by Jannice Carrasco, for KUAM News

Fresh off a historic voyage from Micronesia to Taiwan, KUAM News spoke with the only CHamoru aboard a traditional canoe sailing an ancient ocean route, to hear about the journey that tested his limits - and revealed his deeper purpose.

Guam voyager and navigator Ron Acfalle is back home after embarking on a historic journey along an ancient ocean highway, returning with a renewed sense of who he is, where he came from, and where he’s headed.  “Reopening that bridge again for our motherland in Taiwan–come back home and say, we’re here," Acafalle said. “We still exist and we’re still right next door.”

Alongside Palau’s master navigator Sesario Sewralur and a crew from across Micronesia, Acfalle set sail on a 56-foot traditional canoe, traveling from Palau to Taiwan with no GPS, only the stars, wind, currents, and centuries of island wisdom to guide them.

“Mother Nature did everything she could from hard storms, to no wind, to idling in open ocean for ten days fighting for shade - it just brings the strength out of you," he explained. "I’ve learned spiritually, I’ve watched how the ocean works, how it operates, how it moves.”

And while the voyage was anything but easy, Acfalle calls it a dream realized, a chance to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors, and a legacy to pass on. “They say that we are the sunset–the elders. And the young generation is the sunrise. They will take on the full day and become responsible, so that when it’s their time to settle, the next generation, the next sunrise will come. As long as we continue, that daylight stays open–and that’s what we want to do–let the daylight stay open–let knowledge, let it keep going," he said.

And the journey continues. Acfalle heads back to Taiwan later this week to teach others how to build the sakman, also known as the flying proa.

He’s also extending a heartfelt thank you to the Taitung Indigenous Bureau.