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  4. SAIPAN

AROUND THE ISLAND WITH JOANNE AND JACK

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Starting our trek along the nifty Nafta cliffs to the Toilet Bowl (which is a lot prettier than what it's name sounds like it would be).
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Starting our trek along the nifty Nafta cliffs to the Toilet Bowl (which is a lot prettier than what it's name sounds like it would be).

  • Starting our trek along the nifty Nafta cliffs to the Toilet Bowl (which is a lot prettier than what it's name sounds like it would be).
  • As you can see, Joanne decided to stay up above while Jack and I headed down for the best look.
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  • VIDEO: Click the triangle and allow it to buffer a bit. First, you will see the moon and the top of the ridge (where Joanne waited -- well, on the top of the ridge, not on the moon), then Jack exploring a small cave, then you will see the Toilet Bowl. Total time for the video: 2 minutes and 19 seconds.
  • Now we've gotta climb back up to where Joanne is!
  • Jack climbing out and then along the trail back to our vehicle. Video length: 40 seconds.
  • You can see the Banzai monuments in the background as we head over to the lower tidal flats to the east.
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  • Some of the wave displays are better than fireworks!
  • 2 minutes and 44 seconds of wave spashes! Watch for the rainbow!
  • This hole is at the top of a large cavern, which also has a huge underwater hole open to the ocean. As waves come and go on the shore, the water in this hole rises and lowers, doing an endless and mesmerizing dance (as you saw in the previous video). The cavern below is called SPOTLIGHT CAVE because, around noon on a cloudless day (when the sun shines directly into this hole), there is a wonderfully-mysterious-looking beam of light which penetrates through the water of the cave to the delight of any lucky SCUBA diver who happens to be beneath (the beam is not something you see from the top here: For that you must be a diver!).
  • The Spotlight Cave hole is on the flat area you see behind Jack and Joanne. We are now headed back to Banzai Cliffs.
  • And again through the forest, this time to the Honeycomb Caves of Marpi.
  • "Mark, are you sure it's a good idea to come into this little place?"
  • It does open up into a pretty decent cave.
  • Spelunkers extraordinaire!
  • Some of the travertine in the cave has a very shiny and glittery appearance. Pretty amazing place, really!
  • Now to Sirena Cave. If anyone knows the history of this place, please leave comments (see the "Add Comment" button to your lower left). Someone put lots of passion and sweat into landscaping this and preparing it to be a tourist attraction, but then totally abandoned it. There is a large cave behind Sirena.
  • When I first came here (about 8 years ago) there were still wooden planks on this catwalk. A sign said to keep out of the cave, so I did, but it would have been easily accessible. Now the planks are all rotted and getting into the cave would be a bit of a challenge. In addition to that, I have heard from several folks that organic decomposition inside the cave produces a fairly hefty concentration of gases such as methane. The only people I know who ever did penetrate into it did indeed get ill while they were there, which leads me to believe that the rumors of methane (or some other gas from organic decomposition) are true.
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