Hiking through the Jungles of Guam

I decided I better get these pictures posted before starting another week of school, otherwise who know when it will get done! ;)

With today being Veteran's Day we did not have any school, so I was able to experience a new part of Guam and island life. I went on a hike to a place called Sela Bay. This was unlike the hikes I am used to in West Virginia, instead of hiking through the woods we hiked through the jungle. There was also lots of mud and it was pretty slippery. It took us about 30 minutes or so to hike from the car to the beach. Once we got to the beach we just sat and relaxed for a few hours before heading back. 
Here are a few pictures:

Hiking in the muddy jungle...

It was really hot!

Spanish bridge

We found the ocean!

I was trying to show how muddy I was, but it didn't really show up in the picture...

Walking to our "camping" site

View from "camping site"

We went snorkeling when we first got there. The water was very shallow so it was hard to snorkel, but while we were putting our gear on we saw two baby sharks swimming around (they had gotten through the reef because they were so small - most of the time the sharks are outside of the reef). 

Some of the treasures others found while snorkeling...

Then we built a fire with whatever materials we could find so that we could cook our lunch.

They found some clams that the island boys were opening up and eating. I tried a little...

They had also brought fishing spears on the hike, and some of the guys caught fish with the spears, cooked it over the fire and ate it.

Some pictures from the hike back. The paths were filled with wild orchids that looked like this. They were very pretty!

While we were down at the beach it felt like we were trying to survive on an island. However, I think it was more of a realization for me of what island life is like for some. They are calm and laid back, not in a hurry for anything, not worried about what they will eat this week, rather what will I eat today. If the college boys (who grew up on the islands) got hungry they went and caught their fish using a spear and ate it. One of the boys decided to use his machete and cut off some palm tree leaves to make shade. He called it his house. :) It was nice to have a slow paced day and learn more about the island way of doing things.

Today was a good day to reflect on God's beauty and remember all the things I have to be thankful for!