On Walkabout At: Two Lovers Point, Guam

Basic Information

• What: Two Lovers Point
• Where: Guam
• Cost: $3
• More Information: www.twoloverspoint.com

Narrative

One of the most visited tourist attractions on the Micronesian Island of Guam is the view from Two Lovers Point.  The viewpoint is very easy to access since it is located on a 400 foot cliff that overlooks the island’s major tourism center, Tumon Bay:

As I pulled into the parking lot for Two Lovers Point I could see how popular the place was because it was packed with tour buses and of of course the mobs of tourists that come with them which were mostly Japanese and Koreans:

As I walked towards the ticket booth I had some nice views looking out over the Philippine Sea to the west:

It costs $3 to enter the viewing area and I have to believe the government of Guam must be making a huge profit off this venture considering the number of tourists cycling through here each day.  Outside the ticket booth there is this storyboard that explains the Chamorro legend of how this point received its name:

It is basically a tale of forbidden love where the daughter of a Spanish aristocrat refused to marry the Spanish suitor picked by her dad. She instead had fallen in love with a Chamorro warrior who she ran away with.  As her father pursued her, she and her lover were cornered on the cliff overlooking Tumon Bay.  Instead of surrendering to their pursuers the two lovers decided to leap off the cliff together to their deaths instead.  Today fortunately people don’t come here to jump with their lovers off the cliff; instead they come here to get married.  There is a very long signboard at the point that has the names of everyone who has been married there:

Looking at the board most of the people are from Japan which makes sense, since the vast majority of tourists to Guam are from Japan.  Something else couples do at Two Lovers Point is leave locks with messages on them at this railing:

I thought these locks made the site look quite tacky, but for people who have spent time in Korea or Japan these locks on fences are a popular expression of ones love for each other.  After checking out the locks and signboards I then walked up to the large viewing tower to see views of Tumon Bay:

The views of course looking over Tumon Bay were spectacular:

Here is a panorama of the view from the tower:

Here is a zoomed in view across the bay where the mountains of southern Guam could be seen in the distance:

Here is the view looking down the cliff where the two lovers in the Chamorro legend would have jumped to their deaths from:

Yes that would have hurt to jump off of:

Conclusion

Overall I spent about 30 minutes at Two Lovers Point.  The view was nice, but the hordes of tourists here did not make it some place I wanted to hang out at very long.  it is one of those places that people should include on their tourism circuit around Guam, but it likely will not be the highlight of any trip to the island.