MONDAY JANUARY 19

We booked a spot on a boat over to Managaha Island this morning for some excellent snorkeling.

But first, a little geography lesson . . .

Saipan is 12 miles by 5 miles. It is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands - an archipelago of 15 islands. Again - Wikipedia comes to the rescue:

The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas), is one of the five inhabited U.S. territories (the other four are Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa). It is one of two territories with "Commonwealth" status; the other is Puerto Rico.^[3] It consists of fifteen islands in the western Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines. The United States Census Bureau reports the total land area of all islands as 183.5 square miles (475.26 km²).^[4] As of the 2010 census, the Northern Mariana Islands had a population of 53,883,^[5] of whom over 90% live on the island of Saipan. Of the 14 other islands, only two –Tinian and Rota – are permanently inhabited.

The Commonwealth's center of government is in the village of Capitol Hill on Saipan. As the island is governed as a single municipality, most publications name Saipan as the Commonwealth's capital.

We live where the black circle is - in the area called Garapan. The yellow roads are the main ones, but if you look closely you can see other roads. The sites of the last stand of the Japanese are on the most northern parts of the island.

We are doing reconnaissance on local beaches. So far, we have tried Managaha (a little island about 3 miles off the west coast), Wing, Tank, Pau Pau, and Obyan. Some beaches are good for just lounging, some are good for snorkeling. All are good for enjoying!