You might recognize the town as the port for the "Deadliest Catch" from the Discovery Channel reality show - one of the captains was on the cruise giving talks about his life. The highlight of our day in town was chatting with a veteran fisherman at the local pub. Carlos, was heading back home in Mexico after just missing his third child being born. For nine months out of the year he works on the Alaskan fishing boats. He works thirty tough days on the boat and then gets only two days on land until he heads out again for another month. That sure puts our week of long sea days on this cruise in perspective!
We couldn't stop in Alaska and not enjoy some great local fish-n-chips at the harbor pub - a great pairing of food and location. And hey, look! Alaska has craft beer too!
We lucked out in wildlife spotting while in Alaska - although we weren't fast enough with the camera to capture any on film (or on bits or whatever the phrase is for digital cameras). We saw a humpback whale in the bay, a couple of huge bald eagles and salmon finishing their spawning run. It's amazing how this community scratches out an existence here in this rugged and stark country. Here we pose like the tourists we are in front of some crab traps. For us they're just ambiance but for the community they are the key to their livelihood.
"Real freedom lies in wilderness not in civilization." - Charles Lindberg
