After an hour and 30 minutes flight on a single propeller plane from Saipan, Herman B. Cabrera, along with a scientist, a miner and workers saw the mostly green southwest coast of the volcanic island.
“This side of the island drops down into the ocean like a sharp object. As we passed this side of the island we began seeing coconut palms protruding from the side of the cliff and the beach,” Cabrera said.
His mission there was to conduct a feasibility study on the island’s mineral deposits.
Cabrera is a member of the Northern Islands mayor’s office reinvestment and redevelopment team.
Their goal, Cabrera said, “is crucial to the future economic development of the CNMI.”
As he began his research — collecting data, pictures and other information pertaining to Pagan — Cabrera became more interested in the beauty, science and the environment of the island.
“One of the pictures of Pagan looks like a picture of the earth million of years ago. Having all this information implanted in my brain compelled me to deepen my research about the environment of Pagan,” he said.
It was in the middle part of September, one rainy day when Cabrera’s team departed Saipan.
It was his first trip to Pagan, so he was “in full anticipation and was very excited.”
The first of the Northern Island they saw was Anatahan, another active volcano.
Looking down from the airplane he saw the entirely green island protruding from the ocean. The island was inhabited by a small number of people who had to leave because of the volcanic activities there.
“The middle part of the island is hollow and it looks like lava is flowing in different colors: yellow, purple and brown. The scenery is pleasing to see,” Cabrera said.
They passed over the islands of Sarigan, Guguan and Alamagan which all look similar and small.
Eventually, “we sighted Pagan and flew low over the southern west side of the island which was green and colorful.”
As they approached the south bay, the airplane started turning around and began descending toward the airfield. Because it was a grassy air strip, the landing was a little rough.
Upon landing, they were welcomed by the island residents.
Cabrera explored the island guided by Tony Cabrera and William Castro.
“First we took a walk through the south bay to see the black beach, the old Japanese concrete water tank, the Japanese kamikaze airplane, the portable water tank and the church at the northern bay,” Herman Cabrera said.
He added, “I removed my hat and entered the church thanking the Lord for the safe trip and for all His blessings, including the opportunity to see this wonderful island. The northern bay had a wide and long beach overlooking the huge volcano. As we walked on the black sand I saw this small bright object glowing on the ground. I picked it up and noticed that it stopped glowing. I examined the small thing on my hand and it turned out to be a piece of a broken shell. I put it back on the ground and it started to glow again. For a while, I was talking to myself, saying ‘This island is something.’ ”
After seeing most of the west side of the island, he said Ben Mettao, the boat operator, took him on a tour around Pagan.
“First, we went to the west side of the island. As we headed south, we saw an abundance of flying fish showing off their flying skills on the surface of the water.
“This is my first time to see such magnificent flying fish. Ben told me that the flying fish are bigger on Pagan than any place in the Marianas and they are good to eat. As we headed south, I noticed that there were dolphins all around us jumping up and down in the water, showing their aerobic skills, like they wanted to greet us and have a close encounter with us. They all seemed so happy living in such a remote island untouched by the world. From the top of the boat I could see through the crystal water and its thriving marine life.”
(To be continued)
