Dark waters

It turns out that swimming around in murky water on the edge of a waterfall you can't see is sort of scary.

Especially if some unseen creature tries to eat you.

I went out the other night with friend of mine, the well-prepared sailor -- in an attempt to provide him with a memorable last night jaunting around Guam exploring things before he headed back to the states to figure out The Rest of His Life.

Having a very limited knowledge of Guam's adventure spots -- especially compared to someone who hikes to unexplored caves by himself AT NIGHT -- the best I could do was Priest's Pools.

Oh, and also I was incredibly late getting off work, which limited our adventure capabilities, and I had to check my email every few minutes to re-read a story I had written at work.

After a few wrong turns, I managed to navigate us through sword grass to the pool, which is slightly more picturesque in the daytime.

And also warmer.

Floating around in a dark pool, preoccupied with looking at constellations I couldn't recognize, I felt a sharp tug, like a hand grabbed me under the water, and the distinctive feel of teeth.

Later, my friend and I saw a moss-covered lobster-fish thing, and a two-foot eel slithering under the rocks in the pool's shallows.

I'm thinking it was the eel that bit me.

I hope so anyway.