Hagåtña: Spanish forts in the American Pacific

The Santa Agueda Fortress, built by the Spanish in the seventeenth century, remains the best-preserved colonial structure on Guam.

A short walk away, the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, rebuilt multiple times after typhoons and World War II, has been the island's religious center since the seventeenth century.

Moving toward the harbor, you visit Latte Stone Park, which displays ancient stone columns once used as foundations for traditional Chamorro houses.

As evening arrives, Tumon Bay Beach, nearby, comes alive with restaurants and venues offering sunset views over the Pacific.

The Latte Stones, mushroom-shaped columns used as foundations for traditional Chamorro houses, remain an identity symbol of Guam's indigenous people dating back over a thousand years.

Guam, a Spanish colony for over three centuries before passing to the United States in 1898, still retains traces of Spanish heritage in the Chamorro language and the island's religious architecture, as well as in the surnames of many local families.