Scuba Diving!

So...J.Ward and I decided that while we had the opportunity we would take some scuba diving lessons. We signed up for the Open Water Course and started it last Tuesday (Feb 17th) and completed it on Thursday (Feb. 19th). Wow! It was an awesome experience!! The first day was just watching a DVD and going through the text book, then taking a test. Apparently we both passed because they let us get in the water the next day. We spent Wednesday morning in the pool, learning how to breath, clear our masks, equalize our ears, how to hover in the water, and what to do if you run out of air. In the afternoon, we went out into the ocean (shallow water) and passed off the skills we had learned in the pool. We did our first two dives there in the lagoon. While J.Ward was working with the instructor and I was watching them, a puffer fish swam right up and stared me in the eyes! He got so close that I had to back up so he wouldn't bump into me! He then swam over and had a look at J.Ward and then the instructor. Shaun, our instructor, actually had to shoo him away because he was being kind of a pest. The fish are very curious and sometimes even like to swim along with you. The area where we were diving was the same area we had previously snorkeled in but it was amazing to me how much better everything looks when you are right down there with it! Even the sea slugs looked better!

On Thursday, we did our two deep water dives. We drove out to Lau Lau Point, a spot where many divers go to train. I was very anxious and nervous before getting in the water as the waves were a little rough, but still o.k. for diving. As soon as we got under the water I felt myself relax and I began to enjoy the experience. Our first dive was just for fun and to see the sights. We followed a rope down over the reef into the deeper water (I think we went about 35 ft. deep), where everything opened up into this fantastic place. There were many different kinds of coral and sea anenomes and lots of tropical fish. Our instructor took us a little way out from where most of the divers were and we got to see a Green Sea Turtle swimming and feeding along the rocks and coral. It looked so graceful and was just like you see in the movies...only we were right there next to it! We then swam back to where many of the fish were. We saw tons of Butterfly fish of various colors and designs. We even saw a Pipefish, which is a bottom dweller that is very long and strange looking. Also, we saw a school of small Baracuda swim past! It was fantastic! And there is nothing like the weightless feeling of being in the water like that. J.Ward described it as something like being in a Disney adventure, with all the other divers swimming around and seeing their bubbles going up. It was fun! Our second deep dive was to pass off the remaining skills, one of which was going to surface after running out of air. We didn't actually run out of air but we had to act as if we had. It was a bit nerve wracking but we both managed to pass it off! I guess I was anxious and went up a little too fast but it was o.k. It was sad to have this day come to an end because the experience was so great!! I was exhausted but exhilirated! I don't know how many opportunities we will have to ever dive again like this, but it was well worth the effort and anxiety!!!!

Hafa Adai!!!

No Snow Here!

Well, since Emily posted some pictures on her blog of the view from her window this morning, I thought I would follow her lead and show you what a stormy day in Saipan looks like...
I woke up this morning to the 'stormiest' day we have had since being here in Saipan. This is what I see when I look out onto my balcony. See the dark clouds? And you can barely see Managaha Island in the background because of the rain.
Can you see how the wind is blowing the Palm trees?But Heather doesn't seem to mind!

A Little Saipan History and Hidden Beach

The picture above is of Suicide Cliff (from a distance). When the Americans overtook Saipan during WWII, many Japanese soldiers jumped off of this cliff rather than be taken as a prisoner of war.
This picture is of Bonsai Cliff. This is at the northern end of the island. Many Japanese civilians lived on the island of Saipan during WWII. Japanese commanders had distributed much propaganda about American soldiers, telling the people that the Americans were evil and would 'torture prisoners and eat their babies'. As the Americans took the island, the civilians were driven north. The American soldiers did their best to convince the people that they would not come to any harm and that the soldiers would give them much needed food and aid. The civilians were so fearful of being 'captured' by the soldiers that they fled to this area of the island, and rather that be captured, men, women, and children, flung themselves off the cliff to their deaths. Mothers even threw their babies off , before jumping themselves. It was a horrific time and a senseless act. Those who did survive found that the American soldiers did, indeed, give them much needed aid and were not the cruel, heartless monsters that they were led to believe. Some others, including some Japanese soldiers, hid in caves and had to be coerced out by the Americans to be helped.
Here is Cindy at a place called Hidden Beach. It is a beautiful cove on the back side of the island. Alan had found something about this place by searching the internet so we decided to take a drive and see if we could find it and we did! We knew the general direction we needed to go and we got lucky. You have to drive down a dirt road that you almost need a 4-wheel drive to make it down. We drove as far as we could and then walked the last few yards, where we found some old, cement stairs leading down to a trail. We followed the trail and came out at this incredibally beautiful spot! There were shells and coral all over the small beach and the cliffs and rock formations are amazing. The water was pretty rough on this day so we didn't swim or anything but it was awesome to just explore and wtch the waves crash against the rocks!
This was a little area of hidden cove where there was a rope hanging down.(Just around the rock that J.Ward is standing by. J. and Alan used the rope and climbed up to the top of the cliff where they could look down to where we were.
You can't see it very well in this picture, but when the waves would crash into this part of the rock, there is a little blow-hole that water would spray out of. Some of the waves were so big they would crash clear up to the top of the cliffs!
These last two pictures of Heather and Alan were taken at Hidden Beach. I was playing 'photographer' and trying to get some 'artsy' pictures. I think they turned out pretty good!!
Ask Alan about how he REALLY felt posing for this one! :)

February 2, 2009

I thought I'd post some pictures that show why we are here in Saipan. For the shot of the moon above, I put my camera lense right into the eye piece of one of the telescopes to see if I could catch on camera what we were seeing through the telescope and it worked! Below are a couple more pictures of J. and Heather at the telescopes...



We were invited over to a members home Sunday after church and had a wonderful time visiting and getting to know them better. Then on Monday we went to the home of another family and had the opportunity to get to know them better. We have been welcomed with open arms and getting to know people here and making friends with them is proving to be a real joy. The branch members here are strong, faithful, people and it is priviledge to be able to associate with them. That, really, has been the best part about being in Saipan so far
Here is a picture taken from the top of Mt. Tapachau, the highest point on the island. The small island is called Managaha. Below, I have posted a video of the view out our balcony here at the hotel. It's kind of a stormy day today so the waves crashing against the reef are bigger than we have seen yet. Yes, this seems to be as stormy as it gets here. They say that the temperature varies by only about 5 degrees, year 'round. In the video, the building that I zoomed in on towards the end is where the telescopes are housed. It is on that patio (where you see the umbrellas) where J. brings the scopes out at night to view the stars. It is often a bit hit and miss as to what can be seen because there are always clouds. But the clouds come and go, minute by minute, so you can almost always see something!