Rota is a small island just to the north of Guam. It is in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, so even though the flight from Guam took only 30 minutes in a commuter plane, it was another frontier to cross.
Rota is home to only about 2500 people. It is the only place I have been to where ALL other drivers wave to you as I drove past. I only stayed in Rota overnight, but I wish that I had been able to stay a little longer, and enjoy relaxing there a bit more.
There is fantastic snorkelling, World War Two relics, great coastal and jungle scenery, and ancient monuments and artefacts.
These are latte stones. The ancient Chamorro people built these for an unknown purpose. It is likely that they were used as foundation stones for structures – the higher the stone, the more important the owner. But, nobody really knows. One of the mysteries of the world. These have since been moved from their original sites and lined up here as a gateway. Latte stones are the symbol of the Mariana Islands.