FIRST THURSDAY MARKET OF FEBRUARY     2-05 2015

We have managed to get a small group of friends together each Thursday we've been here to go to Thursday market. The group is seldom completely the same. We had a special guest with us this time from Davis, CA. Daryl is community and political liaison for an oil pipeline project here on the island. He spent two very busy weeks here lining up all the right people and getting the project headed in the right direction and was a great help in our Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evening meetings. We were glad to have him joining us for some local flavor (literal and figurative!)

Uncle Max, Daryl Greenway, and Deb at Thursday market

Ernie David is one of our friends and paints still life and portrait art on local leaves that have had the top skin removed. He shares his wares each Thursday at the market.

Daryl is taken with one of Ernie's paintings - a gift for someone special back home.

 The next step is getting some food to complement Uncle Max's culinary delight - this week we were treated to jackfruit, pork and chicken with rice. Max harvested the jackfruit this afternoon from a tree right outside our front door. If you want to learn a little bit more about this amazing and HUGE fruit (the one Max harvested was about a foot long and six inches in diameter), visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/01/308708000/heres-the-scoop-on-jackfruit-a-ginormous-fruit-to-feed-the-world  (copy/paste into your browser)

Calamari anyone? That's a euphemism for squid. No thanks! Other more delectable edibles found at the market include our favorites - BBQ pork or chicken on a stick. We grab a few for each in the party and head down the beach away from the crowd to a quiet spot with a table for eats and good atmosphere.

Max, Daryl, Deb and me about to dive into our meat sticks along with Max's delicacy at our Table-By-The-Sea

We say a fond farewell to Daryl as he sails into the sunset. He leaves us the next day, promising to return soon.

LADDER BEACH

Scorecard (10 possible)

Access road - 8

Beach access - 6

Ambiance :-) - 7

Snorkeling - 4

Shells -7 lots of different colors of shell fragments and lots of coral pieces -some whole, small shells

Ladder Beach is on the south end of the island - right at the approach end of the airport runway. Since the parking is up above on the cliff and the beach is removed by a fairly large distance, locals caution against leaving anything of value in your vehicle. We found it to be one of the easiest and most pleasant of the beaches so far, although the snorkeling is not really very good.

The road to Ladder Beach is the best so far!

I think the name comes from when they didn't have stairs?

The view from above

Really nice beach access

Looking right (south) Ladder Beach is only about 100 yards wide. The waves build about a 5-foot berm of shells and coral

Cave in the cliff - shelter from the tropical downpours?

Cave dweller

Looking left (north)

Catching rays

A FIRE, A COOL DAY, A VISIT TO URGENT CARE, AND A CAT

Sunday evening as we were on our way home from a bite out, we spied a fire up on one of the hills on south island. We got a couple pictures and later found out that this was a wildfire of unknown origin that burned through many an acre of jungle brush, but no damage to structures was reported. One of the pictures is mine and the other was in the paper.

Courtesy Saipan Tribune

My pic

Monday morning dawned cloudy, windy and "cool". The temperature never rose above 77 all day. Ahhhhhhh. In the apartment we keep a thermometer mounted on the wall and no matter what is going on outside, it's always at least 84. I had to get a picture of the gauge at BELOW 80 in the apartment!

A heretofore unseen reading

After snorkeling last Thursday, Deb developed a painful ear ache. Of course it came on late Friday and there was no available medical care aside from Emergency at the hospital. So, bright and early Monday morning, we headed off to the only urgent care we've seen. at 8:05 it was already bustling with folks needing to be seen. Many who, no doubt, suffered through the weekend as Deb had done. To be honest, we were feeling a bit doubtful of being seen very soon and were ready to settle in for the long haul. HOWEVER, we heard name after name being called - patient after patient going through the door to treatment and patient after patient returning in a fairly rapid manner. After about 15 minutes, Deb was called. The nurse asked a few questions about allergies to medications and a few of the symptoms she was experiencing, and took a blood pressure. She then left and after about three minutes, the doctor sailed in. He was a cheerful man of indeterminate nationality - not Indian - not Indonesian - not Filipino - not Native. Very pleasant in any case! And very efficient. A quick few questions, a quick look into the ear and voila' - a diagnosis and prescription. Off we went across the street to the pharmacy. Again, very pleasant and efficient service. Deb is feeling better already!!

 Now - about the cat. Saipan is littered (pun definitely intended!) with thousands of stray dogs called booney dogs. However, there are very few (visible) cats. One scrawny creature has been slinking around our apartment the last week or two. Deb has taken pity on the poor thing. We bought some dry cat food and added some leftover hot dog scraps and we can already see a plumper, happier cat. Turns out she's a Mom. Not sure where the babies are, but it is clear she is nursing some. Anyway, we feel even the little kittens will eat better now too.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1

We don't plan on posting EVERY Sunday meeting and meal afterwards, but we wanted to share a few more pictures of our friends and let you know that the chili dogs went over very well! It was our turn to provide the main dish and we heard that American food is a hit with the locals, so we decided to go whole dog - chili dog that is!

I think I should definitely add that Paul the Apostle was very careful to remind the Corinthian church in his first letter to that church in chapter 11 that the eating of a meal and the Meeting (breaking of bread and sharing the cup) were two different things entirely and were not to be mixed. It is the custom of this church to eat together after the meeting because few have transportation to get together otherwise and all usually work six days a week.

Put off thy shoes from off they feet for the place where thou standest is holy ground

The men waiting for the dinner call - from left Alfie, Celso, Max, Clyde, Daryl, Ernie

Susan and Clyde view the chili dog feast

Dishing up! Celso, Max, Ernie, Daryl. The Chili Dogs are a hit!

Bento box bonus

After each Sunday meal, bento (to-go) boxes are put together for the bachelors - Max, Ernie and Alfie. Arnold was serving for a group gathering where he lives, so was not with us this Sunday morning. Actually, Arnold is the only "true" bachelor as the others have families back in the Philippines that they send money to. Even at minimum wage, the pay on Saipan is ten times what it is in the Philippines!

AN INTRODUCTION TO BEACHES ON SAIPAN

Scorecard (10 possible)

Access road - 4

Beach access - 9

Ambiance :-) - 7

Snorkeling - 6

Shells -6 The hermit crabs grab all the good shells, but there are still a few good one if you look closely

We thought you might enjoy a short tour of a few of the beaches on Saipan. Most are a bit of an adventure to access. The first and probably our favorite to date on island is Obyan - rough road access, but the parking lot is guarded from 8-5 which is a plus over some of the other beaches. Not that thievery is rampant, but we don't want to provide too much opportunity! :-)

The rough road lasts about 10 minutes. The beach is beautiful. it's on the east side of the island which means the reef is very close to shore and you have to be extra vigilant to not go out too far. the snorkeling is good here with lots of coral for the fish to hide in.

Rocky road to Obyan Beach

Man-eating potholes

The park at Obyan Beach

Looking left (north) at Obyan Beach

Looking right (south) at Obyan Beach

See the little hermit resident? Hermit crabs hole up in all the best shells.