Thursday, January 15, 2009 The Legend of Puntan Dos Amantes By Jinggoy I. Salvador
ROMEO and Juliet, Kyle and Sarah, Faust and Marguerite, Jack and Rose, Tristan and Isolde, Anthony and Cleopatra, Buffy and Angel, Iggie and Ruth, Othello and Desdemona, Abelard and Eloise, Oscar and Bosie, Lancelot and Guinevere, Emma Bovary and Leon Dupuis, Charles and Diana, Sirius and Remus, Paulie and Tori, Catherine and Heathcliff, Tony and Maria, Jessie and Katie, Helellil and Hildebrand...
The list goes on. From all lands that span this globe, there is a star-crossed love story to tell. A story of true love that we somehow all dream of having but with a different ending, a happy one.
But we can't have everything, can we? Are these mere tales or are they real? Whatever it is, it tells us one thing: to live and love to the fullest and not waste a single moment. To chase what our hearts desire and yes, attain our own personal happiness. After all, who can really tell if we are truly happy but ourselves?
On a recent visit to Guam where my travel mates seemed to hoard all contents of various malls in the vicinity, I begged them to spare a few hours to see more of this Pacific Island other than the duty free boutiques that engulfed their sanity. They heeded my plea.
The Two Lover's Point in upper Tumon is one of the most popular spots to see and this grants all visitors one of the best views of the Pacific shorelines of Guam. But the place has a story to tell, a love story with the cliff as a symbol of eternal love.
"When Spain ruled Guam, a proud family lived in Agana, the capital city. The father was a wealthy Spanish aristocrat and the mother was a Chamorro whose father was a great chief. They owned land and were held in high esteem by all, Chamorro and Spanish alike.
However, the most reason for their great pride and dignity was their beautiful daughter. She was honest and modest; her charm so natural that her beauty impressed everyone around her.
One day, a powerful arrogant Spanish captain came to ask the father for his daughter's hand in marriage. The proud father decided the captain would be his daughter's husband. When the girl discovered the pact, she was so disillusioned that she ran from the house and wandered along the shore where the sea soothed her with its silence and peace.
While walking along the shore, she met a young, gentle, strongly built and handsome Chamorro man from a very modest Chamorro family. He was lost in his solitary thoughts, his gentle eyes seemed to be studying the lonely stars and seeking some meaning to them.
They shared their thoughts and desires and fell in love. When the father of the girl learned about the two lovers, he became angry and demanded that she marry the powerful Spanish captain. No one could keep the father from announcing the date of the marriage to the Spanish captain.
That day, at sundown, she ran to meet the Chamorro young man. She joined him near the high point where they had first met and watched the stars appear.
Upon discovering that his daughter was gone, the father told the captain that his daughter had been kidnapped by the Chamorro boy. The father, the captain and Spanish soldiers pursued the lovers up to the high cliff above Tumon Bay. The horsemen slowed their pace as they neared the high peak knowing that the lovers were trapped. The lovers realized that they were left with few options.
The young man shouted a warning for the men to stay back and the father signaled to the men to halt. The couple stood at the very edge of the cliff. The young man and lady took the long strands of their hair and tied them together into a rope-like knot. The two acted as if they were absolutely alone. They looked deep into each other's eyes and kissed for the last time. Instantly, the young couple leaped down the long, deep cliff into the roaring waves below.
In anguish, the father rushed to the edge, peered down and only saw the lovers’ floating hair. The father understood why they tied their hair together. Since that day, Chamorros look at the jutting peak by Tumon Bay with a kind of reverence.
They pay respect to the young couple who showed them that real love comes from the entwining of two souls, true to one another in life and death. Forever after, the high point on the cliff was known as the "Two Lovers Point."
This is said to be Guam's most memorable attraction, a cliff structure of two tiered lookout point walkways that hug and hang over the jagged rock and offer a dramatic view of the Philippine Sea and breathtaking Tumon Bay. From the top, it is a 400-foot drop to the crashing waves below.
"If you are planning your wedding, there is no more poignant setting than Two Lovers Point. Imagine taking your vows on the cliff's edge, facing the setting sun, steeped in the romance and culture of Guam."
