Guam sunrise behind the Marine Biology Centre of the University.

A good holiday is all about pacing. Forget this and risk hiking while jet-lagged, ennui midway, and total burnout.

Carefully avoiding holiday exhaustion.

I never understood why people have beachy holidays. Fly across the world to lie on a beach? As an Australian, it makes no sense, the beach is right there, watch out for the crocs. As someone new to Japan, it made no sense – Asia, culture, adventure, are all so much more interesting and less… sandy.

But this kind of holiday was perfect for someone utterly exhausted from work and half frozen from Japanese winter: a week of waking up at midday, followed by lunch somewhere delicious, doing some languid swimming or snorkling, then taking a leisurely walk along Tumon Bay to catch the sunset…

And eating a lot of tropical Starfruit.

During the week, we shopped, we went to the movies and to bars, we hung and out and enjoyed the sense of being friends living in the same place once again.

The last days we kept for all our best adventures.

We swam in a cave, and watched the wild northern ocean eroding the coast near Pagat.

Don’t try this at home… Ryann gets close to a blow-hole, for some extreme GoPro footage, and is drenched for her efforts.

We took bad weather in our stride and knocked together a half-decent photoshoot.

And we explored the island, beyond the Bay, searching Guam’s southern coasts and finding there is more to this little island than half-a-day.

Hiking Mt Lamlam, tallest mountain in the world from base to tip.

Sadly, holidays come to an end. Where Next Guam returns to Japan. But long after the soothing effect of our beach bum lifestyle wears off, the memories of those last, best days will remain until we can meet again.

Until our next adventure together. xxx Felicity and Ryann