Anyone ever been to Guam?

[WildBlueSooner]

Looks like I could be going to Guam for four months here soon. What should I expect? What should I make sure I do? Cigars? :ss

Thanks in advance,

James

[Ranger_B]

Ohhhh boy! Bring some smokes with you.

[WildBlueSooner]

Ohhhh boy! Bring some smokes with you.

****, what does that mean? :confused:

I dont like the sound of it!

[pnoon]

Send Eric (Goat Locker) a PM. He lived there for a while.

[WildBlueSooner]

Send Eric (Goat Locker) a PM. He lived there for a while.

Thank you good sir :tu

[Ranger_B]

No man its a great place. A lot like HI but great for a few months. If you dive you will love the place(as long as your command doesnt ban it). There are a few bars and night clubs there and I found the food great. The smokes I found there where not always the best. I did a lot of diving and beach stuff while there. The whole island felt like a strip mall but you know people have to make a buck. You have any specifics you want to know shoot me a PM. I may still have my trip packet around here somewhere.

[ade06]

That's a long way from home. Good luck out there. I hear that we are building up our miliary out there.

[WildBlueSooner]

No man its a great place. A lot like HI but great for a few months. If you dive you will love the place(as long as your command doesnt ban it). There are a few bars and night clubs there and I found the food great. The smokes I found there where not always the best. I did a lot of diving and beach stuff while there. The whole island felt like a strip mall but you know people have to make a buck. You have any specifics you want to know shoot me a PM. I may still have my trip packet around here somewhere.

Awesome...as far as I have heard diving is allowed! I probably will PM you later this week if it is confirmed I am going! Thanks :ss

[kelmac07]

James...there are a lot worse places to be!!! Guam isn't bad at all!!

[WildBlueSooner]

James...there are a lot worse places to be!!! Guam isn't bad at all!!

Oh I know...I am actually really excited. This will be the first time the USAF has taken me over seas :tu

[jjirons69]

Had a friend in the Air Force stationed there. He said there were a chitload of tree snakes. You don't see a lot of them, but they're everywhere. Don't walk in the jungle at night.

[GoatLocker]

Looks like you will be there just in time for typhoon season! :wo

I spent 5 years there and loved it. If you like white sandy beaches and 84 degree turquoise water filled with tropical fish and coral, you will love it. It is pretty warm and humid, but being in the south, you are pretty use to that.

SCUBA diving is outstanding, as is fishing, snorkeling and hiking (known as boonie stomping there). There are nice restaurants, a mini-waikiki like tourist area and Guams famous Fiestas, basically big parties hosted by various villages on weekends. You might also want to visit the islands of Saipan and Rota just to the north of Guam.

Definately drop me a PM if want some specific recommendations!

[pnoon]

Looks like you will be there just in time for typhoon season! :wo

I spent 5 years there and loved it. If you like white sandy beaches and 84 degree turquoise water filled with tropical fish and coral, you will love it. It is pretty warm and humid, but being in the south, you are pretty use to that.

SCUBA diving is outstanding, as is fishing, snorkeling and hiking (known as boonie stomping there). There are nice restaurants, a mini-waikiki like tourist area and Guams famous Fiestas, basically big parties hosted by various villages on weekends. You might also want to visit the islands of Saipan and Rota just to the north of Guam.

Definately drop me a PM if want some specific recommendations!
I knew I could count on you, Eric. :tu

[WildBlueSooner]

Looks like you will be there just in time for typhoon season! :wo

I spent 5 years there and loved it. If you like white sandy beaches and 84 degree turquoise water filled with tropical fish and coral, you will love it. It is pretty warm and humid, but being in the south, you are pretty use to that.

SCUBA diving is outstanding, as is fishing, snorkeling and hiking (known as boonie stomping there). There are nice restaurants, a mini-waikiki like tourist area and Guams famous Fiestas, basically big parties hosted by various villages on weekends. You might also want to visit the islands of Saipan and Rota just to the north of Guam.

Definately drop me a PM if want some specific recommendations!

Eric,

Thanks so much for the information. I am getting even more excited now! I will definitely hit you up for some more information later. Thanks to everyone who replied!

--James

[TanithT]

Had a friend in the Air Force stationed there. He said there were a chitload of tree snakes. You don't see a lot of them, but they're everywhere. Don't walk in the jungle at night.

Boiga irregularis is harmless. Also kind of cute. They are technically venomous (rear fanged), but the envenomation experts who have intensively studied the species say that it's a non issue to humans.

I've worked with that genus a fair bit, though I prefer the more attractive and medically interesting species. They're fairly laid back and easy as pie to handle. And when they're not, mostly I don't care since a bite is inconsequential. It is somewhat annoying to get a faceful or a hand full of Boiga teeth, but really not that big a deal. It may bleed a bit freely as they have interesting components in their saliva as well as rather long teeth designed for arboreal hunting. Don't sweat about it; it's unlikely to get any worse than that. It is theoretically possible for you to have an allergic reaction (a type 1 hypersensitivity) just as with a wasp or bee sting, but that is a rare case, and unless that happens, the bite won't even be as bad as a wasp or bee sting.

The worst systemic effect anyone has ever reported from a Boiga bite is a headache and dry mouth, and that was from something much larger and more potent than the brown tree snake currently invading Guam. I am aware of the reports of one infant death and several infant injuries on Guam, but I just got back from an academic summit where those specific cases were laid out and discussed. The expert verdict was that it was not the venom that was the actual cause of death, but asphyxia. Whether this was caused by the snake is also questionable. The better questions to ask in the cases I saw discussed were, "why did the parents leave the infants outdoors and unattended for that length of time?"

Summary: those tree snakes = not much for humans to worry about, except that they have moved in and wrecked the indigenous wildlife. They're an ecological concern, not a human safety concern.

[jjirons69]

Summary: those tree snakes = not much for humans to worry about, except that they have moved in and wrecked the indigenous wildlife. They're an ecological concern, not a human safety concern.

Thanks for the info. Tree snakes = heart attacks for me!!!

[GoatLocker]

Summary: those tree snakes = not much for humans to worry about, except that they have moved in and wrecked the indigenous wildlife. They're an ecological concern, not a human safety concern.

They are pretty harmless, but the Guam Power Authority would be lost without them, as they blame them for virtually every power outage on the island. :D They do get pretty big, like 7-8 feet.:jd

[colimo]

Sounds like fun james....take care...and enjoy if you go...

[TanithT]

They are pretty harmless, but the Guam Power Authority would be lost without them, as they blame them for virtually every power outage on the island. :D They do get pretty big, like 7-8 feet.:jd

They're correct in blaming them for the power outages. These slithery fellows are causing massive problems in that respect as well as to the local wildlife. They can be somewhat naughty and snappish, but are not dangerous to humans. Unless they blow your power lines while you are on life support, in which case you're screwed.

In their natural habitat these guys generally max out at 5-6 feet, but they're getting bigger on Guam due to the easy pickings and optimal temperatures. It's a shame they're federally banned; I would not at all mind adding some of the Guam giant Boiga to my collection. They are a bit drab and their venom is nothing to write home about, but at a size like that they might be fun to play with. Sneak me back two or three of those 8-footers in your pocket, would ya? :D

This is how much fun they are to play with. (http://oregonstate.edu/~masonr/images/Boiga2.jpg)

[WildBlueSooner]

Bump :)

[csbrewfisher]

James, when I was there I wasn't a cigar smoker, and really didn't see much of the island. I'm betting that about all you're gonna find is Phillipino cigars. I suggest you have several bros ready to ship them to you on a regular basis.

My :2

[DPD6030]

Did someone say ship cigars to James in Guam :D

[WildBlueSooner]

Did someone say ship cigars to James in Guam :D

Thanks Jerry...now I am screwed! I will not give my address away, even to my wife...I realize now that it would be safe with no one :r

[taltos]

Just send the cigars to James c/o Andersen Air Force Base. With rank, first and last names, they will get to the proper destination. James, you can run but you can't hide.:D

[WildBlueSooner]

I wonder if I can file a restraining order on an entire forum membership :r

[taltos]

I wonder if I can file a restraining order on an entire forum membership :rYou wouldn't want to do that, we are too cute and cuddly and playful. Plus, you don't want to rile up the Massholes. Next lessons on locating the Junior Officers' Bachelor Housing.:D

[WildBlueSooner]

You wouldn't want to do that, we are too cute and cuddly and playful. Plus, you don't want to rile up the Massholes. Next lessons on locating the Junior Officers' Bachelor Housing.:D

I will give you playful and maybe even cuddly but cute?
http://redpox1st.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/ugly_guy.jpg

No F'in way :fu

[mikeyj23]

James, when I was there I wasn't a cigar smoker, and really didn't see much of the island. I'm betting that about all you're gonna find is Phillipino cigars. I suggest you have several bros ready to ship them to you on a regular basis.

My :2

I used to get some yummy "filipino" cigars...
Posted via Mobile Device

[WildBlueSooner]

I used to get some yummy "filipino" cigars...
Posted via Mobile Device

Tell me more!

[mojo65]

They're correct in blaming them for the power outages. These slithery fellows are causing massive problems in that respect as well as to the local wildlife. They can be somewhat naughty and snappish, but are not dangerous to humans. Unless they blow your power lines while you are on life support, in which case you're screwed.

In their natural habitat these guys generally max out at 5-6 feet, but they're getting bigger on Guam due to the easy pickings and optimal temperatures. It's a shame they're federally banned; I would not at all mind adding some of the Guam giant Boiga to my collection. They are a bit drab and their venom is nothing to write home about, but at a size like that they might be fun to play with. Sneak me back two or three of those 8-footers in your pocket, would ya? :D

This is how much fun they are to play with. (http://oregonstate.edu/%7Emasonr/images/Boiga2.jpg)

TanithT Ive come to the expert opinion your not right in the head.....:hf

[TanithT]

TanithT Ive come to the expert opinion your not right in the head.....

And you haven't even seen what I do with cobras. :D

[mojo65]

And you haven't even seen what I do with cobras. :D:np

[TanithT]

OK. But don't click here if you're snake-phobic.

Yes, this is my job. Somebody's got to do it. (http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswthcobras/gallery/0000ax6q)

[heavyd]

I hope you like to drink alone :D. Last time I was in Guam it was a hop/layover in '94. It's similar to Diego Garcia, but the reef has more Tiger sharks...seriously though, not a bad place at all :tu

[Wanger]

OK. But don't click here if you're snake-phobic.

Yes, this is my job. Somebody's got to do it. (http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswthcobras/gallery/0000ax6q)

I'm not snake phobic. :D AWESOME stuff Tanith!!!! I few years ago, I got a backstage tour at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, SD. Terry took out several things for my ex-wife and I to see. I got to actually touch a Gabon viper, and hold both a beaded and a Gila. Also, probably the most beautiful snake I've ever seen was the Eyelash viper he took out. AWESOME!

And then to stay on topic...never been to Guam, but because of the snakes (as Tanith mentioned) that are an invasive species, you will not hear birds. One reason they are growing bigger than their cousins in the true natural habitat is that there are no natural predators in Guam for them (aside from us). A good friend of my wife was born there, but that's all I know about it.

[TanithT]

I'm not snake phobic. :D AWESOME stuff Tanith!!!! I few years ago, I got a backstage tour at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, SD. Terry took out several things for my ex-wife and I to see. I got to actually touch a Gabon viper, and hold both a beaded and a Gila. Also, probably the most beautiful snake I've ever seen was the Eyelash viper he took out. AWESOME!

Heh, I was just smoking cigars with Terry at Venom Week. Small world.

Raising baby eyelash vipers is a tough job; they often need assist feeding. But what he has that I'm envious of is some of the Australian species that rarely make it out to this side of the puddle. Me likey tiger snakes and redbellied black snakes.

[rack04]

OK. But don't click here if you're snake-phobic.

Yes, this is my job. Somebody's got to do it. (http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswthcobras/gallery/0000ax6q)

He's also very muscular and athletic, and can suddenly extend himself about five feet past the lip of his exhibit cage when it's open. Which is about where I'm standing when I do the opening, so dodging him becomes an amusing pastime.

Your idea of amusing is greatly different than mine. :(

[TanithT]

Your idea of amusing is greatly different than mine. :(

You should have seen the photographer's face. A large, territorial male king cobra will present quite an athletically impressive response (http://pics.livejournal.com/danceswthcobras/pic/0003xzbk/g10) when shown a baseball cap, which mimics a rival's hood. But honestly, it is much easier than it sounds. They just don't weigh that much, and if the naughty creature charges me, it's really pretty easy to physically control him.

I still want to play with some of those 8-foot Boiga from Guam. I expect I'll have to go to Guam to do it however; all joking aside, it would be a BAD idea to import any to the States.

[mojo65]

TanathT your an interesting lady!