A Ride to Anderson Air Force Base and Beyond to Ritidian Pt.

All shots with Nex 5n + Canon FDn 50mm f1.4

1st a map--the bike ride starts from my home on Agana Bay. The ride will take me into restricted areas north of Anderson Airforce Base to the tip of Guam (the green area at the top) named Ritidian Point.





First stop was Anderson Airforce Base main gate. Within seconds after I took this shot armed security was all over me. They had to call the base commander to allow me to take pictures of this sign--seems the armed secuity are not authorized to make big decision like that lol. Funny to overhear the radio conversation: "it's just a guy with a bike taking picture of our sign sir..." I was instructed NOT to take pictures of anything else but the gate sign. I hope I don't get in trouble for the palm tree on the right.





OK here we we go..past Anderson into Guam's most remote undeveloped area.





Don't stray off the road here!





Finally I reach my goal: The northern-most tip of Guam = Ritidian Point.









After walking down most of the road going in (massive brake and rim wear avoided) I reached Ritidian Beach. This beach is absolutely pristine. Crystal clear bathtub warm water even this time of year. Very rough water beyond the reef because this is the Rota Channel--a narrow gap between Guam and the next island north named Rota. It's a giant river of turmoil.





This whole area...almost the whole northern section of Guam is owned by the US Military.

Is Rota visible across the channel?

scrane said:

Is Rota visible across the channel?

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Yes on a clear day you can easily see Rota from the top of Ritidian cliff and that is why I brought my 50mm instead of my usual 35mm--to get a nice landscape with Rota visable in the distance. Sadly though, the high winds and rough seas produce enough haze to obscure Rota completely.

Ritidian Cliffs from below. Very hazy day from salt spray I suppose.





Another view of the beach. I was so wasted from the ride there I didn't have the energy to take a lot of shots. I admit I wussed out and hitched a ride in the back of a pickup to get to the top of the cliffs again but made the dizzy ride home on my own. Those tracks in the sand are from roving quad park ranger patrols.

Fun exploration. Not sure about tempting the military police, they typically don't have a sense of humor.
--
Novice photobug, proud NEX-3 owner
http://davesnex-3photos.blogspot.com/

Boy, this brings back some memories!

I was in the Navy and was stationed with the 10th mobile construction bat(seabees) for two years in the early 50's (Korean conflict). Our base was about half way up the island, and we hiked or bummed rides to the north end of the island several times.

At that time, we could get no fresh fruit or veggies, so buzzed up to Anderson AF Base about once a month to get a decent meal. At that time they were open 24hours and had real milk and veggies. Heaven!

At 79 I haven't lost all my memory yet... 8)

bob snow

ps - Beer at the rec hall was 10 cents!

At this rate and the beauty, hire me a bike and I'll be there in a week ALU . Stunning place and shots. I love a small story with images and this is excellent to read and look through.

All the best Alupang, loving it.

Danny.
...........................
m4/3 macro
http://www.macrophotos.com/g2macro

m4/3 feathered flying gadgets
http://www.macrophotos.com/avian/avian.html

Worry about the image that comes out of the box, rather than the box itself.

davect01 said:

Fun exploration. Not sure about tempting the military police, they typically don't have a sense of humor.
--

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Yeah I guessed correctly that I would trip security so I got a shot off as they were walking towards me. No need though--I simply showed them respect and eventually was cleared to take all the shots I wished.

Nice guys actually--they gave me a big wave when I left.

I really glad you enjoyed these. Amazing to me that you were on Guam in the 1950s!! All I can ask is...did you buy any real estate on Tumon Bay? You would be amazed how much it goes for today.

Brings back memories I was stationed at Andersen from 1988 - 1994 and then left the island in 1998. I was back for a week in Oct 2010. Currently working on Osan Air Base in Korea and believe me you don't want to take pictures of the main gate around here lol.

I've been following your pictures on the site keep posting. Hopefully I'll have my Nex 7 soon and will be able to post some pictures of Osan and then later on the Philippines

nzmacro said:

At this rate and the beauty, hire me a bike and I'll be there in a week ALU . Stunning place and shots. I love a small story with images and this is excellent to read and look through.

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Thanks Danny. I bet NZ is even more beautiful.

Something that might interest you...there is a very very rare bird found only on Guam and perhaps living in the wild only in this specific park--a flightless bird called the Guam Rail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam_Rail

Wouldn't it be amazing to shoot this bird in the wild?

Next weekend I'm going to gear up properly and shoot this awesome park again. Should I bring the 300mm for wildlife or maybe my 100mm + 250D for macro stuff? This time I'm driving my truck in so I can conserve my energy for photography only. I need my Diet Coke and ICE damnit!!!

Take a look at this too:
http://guampedia.com/ancient-village-ritidian-litekyan-2/

I'm excited to get up there this weekend but riding a bike in there isn't something I'll do again---the brutal walk down the cliff road took far too much time and energy. The sun just rips you apart--I'm a mess today.

Thanks again Danny.

Alupang said:

Thanks Danny. I bet NZ is even more beautiful.

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We are fairly lucky with what we have Alu. If you ever get down this way, you are most welcome mate.

Alupang said:

Something that might interest you...there is a very very rare bird found only on Guam and perhaps living in the wild only in this specific park--a flightless bird called the Guam Rail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam_Rail

Wouldn't it be amazing to shoot this bird in the wild?

Click to expand...

Awww yeah !!. What a neat looking bird and flightless at that. We have the native flightless Kiwi, but its not as colourful as that Alu.

Alupang said:

Next weekend I'm going to gear up properly and shoot this awesome park again. Should I bring the 300mm for wildlife or maybe my 100mm + 250D for macro stuff? This time I'm driving my truck in so I can conserve my energy for photography only. I need my Diet Coke and ICE damnit!!!

Click to expand...

You go . Sounds great to me and take plenty of water and ice instead. . Maybe a beer or two.

Alupang said:

Take a look at this too:
http://guampedia.com/ancient-village-ritidian-litekyan-2/

Click to expand...

Excellent link, book marked both of them for a further read with a coffee or two. Thanks.

Alupang said:

I'm excited to get up there this weekend but riding a bike in there isn't something I'll do again---the brutal walk down the cliff road took far too much time and energy. The sun just rips you apart--I'm a mess today.

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What tempertures are you getting mate. When I was in Darwin it was so humid and around 32 - 34 degrees in the wet season....... I loved it !! and what birds they have there. Heaven for me.

Alupang said:

Thanks again Danny.

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All the best my friend and thanks for the links, you have a blast now and looking forward to the images.

Danny.
...........................
m4/3 macro
http://www.macrophotos.com/g2macro

m4/3 feathered flying gadgets
http://www.macrophotos.com/avian/avian.html

Worry about the image that comes out of the box, rather than the box itself.

Alupang said:

Amazing to me that you were on Guam in the 1950s!! All I can ask is...did you buy any real estate on Tumon Bay? You would be amazed how much it goes for today.

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When I was there in 52'-53', there were no tourists, and naval personnel could not stay out past 11 or 12pm without a "24-hour pass". This did not include the air force.

Went to Tumon Bay quite often...with that view I would guess that it is really a popular place now. Only bad thing then was stepping on the Sea Cucumbers! Yuk.

bob snow

Good stuff, those photos look great.

Steve

nzmacro said:

You go . Sounds great to me and take plenty of water and ice instead. . Maybe a beer or two.

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Not sure but I don't think you can bring beer in there--this place is very restricted. Gate opens at 7am and closes at 4pm. I'll read the many signs again and confirm for you. They need to restrict this place in my opinion--sea turtles and rare fruit bats live (or nest) here and lots here LOVE to eat endangered species...

nzmacro said:

What tempertures are you getting mate. When I was in Darwin it was so humid and around 32 - 34 degrees in the wet season....... I loved it !! and what birds they have there. Heaven for me.

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Same temps. Heaven for you??? After 11am Guam is like a flaming hot blast furnace with very high humidity to me. Ever see that movie: The Chronicles of Riddick starring Vin Diesel? I think they actually filmed that movie on Guam--the planet where everyone has to run away from the scorching hot sun rising just has to be Guam lol. I try to start my rides at 6-6:30am and get out of the sun by 11am.

This time I wasn't home until 2:30pm and I paid the price...I'm toast. 22 years on Guam and still have not learned a thing. Sigh.

Steve Zeiger said:

Good stuff, those photos look great.

Steve

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Thanks!

Robert Snow said:

Alupang said:

Amazing to me that you were on Guam in the 1950s!! All I can ask is...did you buy any real estate on Tumon Bay? You would be amazed how much it goes for today.

Click to expand...

When I was there in 52'-53', there were no tourists, and naval personnel could not stay out past 11 or 12pm without a "24-hour pass". This did not include the air force.

Went to Tumon Bay quite often...with that view I would guess that it is really a popular place now. Only bad thing then was stepping on the Sea Cucumbers! Yuk.

bob snow

Click to expand...

Wow. I would love to see scans of Tumon Bay back then. Did you take any pictures of Guam in the 50s?

I'm sure you have Googled Tumon Bay and have seen what it looks like today. I can't imagine it undeveloped. Amazing that you got to be there in that time. You are so lucky.

Here are a few recent Nex pics of Tumon Bay for you to view.

Good grief! I cannot believe my eyes. That area was totally uninhabited and void of any buildings when I was there. And the big cliff certainly had no buildings. It was criss-crossed with caves that the Japanese dug during WWII.

Somewhere I have pictures, but finding them might take forever! You were talking in another thread about how hot the island is...I don't remember it being so hot, but it was so horribly humid, you could work up a sweat just slowly walking.

On our base we had a quanset hut where everyone stored their winter uniforms and extra shoes and equipment. Otherwise, in that humidity, stuff would quickly become ruined by mold. The building was kept at something like 90-95 degrees with a fire going to drive out the humidity.

Likewise, when you bought film at the naval exchange, it would often have mold on its surface...not too good for pictures. Also, cameras' lenses would become covered with mold in a short time if not stored well. I went through two cameras while there as a result of mold damage. Also, just remembered, smokers had to be careful when buying certain brands of cigarettes as some would invariably have specks of mold all over the 'paper'. Chesterfields was one brand I remember.

I just can't imagine what the island looks like today, but I really enjoy the pics you posted.

thanks,

bob snow

Alupang said:

Here are a few recent Nex pics of Tumon Bay for you to view.

Click to expand...