I love going out to the cargo pier.  There’s a stretch of beach on either side that I scour for glass balls and pick up garbage.  On my way out there I always see this bunker/underground structure which has caught my eye.   There are trees growing on top, big trees that probably started growing long after this structure was built.

It’s not exactly easy to just walk up to anything on this island.   There is a type of bird that burrows a nest into the sand and creates a tunnel under the surface.  You can’t tell exactly where this tunnel might be so you can crush the tunnel and get the bird stuck in there.  I’d say this was a booby trap but it’s not the Black Footed Boobies that make the nests underground, it’s the Bonin Petrels.  (Ya gotta know your birds living on this island).  The petrels are a sweet bird and I don’t particularly want to entrap one only to suffocate.  If you cave in a petrel burrow you are expected to dig out the tunnel and see if you see something moving.  If you do, you pull the bird out while hoping all the time that a giant centipede doesn’t crawl up your hand and bite you.  (I hear these bites hurt like the dickens!)  So, yeah, I don’t like crushing the homes of sweet little birds but I really, really don’t like centipedes.  I have seen these suckers and they average about 6 inches long!

Well in search of more creepy places for this multipart blog post, I have taken this chance and walked up to this bunker to take a better look.  There’s just this added level of spook when A. no one is around and B. when you know these bunkers are like 80 years old from the war and are haunted!

I walked up to the entrance and to my surprise, I can see all the way through to the other side.  Sweet…two ways out if something jumps out at me or I totally freak out.  I crept further into the tunnel, slightly well lit yet I pulled out my cell phone to use the flashlight anyway.  There was some weird and like everything else on this island… rusty stuff inside the tunnel (a few sinks, fire hose, some engine like parts, etc).  About halfway through the tunnel there were two doors on either side, each with a little “foyer” and another door into a very dark, dark room.

This is where I chickened out and didn’t go any further, the creepy factor was just way too high but I got a good adrenaline rush just being in the tunnel.  It was a nice view through the other side but I was ready to get out of there.

On my way out, with my back turned from the two doors, I hear a terrifying scream!!!  I turned around and this guy was sitting in the corner…

A Red Tailed Tropic Bird!  This one was probably nesting in there.  Oh and while I’m on the subject of finding creepy places… I was back in the Gymnasium tonight and in my search for a good adrenaline rush I went into the bathroom, using my phone’s flashlight instead of flipping on the lights I slowly found my way inside and heard a noise coming from further inside the bathroom.  I took a few more steps past the sauna and not only heard the sound again but saw the garbage can move in a slight rocking movement!!!  As I creeped up to it I saw that there was a Bonin Petrel Bird inside it and not flying out.

So I took the whole garbage can outside and thankfully there was a Fish and Wildlife volunteer there who helped the bird out of the garbage but it was stuck to part of the garbage bag.  I tried to take it off but it was twisted around it’s little ankle.  Fortunately she was able to hold onto it as I untwisted the plastic from around it’s leg.  It didn’t exactly fly away but then again it was dusk and those guys really don’t fly around until after dark.  I went back into the creepy bathroom to return the garbage can with the volunteer right behind me.  While we were in the bathroom I went to check out the sauna and as I stepped in with my flashlight in hand and her watching me step in slowly I let out a big scream and grabbed the wall of the sauna… just to give her a little taste of the adrenaline!!  I’m such a devious troublemaker.