Rota: Pristine Views, Peaceful Solitude 

I had thought Guam was underdeveloped….until I went to Rota.

While living in Guam I joined the Agana Hash House Harriers on their run in Rota. I wasn’t actually much of a hasher, and I only went on the hikes occasionally, but I decided to join in on this one to give myself a reprieve from Guam, and to also see a neighboring island.

Rota is an island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands with a population of less than 5,000.  Everyone had encouraged me to see the other islands ever since I got there, so I decided the best way to see it would be through the hash.
Nothing says ‘third wheel’ like a weekend on a tropical island with your roommate and her boyfriend (who also happened to be my coworker). But they’re the ones who convinced me to tag along so I decided to take them up on the offer.

Of course, the one night I decided to fly out of Guam to get away for the weekend is also the same evening I was kept at work later than usual. When I finally got to my apartment around 9 Friday night, my roommate helped me throw together a bunch of stuff before our flight left at 2 a.m. Saturday.

We met up at the airport with some of the other girls who were on our same flight to Rota. We arrived at Rota International Airport (apparently the smallest or one of the smallest international airports in the world? I can believe it) around 3 a.m. and went to bed as soon as we got to our hotel.

My friends and I headed over to breakfast at “As Paris” restaurant, which seemed to be pronounced “Az Perez” by the locals, and had no semblance of French cuisine

in reality. It also flaunted free wifi…also not true. And yes, I’m one of those people who feels I’ve lost a bit of my soul when I don’t have wireless access or a cell phone. Neither of my two phones were working in Rota, so I ended up having to get a calling card to maintain sanity.

I had expressed an interest in snorkeling, so we walked over to the nearest dive shop (read: shack) to rent some fins and face masks. I spent the afternoon floating around in the shallow pools checking out the fish including (what I think were) Moorish Idols, several varieties of butterfly fish and a pufferfish, which blew up to its full capacity while hiding under one of the coral.

The evening hash was short and sweet, just perfect for me. We climbed around a gorgeous 100-foot waterfall. Just as the sun slipped beside Wedding Cake island in the horizon —named so because of its tiered shape— we gathered around the bon fire.

Rota may not be developed, but beauty comes at a price.