The Tropical Island of Saipan

I always requested to be on “Fresh Water Detail” so I could be outside whenever we pulled into a port. Pulling into port in the island Saipan, I leaned over the side and could see right through the crystal blue water and see the sands beneath the ocean and all the colorful, tropical fish swimming around. The Chamorro islanders were out on the pier smiling and waving to our ship. There were some indigenous men with spears and bows jumping up and down, and beautiful island girls dancing and singing in native tong, and others beating on some hand drums. It was a nice welcome as they put lays made out of the local flowers around everyone’s neck when we came ashore. Since we were the only ship in port, we had the whole island to ourselves.

Walking through the courtyard of the hotel I was staying at had a garden of tropical plants and floral, they were all so colorful and beautiful. Outside in the center of the hotel there is a swimming pool with a sunken pirate ship in the water with a plank as a diving board. There were a couple of short watersides and a lazy pool that went all the way around the entire hotel. I would get on a round floatation tube and float around the lazy pool until I made it back to the bar, where I could get another mixed drink.

Walking through a forest of palm trees to the beach, I heard the sound of a bamboo wind chime drumming with the soft tropical breeze. The sandy path leads to a grass-hut bar in the shade of the palm trees. The bar was made out of bamboo with a grass roof; behind the counter were tiki masks carved out of wood and painted by the local indigenous. The bartender was a dark tan man, and covered in tribal tattoos. I ask him to make a drink and he would crack open a fresh coconut or chop a pineapple in half with a machete and start to pour in all kinds of enchanting alcohols, and throw chunks of fresh chopped fruit in and serve it with a straw and a little umbrella in it.

Spread out along the beach there were a few large grass umbrellas with white lounge chairs underneath them to relax in the shade and stair out past the white sands and crystal blue waters. The beach was completely deserted with no one around, so we got a seat closest to the bar. It was so beautiful and peaceful; I could see right into the water and the sky was cloudless and blue with a light warm breeze coming off the ocean, blowing the bamboo wind chime at the bar in the distance. The sound of the surf softly playing on the beach, and the occasional calls of the “birds of paradise” sang for us. I took a sip off the straw and it tasted like some sort of tropical fruit punch. I stabbed at the chunks of fruit with a little wooden sward that came with the drink. I was completely relaxed as I watched the tide slowly rise and retreat on the beach and I just stared out at the horizon.

I swam way out into the lagoon with a snorkel I got from the bartender and submerge myself in the warm water and saw all the tropical marine life that lives in the coral reefs. Bright colorful fish play tag with the sensitive feathered tubes that retract back into the coral when touched. Spiny sea urchins slowly move on the sea floor with the sway of the gentle ocean tide.

On the island there is a large go-cart track that we would always go to and race each other. Those go-carts were fast too, the track had all kinds of turns and a long straight stretch at the finish line. On the straight stretch at the end of a lap, I would give it full throttle and then drift around the bend at the end of it. The safety crew always flagged everyone to slow down and one of the girls off the ship sped off the course and hit a hay bale, she was OK but it was funny.

We rented a convertible car for fairly cheap and tour around the entire tinny island. We would also rent scooters and go tearing down the dirt roads that weaved through the lush jungle. A few miles on the other side of the island we come across an awesome swimming hole. To get there you walk down some steep steps into a lava tube that was opened up to the sky. The ocean was on the other side of a large rock cliff. The sun would shine through openings underneath the water and would reflect a shimmering aqua blue on the back ceiling of the cave. I climbed up the side of the lava tube and then jumped into the water.

After a day of playing in the water, the tide would come in splashing the waves violently. We sat on the upper rocks and witnessed all kinds of different sea life that would find refuge for the night there in the cave. Huge tortoises, fish and stingrays would swim in through the openings under the water. The setting sun would shine up through the water and illuminate the back of the cave with a dark purple hue. We walked back up the steep steps to the entrance.

Making it back to the hotel, I heard drumming and then followed tiki torches down to the dark beach where the native girls were wearing grass skirts and dancing around a huge bon fire. They served up some wild boar that had been killed earlier that day and they brought out fresh drinks for everyone. The dancing and festivities went on throughout the night. I lie on my back in the sand and looked up at all the bright stars and I could see the great rift of the Milky Way stretch across the open sky.

On the way back to my hotel room I got lost in the palm tree forest and found a hammock slung between two palm trees. With my head spinning from all the excitement and drinks, it looked like a good place to rest. The hammock surrounded me and swayed in sync with the ocean tide; slipping into slumber, dreams take flight...