I’m sorry Bob. What would you like to know about Guam ?

[Bubba]

Anything you want to know. I am more than happy to share. Please ask and I shall answer.

[K7SGJ]

I'm curious, too. I don't know why you have a hard on for me, but I would sure like to put it behind us. I have never seriously knocked where you live. It's not my style. My point in the other thread was that most of us are very happy to tell others about who we are, where we live, the life style in our area, and other facts that may be interesting. It's what we do, especially during a rag chew. It's the only way that most of us will ever "visit" many far away places, and who is better to describe it, than someone who actually lives there. As an example, Bob, VK3ZL has described in great detail where he lives. I have learned many things about his home area that Wiki wouldn't post. He has backed up his commentary with lots of photos, too. Things like his garden, the wildlife, the ever popular pub that is within walking distance, and many other things about the side of the mountain area he calls home. He is always more than happy to answer questions that we have, and that just enhances his personality and lets us get to know him even better. Yes, we joke about many things on this site, but most take it for what it is, and enjoy the ribbing.

That is one important aspect of this hobby; getting to know others that you talk with, be it on the air, on the web, or in person. I don't believe anyone here would ever seriously knock some one for their life style, where they live, or anything else. (Except political views perhaps) Personally, I appreciate it when someone wants to know more about me or where I live, or other things that help to get them to know me better. That's how friendships develop, and that is what this hobby, above most others is all about. Actually the hokie pokie is what it's all about, but I digress.

[W3WN]

Well, I am curious about what Guam is like.

About all I know about it is from the rants of Jim KH2D, before he departed for FL (allegedly for medical reasons), over on the old DX reflector he used to run. And most of Jim's rantings were about the hams (primarily from JA) who were scarfing up all the Guam and Marianas 2x1 calls, even though they only occasionally visited but never lived there.

[KC2UGV]

Don't forget Bubba: You get to pick the next person whose turn it is in the chair :)

[KC2UGV]

Are there seriously monkeys running about, stealing food from your bags?

[wa6mhz]

From what I hear, it is like Hawaii, but completely overrun with highly POSIONOUS Brown tree Snakes!

http://nowiknow.com/wp-content/uploads/Brown_tree_snake_Boiga_irregularis_USGS_Photograph .sized_.jpg

and Coconut crabs the size of a BBQ!!!

[VE7DCW]

From what I hear, it is like Hawaii, but completely overrun with highly POSIONOUS Brown tree Snakes!

http://nowiknow.com/wp-content/uploads/Brown_tree_snake_Boiga_irregularis_USGS_Photograph .sized_.jpg

and Coconut crabs the size of a BBQ!!!


Pat ..... I bet Guam does'nt have the Hobo spider there yet! :mrgreen:

[K7SGJ]

Pat ..... I bet Guam does'nt have the Hobo spider there yet! :mrgreen:

They will as soon as the railroad to there is finished.

[Bubba]

ok... Bob. First question please..

[N2CHX]

I want to hear about it too.

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.

[Bubba]

I’ll answer the easy questions first. There are definitely no monkeys here. That would be cool, but no monkeys. The snakes, well they are here, but just in the jungles. Not like they are running everywhere. They are not poisonous, and they are not that big really. Easy to kill. I live in the jungle, so I get my fair share around, they only come out at night. The bird population is increasing I noticed.

[Bubba]

I want to hear about it too.

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.

WTF, Great to see you !! :kiss:

[N2CHX]

WTF, Great to see you !! :kiss:

LOL good to see you too. So you're Bubba. Hahahahahaha! Now I know who I was talking to in the chat room thing that Kevin coaxed me into the other day.

[W7XF]

I want to hear about it too.

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.

Muh favourite fag hag!!!!!!!!!! :kiss: :wiggle: :spin:

[WØTKX]

Hiya Kelli! :neener:

[N2CHX]

Muh favourite fag hag!!!!!!!!!! :kiss: :wiggle: :spin:


Hiya Kelli! :neener:


Hello you two troublemakers. :heart:

Let's not derail the thread now. I wanna hear about Guam.

[Bubba]

Hello you two troublemakers. :heart:

Let's not derail the thread now. I wanna hear about Guam.
No Kelli, its all you. Keep going !! :heart::heart:

[K7SGJ]

I'm curious, do you do any surf fishing, surfing, SCUBA, snorkeling, or any other typical Island stuff?

[Bubba]

I'm curious, do you do any surf fishing, surfing, SCUBA, snorkeling, or any other typical Island stuff?
Yes a ton. The entire island is surrounded by reef, marlin fishing, and there is a big lagoon area where you can spearfish and snorkel. The diving is really good. They have a place called the blue hole, one of the deepest rec dives around. I can post some pics if you like. There is surfing on the east side of the island, its hardcore because its really rough. Its mostly young navy seals out there surfing, a big group of them.

[VE7DCW]

I want to hear about it too.

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.

Well........in that case ...... welcome back Kelli......:mrgreen:

[NA4BH]

Bubba, thanks for the PM. Accepted.

Like Eddie (the RAT BASTID) said, we poke fun AT each other, not about your person or lot in life. As you can see there are a lot of people that want to hear about Guam. So back to the learning session.

[Bubba]

Ok, back to the water first. The water is really warm and clear. Maybe 88-90 F. The water is very, very deep outside the reef. I mean like 5000 ft 30 ft. off. So that is a bit unusual compared to stateside beaches. But the good thing is Marlin and Yellowfin and Wahoo can be caught within a mile of shore. The reef has a lot of Parrotfish. Lots of restaurants serve these as specialities. The diving is good all around. The west side is the Philippine sea, and is calm, sometimes like glass. The east side is the Marianas trench, deepest part of the ocean , and is always rough.

[KC2UGV]

How did you end up in Guam?

[W2NAP]

how expensive is Guam?

[Bubba]

Guam is expensive for some things , cheap for others. The housing is cheap, the food is expensive. Some of it, if its not grown here its expensive. Yellowfin tuna is cheap, steak is expensive. Insurance is cheap. How I ended up here, well thats a long story but it has to do with the military and govnt work.

[W2NAP]

steak is expensive. well guess thats one place I wont be living. plus I hate fish.

[NA4BH]

I like steak too, but in a tropical setting I could learn to like fish. Is it mountainous? How do the locals react to the tourists? Friendly? That is to say, is it normal for tourists to rent a car and go trekking around the Island (unlike Jamaica/Dominican Republic).

[W2NAP]

but in a tropical setting I could learn to like fish

Not me, I HATE fish just like i hate chicken blah

[Bubba]

I like steak too, but in a tropical setting I could learn to like fish. Is it mountainous? How do the locals react to the tourists? Friendly? That is to say, is it normal for tourists to rent a car and go trekking around the Island (unlike Jamaica/Dominican Republic).

Yes, its mountainous. You can rent a car and drive, no problem. They BBQ a lot here, so maybe the steak isn’t that bad. But a lot of pork and sausages, beef roast. etc. Every weekend the locals all go to the beeches and BBQ. You can drive around on the weekend and it smells very good.

[NA4BH]

Not me, I HATE fish just like i hate chicken blah

We would get along very well. LOL Fish isn't on the top of my list, but I will eat it.

I'm sure they have shrimp and other seafood to choose from. mmmmmmm Shrimp

[W2NAP]

We would get along very well. LOL Fish isn't on the top of my list, but I will eat it.

I'm sure they have shrimp and other seafood to choose from. mmmmmmm Shrimp

lol not me, they can chuck the fish in the trash imo. and seafood can join it.

barf.

im a beef kinda guy. dont care for pork ether really. cept bacon,

[NA4BH]

I priced airfare from Atlanta, it ain't cheap to get there. But then it wasn't cheap to go to Brazil either. The flights listed were anywhere from 27 hours to 37 hours (including layovers).

[Bubba]

I priced airfare from Atlanta, it ain't cheap to get there. But then it wasn't cheap to go to Brazil either. The flights listed were anywhere from 27 hours to 37 hours (including layovers).

Most common route is Houston to Honolulu, then to Guam. UAL. about 7 hours per leg. Then the other is to Tokyo then Guam. UAL. There are several cities that fly direct to Tokyo from the states. Then its like 12 hours then 3 hours.

[suddenseer]

I want to hear about it too.

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.WB KELLII!!!

[NA4BH]

Most common route is Houston to Honolulu, then to Guam. UAL. about 7 hours per leg. Then the other is to Tokyo then Guam. UAL. There are several cities that fly direct to Tokyo from the states. Then its like 12 hours then 3 hours.

I checked United and Delta. One had me routed through Chicago and the other through Minneapolis. Both to Japan, then Guam. Around $2200.00. Cough, cough.

[Bubba]

I checked United and Delta. One had me routed through Chicago and the other through Minneapolis. Both to Japan, then Guam. Around $2200.00. Cough, cough.

Thats right. Every time I want to leave to the states its $2K per person plus. It goes up every month.. Nice....

[W2NAP]

$1,620 from Indianapolis to Guam

[Bubba]

$1,620 from Indianapolis to Guam

You scored !! When should I pick you up at the airport. Remember to bring some T-Bones !!

[W2NAP]

You scored !! When should I pick you up at the airport. Remember to bring some T-Bones !!

doubt ill ever see that kind of money. seriously I consider people rich if they have $20.

also I wont even go in a airport as long as we have TSA goons.

[WØTKX]

Ummm, yellowfin. I love fish.

I understand the troubles are about over, but the delicious fruit bats caused a lot of problems back in the day, eh?

[Bubba]

What is the story with bats ? Never heard

[n6hcm]

Most common route is Houston to Honolulu, then to Guam. UAL.

right. CO (now part of UA) had most of the service to guam. they used to have flights through honolulu but i don't think they do this lately.

[WØTKX]

The bats ate a fruit that was safely used locally in cooking. But the fruit has a nasty neuro-toxin in it that got stored in the fatty tissues of the fruit bats, and the locals ate the fruit bats with early deaths resulting. Kind of like a combination of Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig s disease, and Parkinson's, all rolled into one. Many locals died in their early 50's from it. But the bats got hunted so hard that folks quit eating them, as they became hard to find.

Folks got guns after WWII, you see, and hunting the bats became easy.

But really, I'd like the easy and cheap access to excellent seafood. I'm really into fish and shellfish. Hell, I've had some tasty insects too.

[Bubba]

Wow, I have to look that one up. Most locals die really young here now, so that hasn’t changed..

[suddenseer]

pictures, or it did not happen.

[NA4BH]

Looking at pictures, it goes from beaches to "Don't look down" real quick. Case in point Two Lovers Point, Tumon. Don't play Frisbee up there.


http://guamtourist.com/images/two-lovers-point/two-lovers-point-2.jpg

[NQ6U]

Yes, you fuckin' crack-whores, I'm back. Get over it.

Hey! I don't smoke crack!

[KG4CGC]

Is there scooter culture Guam? As a scooterist, this question is relevant.
Also, as a former smoker turned vaper, what is tobacco culture like? Is there a lot of smoking? Is there a native tobacco or at least tobacco grown locally? Years and years ago, I had a friend who spent 2 years in the Philippines and he brought back some popular cigars consumed by the locals. They weren't good but I would imagine if you lived there you would acquire the taste. He also said that everything smelled like sulfur when he first got there. After he got used to the sulfur smell he got knocked on his butt the first time he tried the local beer. It was like sulfur x100. That was 28 years ago. He also said that everyone there was batshit crazy. Today, America is batshit crazy.

[Bubba]

Barkeep,

I honestly think you are describing Rio, Brazil... lol.... I have been there, and it’s scooter sulfur ( methanol from corn) everywhere, strong beer and great cigars !! No sulfur here whatsoever... A few scooters, mostly pickup trucks, Neons, Smart cars, and 4 wheel drives. There is a biker , Harley community, they cruise every Saturday. The air here is probably the best in the world, no pollution or smell, as trade winds constantly blow open ocean air for thousands of miles. There is no local beer, unless you consider Budweiser local.. Tobacco laws are the same as US mainland, and no cuban cigars. Remember, Guam is the USA, I know peeps forget, including myself.... lol.. But because it’s small and the "tip of the spear” as we say, we have a higher percent of customs, border patrol, homeland security, FBI, CIA etc, navy seals, B-52’s, drones, stealth fighters, telecom intercept stations, spy satellites and TSA than most US mainland cities. So therefore, no import cigars or any of the fun stuff you can get in LA.

[KG4CGC]

Thanks and ah yes, it is America.
Key West is also America and is also full of military. The air is fresh since there is always a wind there too. I guess in some ways KW is Guamish ... prolly more touristas though. I have no clue.

[Bubba]

Thanks and ah yes, it is America.
Key West is also America and is also full of military. The air is fresh since there is always a wind there too. I guess in some ways KW is Guamish ... prolly more touristas though. I have no clue.


No not at all. I wish it was like that. Guam is third world... not in any way like KW.

[KK4AMI]

Dang, I've been all around the Pacific to Adak, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, Wake Island, Midway and Marshall Islands but no Guam. That was courtesy of the US Navy/Air Force of course. I would like to have seen Guam. Just shows what happens when you go with a cut rate tour group.

[K7SGJ]

Dang, I've been all around the Pacific to Adak, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, Wake Island, Midway and Marshall Islands but no Guam. That was courtesy of the US Navy/Air Force of course. I would like to have seen Guam. Just shows what happens when you go with a cut rate tour group.

You can always re-up.:stickpoke:

[KG4CGC]

You can always re-up.:stickpoke:

Yeah. Re-up. Or make 7, up yours. :shifty:

[suddenseer]

Bubba, would you trade living in Guam with living stateside?

[WØTKX]

I'd remembered seeing this on a National Geographic PBS television program long ago, and looked it up...

Bat-Eating Linked to Neurological Illness (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0613_030613_bateaters.html)



Bowl of Bat

Following World War II when Guam changed hands from Japanese to American control, researchers began to notice a higher incidence of a neurological disease similar to Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. Known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-Parkinsonian dementia complex (ALS-PDC), or "lytico-bodig" by the Chamorro, the illness causes muscle weakness, paralysis, dementia, and death. In the village of Utamac alone, one-quarter to one-third of all deaths between 1944 and 1953 were attributed to the disorder.

Genetics, pollution, and other possible causes were all ruled out until researchers thought they'd found the key in the form of cycad seed flour, which is used traditionally to make tortillas, said Sandra Banack, ethnobotanist and study co-author at California State University in Fullerton. (Ethnobotanists study the plant-related traditions of indigenous peoples.) The disease had previously appeared to crop up more in those that lived a traditional lifestyle, she said, and it ran in families.

The seeds of cycad plants common on Guam and the surrounding Pacific islands contain high levels of chemicals toxic to the nervous system. However, that theory fell out of favor when studies showed the quantities of the chemical ingested from tortillas were suspiciously low.

That was until ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox at the Hawaiian National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo, and other colleagues, began to wonder if cycad-seed-eating flying foxes might be involved. The bats have been especially desirable food items to the Chamorro, possibly because the tradition is one of few retained from older times before four centuries of upheaval and cultural oppression which began with Spanish colonial rule in 1565.

Served at weddings, fiestas, birthdays, and alike, the etiquette of bat-eating and preparation involves "rinsing off the outside of the animal like you would a cucumber and tossing it in boiling water," said Banack. The animals are then served whole in coconut milk and are consumed in their entirety. Meat, internal organs, fur, eyes, and wing membranes are all eaten, she said.

Last year Cox and well-known neurologist Oliver Sacks of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City reported in the journal Neurology the first evidence for a link between bat eating and the disease. Bats consume large quantities of cycad seeds, and—like some eagles, which were shown to build up levels of the pesticide DDT in fat tissue—probably accumulate the toxins to dangerous levels.

[K7SGJ]

It never ceases to amaze me the stuff a person can learn on the Island. Whudathunkit?

[NQ6U]

It never ceases to amaze me the stuff a person can learn on the Island.

Yes. I have sworn off boiled bat forever now.

[K7SGJ]

It's too late for me, we had that for my birthday supper. Or maybe we didn't I can't remember, and my hands are shaking so bad I can hardly type.

[n2ize]

The important questions.

1) What is the cost of property there. If I wanted to buy some land and build on it what would I be looking at in purchase costs, taxes, etc.

2) What is the climate like ? From what I have read it's tropical and quite hot and humid. If so I wouldn't like it. In fact New York and the Northeast is too mild for my liking. Which is one of a few reasons why I am going to be going up to the far north in a few years. But it would be interesting to hear about it from someone who is actually there.

[n2ize]

Hey! I don't smoke crack!

Then why do you hang out with us crack-whores ? :lol:

[K7SGJ]

Then why do you hang out with us crack-whores ? :lol:

He's our dealer.

[Bubba]

The important questions.

1) What is the cost of property there. If I wanted to buy some land and build on it what would I be looking at in purchase costs, taxes, etc.

2) What is the climate like ? From what I have read it's tropical and quite hot and humid. If so I wouldn't like it. In fact New York and the Northeast is too mild for my liking. Which is one of a few reasons why I am going to be going up to the far north in a few years. But it would be interesting to hear about it from someone who is actually there.

I don’t think it is for you then. Its hot, really hot. Can’t even go outside unprotected in the daytime, the direct sun feels like a torch on your skin. Property is cheap and there are no taxes. But it cost a lot of money to travel back and forth from here, so thats a negative.

[wa6mhz]

U get a PILEUP on the ham bands though! That is a PLUS! Lotsa folks, especially in EU, need Guam for a new country!

[kb2vxa]

Guam is a country???

[W3WN]

Guam is a country???Only on the DXCC List and similar awards lists. Although they call them "entities" now.

Of course, one could argue that since Guam is US territory, it is a country, or at least part of one. Technically.

[Bubba]

Ya, lots of pileups that is for sure. Is it a country, nobody knows really. The US govt doesn’t know, the people don’t know. Its a lost world really.

[suddenseer]

It must be awesome to be on the receiving end of a pile up.

[K7SGJ]

Not if you're playing football.

[W3WN]

It must be awesome to be on the receiving end of a pile up.Only on the radio. Not on the freeway.

Consider yourself invited to the K2M/W3WH 2014 operation, and you can find out for yourself.

[Bubba]

It must be awesome to be on the receiving end of a pile up.

I’ m not sure, lol.. That could go many different ways..

[n6hcm]

Only on the DXCC List and similar awards lists. Although they call them "entities" now.

Of course, one could argue that since Guam is US territory, it is a country, or at least part of one. Technically.

actually, no (not the DX entity, but the country). guam is unincorporated, so it isn't part of the u.s. ... although some services (like immigration but not customs, usps, ...) treat guam as domestic.

[Bubba]

Actually, USPS is the same. Customs is US customs, but you are correct, there are different import laws here separate from the mainland. Especially plants and animals.

[WØTKX]

actually, no (not the DX entity, but the country). guam is unincorporated, so it isn't part of the u.s. ... although some services (like immigration but not customs, usps, ...) treat guam as domestic.

So it's a type of "don't ask, don't tell" domestic partnership? :chin:

[wa6mhz]

Only on the radio. Not on the freeway.

Consider yourself invited to the K2M/W3WH 2014 operation, and you can find out for yourself.

by the way, got my Certificate in for the clean Sweep! Very very nice, on great paper and very colorful and exotic. Need to put it in a Frame.

[W3WN]

actually, no (not the DX entity, but the country). guam is unincorporated, so it isn't part of the u.s. ... although some services (like immigration but not customs, usps, ...) treat guam as domestic.Hmm. OK. If you want to split hares about it...

Guam is US territory. Even if it's unincorporated. So from that standpoint, it's part of the overall territory wihthin the jurisdiction of, and administered in one form or another, by way of Washington DC. That's all I meant.

[W3WN]

by the way, got my Certificate in for the clean Sweep! Very very nice, on great paper and very colorful and exotic. Need to put it in a Frame.Sounds good.

I guess I should send off for mine as well.