Our Thanksgiving Adventure--Boonie Stomping to Pagat Caves

The coast of Pagat

Mike in front of a natural coral bridge

The girls and I in the ancient Chamorro village in front of a grinding stone.

Inside the Pagat caves

Preparing to go on our hike

After cooking and cleaning and eating all day on Thanksgiving, Mike and I always get a little stir crazy and want to go out on an advenuture--last year we went on a leisurely bike ride that ended up being about 17 miles round trip with me being 7 months prego...I was in total pain for 2 days afterwards.  

This year, we decided to go hiking--we packed up a couple of water bottles, 2 apples, some gold fish and pretzels, got directions from a guy at outdoor rec and off we went.  We were feeling extra prepared because the girls had hats and sunblock on...come to find out, we didn't need the sunblock because we delved deep into the jungle...what we needed was bug spray.  

My girlfriend was shocked that we went without a guide--what do we need a guide for, we just follow the trail, right?  Right.  At first this was easy because the trail was an old sleeping-grass covered road, then down into the jungle we went.  I say down because we decended 400 feet of slimy limestone coral, with ropes along the way to help us down--this was no easy feat considering I have Maya strapped to my chest in the front carrier and Mike is carrying Analia in a backpack...just one wrong move and we could permanently damage ourselves and our kids...yikes.  My nerves were shaky.  Finally we made it down safely and found the caves we were hiking to.  To our utter surprise, inside the caves is a fresh water pool, clear as crystal and quite refreshing.  But completely dark.  Luckily there was a family leaving as we arrived and they left us a flashlight (and some bug spray, thank heaven).  So we stripped the girls down to nothin' and we got in the water.  The pool in the first room was only knee deep and at the back of it was a narrow, slanted passageway, about 3 feet wide and 15 feel long, that led into a much bigger room with a much deeper pool.  All around the room were candles that we lit up and, along with the flashlight, it was light enough to swim and jump off rocks.  The girls had a ball, jumping in and splashing around.  And we did too.  

On our way out of the caves, we ran into another group who was headed out farther along the trail to the coast.  We joined up with them and hiked through an ancient Chamorro village, with old grinding stones and all.  I was glad we were following the group because the trail through the village was difficult to follow--it all looked like it could be a trail.  As we got out of the village, we caught glimpses of the coast, then BAM, the trail opened up to a natural coral bridge and cliffs and the ocean.  It was breathtaking.  

We hiked all around the rocks, had our snack, and headed back.  I should mention that the group left long before we did, so we were on our own.  We reached to ancient village and lost the trail.  I started thinking, okay we have about 2 sips of water left and some pretzels.  After backtracking and hiking all around, we found the trail and the caves and decided to power hike back to the car.  By the time we got back to the grassy road, we were drenched and exhausted and the girls were sleeping.  

So we learned a few lessons: always pack more water than you think you'll need, leave extra clothes in the car, bring lots of extra food too, maybe even a first aid kit (Mike got a nasty gash on his shin), and always, always bring bug spray.  

So this is becoming sort of a Thankgiving Tradition--go on an adventure, and pray that everything works out.   It's not an adventure if you don't have to pray a little along the way, right?