in our little apartment, Liz, Terri and I went to see the celebration of the Tinian Tasi Festival: Biba Senor Santo Nino (holy child of Cebu), a festival for the Filipino residents of the island.

According to on-line info, Santo Niño de Cebu is a representation of the Child Jesus, somewhat related to the infant Jesus of Prague. Santo Niño de Cebu literally means "holy child of Cebu". The image was brought to the archipelago that would later become known as the Philippines on Ferdinand Magellan's near-circumnavigation and in 1521 was given to the Queen Juana of Cebu , who was later baptized into the Catholic faith along with her husband, Rajah Humabon, and their people. After the Spaniards turned against the Cebuanos, the Spaniards burned a good part of Cebu, and the image was caught in the blaze.

In 1565 with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the image was found relatively unscathed. The image was quickly acknowledged as miraculous, and a church was later constructed on the site of the discovery. Today, the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino is an important historical and religious landmark in Cebu, with devotees forming long queues to pay their respects to the Holy Child.

The costumes and pageantry was wonderful. A large crowd followed the procession down to the beach, in front of the Mayor's office, and back to the Catholic Church where it began.

After the parade, we walked to the beach to take pictures at sunset. It was a beautiful evening, and the colors on the clouds were bright and ever changing. Just another great day on Tinian!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

An afternoon at Tachogna beach





Terri had a long night--she was up till 2 or 3am with a patient that was in his last stages of death. He did die that night, not unexpected, as he had a long illness. Terri was making sure his last hours were peaceful, and consoling the family members that had gathered.

This has been a hard week for Terri. It seems as though just about the time we would be going to bed, she would get a call and head for the hospital. Many times she could probably just handle things over the phone, but her care and concern for her patients makes her want to be sure that everything is being done for them, and that nothing is missed. It makes life harder, but it makes the medicine much better.

Anyway, today was rather quiet, even though Terri was still on call, so we headed to the beach. You could tell how tired Terri was, as she decided to simply sunbathe while Liz and I walked down the beach looking for 'sea glass'. We had a little success once we got far down the beach.

Then, while the two girls chatted, I went snorkeling--but the water was rougher than normal and the water was stirred-up and cloudy.

After getting thoroughly baked in the sun, we went home to get cleaned up and ready for dinner tonight at Fleming Restaurant.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Tinian construction projects--an update

























Thought I would update you on some of the construction projects in progress on Tinian. Now that rainy season is over, there are several new homes being built up on Marpo Heights. One is almost completed, while others are in various stages of construction. Four or five of the homes are being Federally Funded. I'm not sure who will live in these homes, since the Feds are paying for them.

Just a review: a flat place is carved out of the ground for the concrete pad the home will sit on. Then limestone from the local quarry is brought in and compacted for a base. Water, sewer and electrical lines are put in prior to the concrete slab being poured. Then a thick concrete slab is poured, with rebar coming up to tie-in the block walls.

The walls are made of concrete block, tied together with rebar, and then filled with concrete.

After the walls are completed, a concrete beam is poured on top of these walls. If the roof will be concrete also, the forms are created to be able to pour the roof at the same time (the outside board is made 6" or so higher). You can see in the pictures the wood frame and supports being used to support the concrete roof during the pour. After the concrete sets, the wood forms and supports will be removed.

Also, you can see that many still build using steel--either steel decking for walls and/or roofing, or steel framing for roofing. Also some use wood framing with steel decking. Anything except concrete may have problems in the typhoon season.

I also like some of the bright colors the locals paint their homes. It reminds me of Mexico.

Finally, the work along Broadway is coming along. Now you can see what the finished product will be like, with the red bricks and painted concrete. This is supposed to go all the way up the hill to the airport!