Guam, a place that emerged from relative obscurity this year thanks to its role at the centre of a Third World War appearing on the horizon courtesy of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, has recorded a record-breaking number of visitors.
The small island in the South Pacific boasted a 3.2 per cent rise in the number of holidaymakers arriving at its sandy shores in 2017, up to 1.56 million, despite the impending threat of nuclear annihilation. So what can its many travellers expect from Guam? These fascinating facts might give you an idea...
1. It is American, but not a state
Unlike Puerto Rico, which is inching towards becoming the USA’s 51st state, Guam is unlikely to join America’s top table of legal status any time soon. It is defined as a “Territory of the United States”.
There are currently 16 such entities, although only five of them are inhabited (the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa in the Pacific, and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, join Puerto Rico and Guam in having actual residents while happily flying the Stars and Stripes).
Territories have certain voting rights and protection from the US courts. However, their citizens cannot vote in presidential elections.
2. It is the second southernmost part of America
The only part of Uncle Sam’s domain which lies further towards Antarctica than Guam is American Samoa, which hangs out (relatively) near to Fiji, at a latitude of 14.2°S.
Guam, by contrast, skulks on the other side of the equator – close (give or take the best part of 1600 miles) to the Philippines, at 13.4°N.
But this is still a fair distance south of more recognised parts of America. Key West, at the lower tip of Florida, pins its colours to 24.5°N. Naalehu, at the southern end of Hawaii’s “Big Island”, has a latitude of 19.0°N.
3. It’s a long way from most places…
Guam’s American colleagues, the Northern Mariana Islands, lie close at hand – a 128-mile hop to the north-east. But Tokyo is a rather larger leap of 1,570 miles over the horizon. Los Angeles? That’s 6,086 miles distant. London? That’s 7,476 miles, and a couple of changes of planes away.
Pyongyang, for those keeping an eye on the sky for mushroom clouds, is just 2,114 miles from Guam, away to the north-west. Erm, gulp.
4. …but you can still get there
Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport is a broad-armed host to a decent selection of airlines – not least United (0845 844 4777; united.com), which uses it as a regional hub. United’s link to Hong Kong may the best bet for reaching Guam from the UK, although you could also fly in with Philippines Airlines (via Manila; 00632 855 8888; philippineairlines.com) – or with Delta (via Tokyo; 0871 221 1222; delta.com).
5. It was an early adopter of air travel
Guam was a stop for the “Clipper” flying boats operated by Pan Am in the Thirties and early Forties – one of the most romantic eras for aviation. The now-defunct airline launched a route from San Francisco to Manila in 1935, with a Sikorsky S-42 “flying boat” hopping its way across the Pacific – also halting at Honolulu.
The one-way fare – US$950 (£738); about US$16,000 (£12,429) at current rates – was not cheap, but the flight crossed the ocean at a rate more than two weeks quicker than the fastest steamship.
6. The Portuguese went there a long time ago
Guam is not so remotely placed that it was beyond the telescopes and wanderlust of the great European explorers. In fact, (arguably) the greatest of them all, Fernando Magellan, spotted it on the first voyage of circumnavigation (1519-1522), calling at Guam on March 6 1521.
Of course, this paragraph requires a little qualification. While Magellan is often credited as the first man to sail around the world, he was killed en route, dying in a pitched battle with locals in the Philippines on April 27 1521 (the journey was completed by Spanish voyager Juan Sebastian Elcano, who sailed its last ship, the Victoria, home to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, arriving on September 6 1522).
Guam was effectively the final friendly place Magellan saw before coming to what was a very sticky end. Lots of spears.
7. Guam has long had an indigenous population
“Friendly” also requires a caveat. Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian scholar who documented Magellan’s voyage, was less than charitable about the residents of Guam. They were, he said, wily souls who “entered the ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on”, including "the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship.” Continuing this pen-assassination, he wrote that “those people are poor, but ingenious and very thievish.”
Still, first impressions are but the smallest snapshot. Fast forward 500 years, and Guam is known for the warmness of its welcome. Its indigenous inhabitants are the Chamorro people. They are believed to have populated the island since around 2000 BC, when they moved into Micronesia from Southeast Asia.
They brought the Chamorro language with them. This is now thriving as a fundamental part of the isle’s modern school curriculum.
8. It was Spanish for a fair while…
Guam spent more than 300 years as a Spanish colonial possession. It was claimed by Madrid in 1565 (although not properly colonised until 1668), and remained so-tethered until 1898, when defeat for Spain in the Spanish-American War – a tussle that also took in the status of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines – saw it occupied by US forces. Fragments of Spanish rule remain.
The Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad is one of them – a stronghold that was built by Spain between 1802 and 1819 to help protect its ships as they crossed the Pacific from the Philippines to Mexico. Located close to Umatac in the south-west of the island, the fort has been on America’s National Register of Historic Places since 1974.
9. … but has been American for well over a century
Guam officially became American in the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on December 10 1898. This was a pretty seismic moment, which effectively disbanded the Spanish Empire, and gave America a good shove down the road towards becoming a superpower.
Its nationality has not changed since, although the island did enter dark waters between December 8 1941 and August 10 1944, when it was occupied by Japan. The Battle of Guam (July 21-August 10 1944) wrenched it back into US control.
This was a distinctly bleak period for Guam – it is estimated that 10 per cent of its population died due to forced labour, execution and incarceration during the 31 months that Japan was in charge.
10. For some on Guam, the war didn’t end until 1972
Ever heard the one about the Japanese soldier who did not know the Second World War was over? There were several of these stubborn souls scattered around the Pacific Rim, and one of them was hiding in Guam. Shoichi Yokoi did not surrender until January 24 1972, having concealed himself deep in the island’s jungle near the southerly village of Talofofo.
He had spent the 28 years since America’s recapture of Guam living in an underground cave – despite the fact that, he later revealed, he had learned that the war was over in 1952, but was afraid to declare himself. “We Japanese soldiers were told to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive,” he commented.
Tourists can visit his subterranean abode. Sort of. “Yokoi’s Cave” is now part of the popular Talofofo Falls Resort Park (visitguam.com/listings/Talofofo-Falls-Resort-Park/346). The original was destroyed by a typhoon, but a replica, reached by rope ladder, offers insight into his life.
11. The Second World War has national-park status in Guam
The bloody events of 1941-1944 are protected in Guam in the form of War In The Pacific National Historical Park (nps.gov/wapa). This comprises various locations, trenches, gun emplacements and battlesites across the island – including Ga’an Point and Agat Beach, on the west coast, where American troops landed for the liberation fight on July 21 1944.
12. The capital had to be restored
Guam’s capital is Hagatna. It sits roughly midway along the north-west coast. It rings with echoes of the Spanish era – in the shape of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, a bastion of all things Catholic. There has been a cathedral on this site since 1669, when the new settlers constructed a first church from coralstone and ifil wood.
However, this doughty building was lost to the heavy bombardment when US troops re-took the island in 1944. The present structure, quickly assembled, emerged in April 1959.
13. There are more romantic sites too
One of Guam’s most fabled landmarks is Two Lovers Point, a steep bluff at the upper end of Tumon Bay, on the north-west coast. According to local legend, this was the spot where a pair of entwined Chamorro inhabitants of the island – he a warrior, she the daughter of a local aristocrat – jumped to their deaths because she had been promised in marriage to a Spanish sea captain.
It is probably an apocryphal tale, but the sunsets visible from the top of the crag, with the Pacific roaring below, are seductive all the same.
14. Tumon Bay is a holiday hotspot
Arching its back for about three miles, Tumon Bay is home to some of Guam’s prime hotels. Come here for a week, and there is a reasonable chance that you will soothe your soul at one of the resorts along this long strip of sand. The Hilton Guam Resort & Spa (hiltonguamresort.com) – double rooms from £121 per night – is one of them. The Lotte Hotel Guam (lottehotel.com/guam) – double rooms from £208 per night – is a second.
15. The diving is pretty good
Guam is the closest landmass to the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on the planet – which sinks all the way to 36,070ft (10,994m) below sea level. You don’t, of course, need quite this much depth to enjoy a decent scuba holiday – and Guam can certainly oblige on the latter. Apra Harbor, on the west coast, is home to a number of accessible shipwrecks.
These include the SMS Cormoran, a German merchant trader which sank during the First World War – and the Tokai Maru, a Japanese freighter that was sunk by an American submarine on August 27 1943. Curiously, these two vessels touch on the seabed, meaning that underwater enthusiasts can explore them on the same dive. PADI provides a list of Guam sub-aqua sites and accredited dive shops, at padi.com/scuba-vacations/micronesia.
16. Tourists far outnumber locals
All these attractions, and its fine weather, mean that Guam is pretty popular. So much so that, according to figures from the World Trade Organization, there are almost eight (7.9, to be precise) visitors to Guam for every resident. This is a similar ratio to the British Virgin Islands (12.8) and Monaco (8.7). Guam’s population, for the record, is 162,742.
17. It is a big chunk of America
America has a lot of islands, and Guam is the 32nd biggest of them. That doesn’t sound very sizeable – and, certainly, compared to the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the largest of these oceanic outcrops at 4,028 square miles, Guam is something of a pinprick in the Pacific.
But, at 209 square miles in area, Guam is also the biggest island in Micronesia. It is bigger than, say, Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts (91 square miles), Martha’s neighbour Nantucket (48 square miles) – and also Manhattan (23 square miles).
18. It is quite urban in parts
According to United Nations statistics, Guam is the 14th most urbanised location on Earth. However, this does not indicate that it is swamped by urban sprawl – merely that a very high proportion of its people live in towns and “cities”. And there is still room to breathe and smell the fresh air in green spaces such as Guam National Wildlife Refuge, which frames the very northern tip of the island, at Ritidian Point (fws.gov/refuge/guam).
19. The brown tree snake did a bad thing
Head to Guam National Wildlife Refuge, and you may see the endangered Mariana fruit bat. You may also see the Guam kingfisher or the Mariana crow. But chances are, you will have to look exceedingly carefully for anything with wings and feathers.
There were no snakes on the island until the Second World War, when a brown tree snake – native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, but not Micronesia – slipped onto Guam unseen as a stowaway on a US military ship.
With no natural predators in this idyllic outpost, it and its offspring made hay in the sunshine, all but eliminating the bird population. Efforts have been made to limit its impact, and protect what remains of the isle’s avian residents. The snake is mildly venomous, but not a danger to humans.
20. If it’s daytime in Britain, it’s probably night in Guam
To re-emphasise just how far Guam is from the UK, it is worth stating that the island operates in a time zone of GMT +10. If you are reading this over lunch, Guam is asleep.