I just came back from visiting the longest tunnel aquarium in the world. But if you go there you’ll be visiting the second longest tunnel aquarium in the world. Even with the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean surrounding Guam the UnderWater World aquarium is one of the most fascinating places to visit on the island. I was told that on special occasions you can even spend the night in the tunnel. It’s open for field trips and private parties. After 9 pm you can sit at a table in the tunnel with your favorite adult beverage and spend a romantic evening enjoying the ever changing panorama of colorful tropical fish, sharks, and even giant turtles paddling overhead.

Oh, the reason your visit to UnderWater World will be to the second longest and my visit was to the longest is simple. Five days after my visit an even longer aquarium was opened in China.

Guam Micronesia Island Fair

There's much to see and do on Guam, which I'll get to shortly, but I had the great good fortune of visiting during the Guam Micronesia Island Fair. The theme for this fair was “Celebrating Our Seafaring Traditions.” In addition to the fascinating cultural performances from the surrounding islands of Rota, Yap, Palau, Kosrae, Pohnpai, Saipan and others many artists and vendors from those islands were demonstrating and selling their wares. Naturally, there were food vendors with tasty offerings from these islands.

Crafts ranged from exquisitely carved wooden boats to hand-woven baskets to bone carvings to shell and stone sculptures. I bought a few intricately woven wall plaques in the shape of turtles – most fitting souvenirs from a Pacific island being made of natural island vegetation and sea shells.

In addition to the performances, the food and the crafts, delegates from the various Micronesian islands offered information about and invitations to their home islands. And, when it got a bit warm and humid a short stroll to the waterfront provided an opportunity for a cooling dip in the Pacific, before returning to view the traditional Chamorran hut, proa (traditional sailing vessel), and more performances, including a delightful 14 year old Ukulele player offering a Led Zeppelin rendition that everyone applauded. Or maybe you’d like to ride a Carabao – they’re quite docile and I’ll bet your friends haven’t ridden one. If you visit during the fair you may want to get up early on Sunday morning and take in the Guam Ko’Ko’ Road Race, an individual half marathon, and the 20K 4-person relay. Entries are available at all levels and age groups from Juniors under 17 years old all the way up to Manamko at 70+ years.

With tons of free food and drinks and even massage tables at the finish this could be a great reason to visit the island. I should mention that the Ko’Ko’ is a flightless rail and is Guam’s official territorial bird.

Another part of this exciting weekend is the Micronesia Cup. This is the region’s premier annual outrigger canoe race. This year the teams came from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Hawaii, Saipan, Palau and Guam. The sprint races are 500 meters and 1,000 meters with the long distance races about 11 miles. Can you find a team? Maybe you could rent an outrigger canoe in Guam, although the race rotates from year to year among different islands. Maybe Saipan or Palau?

I won’t try to give you the entire historical perspective of Guam, but will refer you to a website at the end of this story. But just remember that beyond their own beginnings the native Chamorro people were in time occupied by the Spanish, the United States, the Japanese occupation and again, the United States. All the while, the Chamorro people clung to their cultural traditions and now continue to celebrate that resilient culture.