My plan was to have a cool history of this amazing island called Saipan in this week’s blog.  But I have been reminded how seldom things go like one plans…  I’ve learned a lot of fascinating things about this special island, but they will get shared another day.

 

When I was here 5 or 6 years ago, just for a visit, I ran every morning along Beach road. I’m excited to resume that practice now, and have watched the creation of each new day while running on a sidewalk along the beach.

 

 

There are plenty of nice white beaches and fantastic shades of blue in the waters.

Just around the bend in the picture above we ran across these war relics.  There are remnants of tank-like treads behind this front axle, telling me that this must have been a “half-track”.  Can’t tell which side it belonged to.

 

Lest you think life is all beaches and exploration, I must admit that I’ve spent most of my time in the clinic.  I’m learning their systems and workflow, and even getting some dentistry done!

That is not a huge poster welcoming us, but a nice sign on the glass in front of an operatory. They had those nice welcoming signs all over!

 

Here is a short video of a couple of beaches and a couple of resorts – one beautiful and one amazingly tacky.  It is a gold encrusted eyesore that started out as a casino, and is trying to expand into a huge hotel/resort. Rumor has it that they are bankrupt and will never be able to complete it.  It is very tall – dominating the skyline, and drawing scorn from most of the locals.  Especially the workers that aren’t getting paid!

 

 

Music by Bensound.com