JUST when I thought I had seen all of
the World War II bunkers on island, I discovered another one at a place
I had never before visited.
Hidden
under a thick canopy of shrubs past the tip of the Coral Ocean Point
golf resort were the remnants of a bunker whose small opening for a
cannon that was no longer there was pointed directly at the sea and at
Tinian.
Looking at the structure from either
side, you would not suspect it was a bunker. It looked like just one of
the hundreds of abandoned and dilapidated buildings covered with
vegetation.
But viewed from the sea, it became something more interesting.
I followed a group of people I was with
through the dark narrow opening of the bunker and emerged into the space
where the canon should have been. Aside from the few spiders that
occupied some parts of the wall, the inside of the bunker was “clean”.
Traces of recent visits were visible — mostly offerings that Japanese
visitors had left behind, their usual way of honoring their relatives or
family members who died here during the war.
We
stayed only for a few minutes and emerged through the rectangular
opening and headed out to the seaside. I’d seen this area from the plane
window several times before but picking my way through the sharp coral
stones and watching the huge waves crashing against the sharp cliff
lines was a much more exciting experience.
A fisherman sat on the edge of the sharp
cliffline with his fishing poles in the water. I would have wanted to
stay behind and capture it all on the lens, get wet by the sea spray and
just enjoy the ocean mist, but I had to catch up with my group. Picking
your way over the sharp coral stones was no easy feat. There was one
spot there where you could hear the water gushing beneath the rock
where you were standing on — amazing yet scary too.
The golf course began right at the end
of that rocky ledge, and I found a spot with a more stunning view. Where
the manicured grass of the golf course ended was another rocky cliff
where waves crashed and splashed like a smaller version of the blowhole
on Tinian. One particular rock jutted out with its tip hanging above the
water — a photographer’s delight.
To get to this point, take the first
right turn when you get past the Invasion Beach in San Antonio and you
will see this bunker.
This island just won’t run out of
surprises. All you have to do is go out and set foot in places you
haven’t been to before, and you won’t come home disappointed.
