YOU should visit Banzai Cliff at night to see a totally different aspect of one of the most frequented places on island. Recently, I was there with five other photographers. We wanted to learn time-lapse photography and we were told that Banzai Cliff was the…
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Rota: Visiting a prayer mountain
It was a place I never knew existed here and we reached it by taking the first left turn off the highway on the way up to Mt. Sabana one hot afternoon. We were on the rough, bumpy road w hen our tour guide, Jack,…
Read MoreExploring Saipan’s seldom-frequented roads
I THOUGHT I had been everywhere on Saipan until I discovered roads I didn’t even know existed. Recently, my buddy Pat and I decided to pay a visit to the radar tower in San Roque, a site I had visited and photographed several times before…
Read More‘Shooting’ a Japanese cannon
THE first time I saw this Japanese cannon at Naftan Point, Saipan’s southernmost tip, was in 2009 when I went for an early morning hike with my co-workers, and I vowed never to return to that place. For someone whose only form of exercise was…
Read MorePeace memorial on a mountaintop
At the island’s highest elevation stands a stone structure that few people visit: a World War II peace memorial. I made attempts to see Sabana Peace Memorial Park on my first visits but failed. On my first try, I and a companion drove the rocky…
Read MoreThe Shadow at the Bell Marker
IT started with a red arrow on a rusty sign beside the path that proclaimed: “The Bell of Peace and Love…anyone who rings this bell will return to this special place someday again.” It was the red arrow pointing to a wooded area some 80…
Read MoreExploring Tonga Cave
Right in the heart of Songsong Village on Rota is a huge cave which I tried to visit the first two times I was here but just didn’t get around to it. First, I ran out of time, and second, I was all alone and…
Read MoreRemains of a sugar mill
I still haven’t figured out how I missed seeing the remains of the old sugar mill on this island during my first two trips, but the dilapidated structure did not escape my lens during my most recent trip last month. Buddy Pat and I had…
Read MoreStopover at Teteto Beach
ROTA—Driving along the paved road from Songsong going to Sinapalo Village on Rota will give you a chance to enjoy many scenic spots that may hinder your trip if you are in a hurry, and this includes pristine beaches, lush jungles, historical sites, and more…
Read MoreTranquility at an abandoned park
ROTA — Delightfully situated on a prime spot along the coastal road just before you enter Songsong is one paradise that you should not miss when you’re here — Pinatang Park. It is a huge boulevard with an entrance made of cement but designed to…
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