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Guam sits like a jewel in the tropical Pacific, a paradise of beauty and contrasts. Roughly shaped like a boot thirty miles long and ten miles wide, the island contains high cliffs, white beaches, and swaying palm trees. Jets spew vapor trails in the bright blue sky as waves topped with white foam break away from the sea, washing ridges in the sand of the beaches. The Pacific lies beyond, a deep blue, untinged by gray or green.

Sometime every day, some part of the island receives rain. One resident may find rain pouring in his backyard while the sun shines in the front. One neighbor may work in his yard while another watches a shower from his window. A short time later, skies clear over all the isle.

Across the road from the outer edges of the housing projects stand the boondocks, a tightly woven mass of vegetation, the island jungle. At night the mating call of the wild bucks can be heard, followed by the pounding of hoofs and antlers as two amorous males fight over one doe. The snort and bellow of the wild boar echoes in the late dark hours of the tropical night.

The beach glistens under the warm winter sun as bodies of different shades of brown, black, white, and sunburn parade in and out of the water. Native Guamanians swim side by side with military and civilian personnel from the military bases. A coral reef nearly one mile toward the ocean separates large waves from the beach. At each end of moon-shaped Tumon Beach, a towering cliff stands guard. Away from the sunny area of the sand, palm trees stir in the gentle breeze. If one looks closely, native huts can be seen far back in the trees.

With little warning, the serene blue skies and calm sea can turn into an inferno of wicked winds, pounding rain, and black skies when a typhoon hits. The rain seems forced through the walls by the fierce winds that whip, that drive the storm. The typhoon, the enemy of the islands, sweeps over and through with extreme destruction, laying waste all that does not yield before its fury.

Guam portrays calm seas and whipping waves; jet trails and wild boar; native huts and housing projects; white sands and military bands. The paradise, a place of beauty, a place of contrast, lies like a jewel in the Pacific.

Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English, composition, and creative writing for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studied and taught. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/, a site for Writers, and her portfolio is http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel Her books, Hidden Lies and Other Storied and Walking the Earth, can be found through Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.

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Nothing matches an afternoon of polo in the tropical surroundings of Barbados. Beautiful ladies in haute couture, squired by an array of dashing men, gather to watch the sport of kings while sipping champagne amidst the sound of hoof beats. There is also afternoon tea, a fully stocked bar — or in Bajan parlance, “bar solid” — and most often a delicious Bajan buffet is served. It is truly an afternoon of civilized fun for the international set.

Once a local pastime enjoyed by a few enthusiasts, the game of polo is now an important and well respected event on international sporting and social calendars. Not to be played by the faint of heart, polo is a very enthralling spectator sport. Apart from interclub matches which start in January, there is a 14 goal Colombian Emeralds Barbados Open in March this year, as well as visits from teams from South Africa, Argentina, the USA and England.

The quality and profile of Barbados polo as improved over the years with much better facilities being offered. Apart from the Barbados Polo Club at Holders Hill, three new polo fields have opened at Waterhall, Lion Castle and Clifton, all of which offer breathtaking views over rural Barbados. The influx and recruitment of top quality, high handicap overseas players has given the local teams the opportunity to play alongside some high quality polo players. The polo ponies have also improved significantly, most of which have been imported from well-known polo breeding countries like Argentina.

The Barbados Polo season runs from January to April this year.

Billy O’Dell is, with wife Carolyn, owner of the Barbadan catering company Food Affairs and owner of BarbadosBarbados.com, online concierge to Barbados.

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