Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands

We prefer taking small private tours to those given by HAL. Someone I met thru Cruise Critic was offering a number of tours so we signed up. We did not know that he wasn't just hosting a van of people. Our tour in Saipan included 53 people in 4 13 passenger vans plus an SUV. There was only one guide so we would meet at specified locations and listen to him as a group. This did not work well and the tour in that sense was a disappointment. On the other hand, we saw a lot, more than a ship's tour would have shown us. We just didn't learn about the rest of the island while we were passing by. 

When we arrived at 8 am, it was raining. I hope we will leave the rain behind now and have some nice weather although if anyone has seen the world weather lately that seems unlikely. There are a number of typhoons in Asia, the largest headed for India. Others are headed to our future ports of Na Trang Vietnam and Manilla. Another is chasing us as I speak but I will get into that later. 

Once the 53 people were finally organized and in vehicles our first stop was the American Memorial Park. One section of it was closed since it is run by the National Park Service, but we were able to go to the beach part of it, Micro Beach. We stopped at several beach locations where the marines launched their attack to take over the island from the Japanese in 1944. Next we went to the Sugar King Park. It was in dedication to a Japanese man who started the singer industry in Saipan. It had a nice garden as well as an old locomotive used to haul the sugar cane. 

Back in the vans we headed to Forbidden Island. We went up a very bad gravel road until everyone stopped. The front vehicle, the SUV, had gotten stuck on the uneven road. It took about 15 minutes before they decided to use one of the vans to push it which was successful but left a large scratch on the SUV. We continued up the road which was pretty much one lane until we reached the top. There was an overlook to see Forbidden Island so named because several people had died there. It is actually connected to land but waves came and washed several people away when they tried to go on the island. I guess some people in our group complained as our guide gathered us together and apologized for the bad road and remote area but said no one else on our ship would see this area because of the difficulty in getting there. It was nice but worth it? 

                                                                              

We were given a rest stop next. It was a Mobil station with one toilet! It took a long time for everyone to use the facilities. In the meantime people were buying chips and nuts and baked goods and eating like we hadn't eaten in days. It was pretty funny. I bought some local bread as we had been told that they have very good bakeries on Saipan. 

Next stop was Bonzai Cliff which has a very sad history. When it was apparent the Americans were going to take over the island, the Emperor of Japan told the people that they would be tortured, the women raped, by the soldiers. It would be better for them to die with the same honor as a soldier in battle so they jumped over the cliff to their death. There were many different memorials set up in the area most in memory of every race who lost lives in the war. Close to that area and beneath Suicide Cliff with the same history, was the Last Command Post. It was a bunker set into the side of the cliff. There were many monuments to different soldiers who lost their lives as well as a few relics, an old tank, guns, etc. We then went to the top of Suicide Cliff. The view was spectacular. 

At that point we realized that there were now only 2 vans. We had no idea what had happened to the other vehicles but decided to go on as planned, unfortunately without the guide who was driving the SUV. 

Next stop was Bird Island which is important in the migration of a number of species of birds. When we were there we didn't see a single one! Bird Island was devoid of birds. It was pretty though! We headed to our next stop, passing by the Last Command Post on our way. We saw some people from our ship flagging us down. We stopped to see what was going on. Apparently when we left that stop, 2 of the vehicles had gotten stuck in the mud. For some reason some of the people wanted to return to the ship at that point so they left 4 people at that site to be picked up by a van later. We never did hear the full story but our van was very happy that we hadn't gotten stuck and couldn't figure out why anyone would be left by the side of the road!? Our van was totally full so we couldn't help them out. Our ship left on time with no announcements of missing folks so they must have eventually gotten back. What a mess. 

Next stop was the Japanese Hospital. It was now a museum which was closed on Fridays, the day we were there. We walked around the outside, that was about all we saw. We then headed to Red Beach. When the marines landed, the different beaches were given colors to designate who went where. Eight thousand troops were on the island in 20 minutes, quite impressive. There were 2 tanks still in the water. It was high tide so only the very tops could be seen but interesting anyway. 

Our last stop was at a Japanese "pillbox" or bunker which was on a point from which you could see Tinian Island. That was where the Enolola Gay took off with the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. There was a LOT of history on Saipan. 

By this time it was almost 3:00. All Aboard was 3:30. Most in the van were saying there was no time for a souvenir stop, that we should go directly to the ship. Of course they were saying that amongst themselves. Mel and I were sitting up front and they never actually told the driver that so we stopped at a large store called "I Love Saipan!"  I asked 2 different clerks if they had anything that was made in Saipan and was told no. On my own I found a few souvenir type items, strange that they didn't point me in that direction. I think we were in the store for 8 minutes, back at the ship by 3:20. There was a small market on the pier so we stopped there for a few minutes, just enough time for the skies to open and it was pouring when we headed to the ship. We ended our day soaking wet. 

Since we were on board early, I decided to walk. There were quite a few people on the deck watching us take off. On the pier there were dancers and music with a loud announcer who kept saying things to the Amsterdam (our ship). As the captain pushed away several police cars had their lights and sirens blaring, as we got further out, a police boat was racing back and forth with it's siren also going. With the wind and the waves added to it, it was quite the send off. As I walked around the deck I came upon a steward carefully tying every deck chair to the railing. Oh, oh, bad seas. Sure enough the captain announced that a typhoon was south east of us, headed our way. He expected high seas 12 to 15 ft waves) for the next 24 to 36 hours. Oh boy! We were rocking more than we had on the trip thus far, but not as much as I'd expected. We were warned to secure everything in our cabins and to use the handrails, especially on the stairs. 

At dinner tonight he again announced that the storm was upgraded to a category 3 and would cause rain and high winds in our area. It is still several hundred miles from us, moving at 7 knots, so it won't catch up with us. But because of the possibility he received permission to go full speed ahead. Instead of arriving in Kobe, Japan at 4 pm on Monday, we will now arrive at 10 am! There was a lot of applause in the dining room. Arriving in port at 4 didn't give us much time to see anything that day. We stay over night so have the full next day but now we will be able to see a lot more. Hopefully the seas will not get any worse and maybe we will have sun in Japan. Now that would be nice.