Too beautiful to destroy

On a rainy day and after one hour and 30 minutes of flight from Saipan to Pagan, my heart was beating hard because I was scared knowing that we will be landing on a rough grassy field with no medical support on the ground in case we crash. As we descended and circled around the island, my heart stopped pounding as I looked down at one of the most awesome view of the paradise island Pagan. As we descended on the southwest side of the island, the view was so phenomenal it’s like Jurassic Park, it threw me back in time millions of year ago. The cliff was a blend of colors like red oxide, purple, yellow, and chocolate. I still have in my memory a sight of a coconut palm protruding upward on a rock at the cliff. I also saw an unusual beach slanted almost 45 degree upward and inland. The green coconut palms were in groups several miles long—all awesome to see.

When we landed and got out from the airplane the first thing I saw was the huge volcano puffing out steam from the rain. I said to myself, “Oh my God, this is the most amazing view I’ve ever see in my life,” a huge volcano rising 1,800 feet into the clouds and into the blue sky.

As I walked along the beach at the north bay, I saw how beautiful the black sand was, in contrast to the surrounding blue water and green vegetation. The black color of the sand was striking to see, compared to the white sand that I was used to. I never realized that black is truly a beautiful color.

North of the black beach on the same bay, about 20 feet from the shoreline, lies a lake surrounded by evergreen pine trees. The pine trees are shorter than the pine trees on Saipan. The lake is clear and turquoise blue from the reflection of the pine trees. It is distinctively clean and beautiful compare to Lake Susupe on Saipan.

Further up north at the side of the volcano lies a hot spring, half of which is covered with pozzolan minerals. The lake is clear, hot and sparkling clean.

Most of the spectacular view of Pagan can be seen by boats on water. As we rode the boat to the south bay, I noticed that we were followed by a group of dolphins jumping up and down showing their aerobic skills. A bunch of them came close to the boat and were making high-pitched sounds and crying like they wanted to talk to us. Another amazing fish is the flying fish, so big and so magnificent to see how they fly over the surface of the water. The water is filled with marine life, teeming with reef fish of different colors. As we cruised further south away from the island, the formation of the island gave a view like the island is majestically floating on the ocean. The sight of thousands of birds flying above the ocean and over the island’s coast added to the beautiful picture.

At night, the island with no city lights turns the dark sky on with millions of stars so close and so bright. Occasionally, I saw the incredible sight of falling stars streaking across the sky. At dawn and sunset the sky turns golden red over and beyond the horizon of the Pacific Ocean.

God created this beautiful paradise over millions of years. It exists to be preserved, protected and to be enjoyed. It’s not for the military to contaminate and destroy. Anything that is beautiful gives pleasure to the mind, and pleasure with tranquility is health. Pagan is that island—too healthy and too beautiful to destroy. Let’s sustain Pagan for our health, safety, and welfare. Please save Pagan. Sign the petition at www.savepaganisland.org

Herman B. Cabrera
Garapan, Saipan