In May - June of 2025, I travelled to Guam for a research cruise on the Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus. I travelled with Annette Govidarajan, my supervisor and PI. The plan was to take environmental DNA (eDNA) samples in and around the Mariana trench. It was the inspiration for creating this site! Unfortunately, the cruse was cancelled due to ship maintenance issues once we were there, but I still had a memorable couple of weeks there and documented it here.