Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, also known as Fort Soledad, is the last of the 4 original forts built around Umatac Bay above the village of Humåtak. It is located on a hill named Chalan Aniti (Path of the Ancestors) and provides amazing views of the village, bay, coastline, and mountain range. The fort was constructed to strengthen the defenses of Guam’s most prominent Spanish-era bay in what was one of Spain’s most remote military positions. It had seven cannons. Three are preserved today, which still bear their Spanish shields.
The fort’s sentry post, overlooking the picturesque bay, has become an icon of the island’s beauty and the days of the Spanish Galleon trade. It was built by the Spanish probably between 1802 and 1819 and was the fourth of four fortifications that protected an anchorage for galleons that sailed between Acapulco when Umatac Bay served as an important supply station for ships crossing the vast Pacific Ocean during the era of the Acapulco-Manila galleon trade (1565 - 1815).
The fort was small, with a low masonry wall of irregular polygonal shape with six sides. It had a small building that served as accommodation for the soldiers and an arsenal, as well as a sentry box. When built, it included a barbette, a guardroom for officers and troops, and an arsenal storeroom. It faced the sea and was elevated eighty varas, or approximately 224 feet, above the bay. The esplanade was paved with flagged coral stones and was partially surrounded by a low parpet constructed of mampostería, stone, and mortar.
With an increasing number of non-Spanish ships sailing through the Pacific in the last half of the eighteenth century, it became necessary for Spain to protect their interests on the island. It was abandoned after Mexico revolted from Spanish rule and the Manila Galleons stopped sailing to and from Acapulco. Preserved ruins still exist.
The fort was used by the Japanese in WWII and has a Japanese gun emplacement nearby. It suffered under American bombardment in 1944. In 1974, the fort was made into a park. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
TO VERIFY YOU HAVE FOUND THE CACHE:
On your log, post a picture of yourself or your group (faces do not need to be visible) at coordinates listed (right side of sentry post).
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.