The Craziness Continues

Firstly, HI TO JAY AND SYDNEY OUR NEW NEPHEW AND NIECE! JAY WE HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU BOTH IN PERSON.

When we got back Elinor gave us some more guided tours of the island, in between early morning and late night drop offs to the airport for Turkish cannery workers. At one point we were in the car and a drunken carpenter named George turned up at the window, he decided to tell a lengthy story about a construction project at the hatchery (not to be confused with fish farms, which are hated here - despite the use of antibiotics, protection of the fry until later stages than normal, etc in the hatchery). He was there for about 4 days and saw over 40 bears a day, he kept ringing his boss to say he would finish the project early and he needed out as he was getting scared. The boss sent a plane for him a day early, but his colleague was not so lucky and was eaten the following day, according to George they found a leg! I checked this story out with someone else who worked for the fisheries agency and they said it happened.

Coming back from bear trek at Uyak bay by float plane

So this is what a proper wetland looks like

What about loop the loop?

up and away

Holy Resurrection Russian orthodox church, one of six billion (ok around 11) churches in Kodiak.  

This is Jack, he actually quite liked Ralph, although this photo looks like he is being throttled

Me doing some admin on the road.

Elinor's car, we spent a lot of time in here.  The person in the passenger seat was in charge of finding Elinors phone every few minutes, updating the constantly changing to-do list for the day, running into the post office or public defenders office, and any additional duties which may include disposing of a dead bird in a bag (one of the victims of her room mates cat, don't worry it had already been photographed at the crime scene), 'sherpa-ing' etc.... The person in the back was in charge of bags from and to the boot.  We were like a well oiled machine by the end of the week.

Downtown Kodiak, where the ferry docks

Ava and Fiona down on the beach.  Ava was the Kodiak Wildlife Refuge visitor centre manager who we met on the ferry on the way across to Kodiak.  A fellow New Yorker and friend of Elinor we spent most of our time all together when Ava wasn't at work.

'Russ I was going to send this back for you but the postage was prohibitive.'

  One of Elinor's 101 things to do in Kodiak was visit the thrift shop which I had to do anyway as I needed new pyjamas.  Ralph found himself an interesting board game and Ava, despite our best efforts to prevent her, couldn't resist buying 25 videos, Soul Man being the only one with any ironic value.  In the picture she is deliberating which version of Dirty Dancing to get, the original or collectors edition.

Plagued by allergies to her room mates cat Ava resorted to somewhat unorthodox remedial measures.  This was our day out to Pasagshak, Elinor's 10th trip that week (exaggeration of course but I think she felt as though it was.  The turkish cannery workers were all leaving as it was the end of the season and Elinor was in great demand as tour guide so we were lucky to be fitted in the busy schedule.  We were going to go the day before but we thought it was going to be a bit of a squash with three turkish guys too so we chickened out.

On the way to the end of the road

Elinor's chariot - the back door required a special slamming technique

The girls checking out the Salmon

Willie the pig - An essential stop for any Kodiak tour

Fishing for salmon, as you can see they don't leave an awful lot of room for bears

The rocket launch station.  

SCAT? do you think they came up with the acronym and worked backwards?

RAAAAAYYYYYYYY as Justin and Dan used to say

The end of the road was definitely a highlight

I think this is where "Old Greg" is from

Muck magnet US style

Down on the beach

Snagged - Elinor hooked herself  on stray fishing gear that Ralph had suggested we bin earlier that day

Hook removal consultation

Oh take me home where the buffalo roam

Road hogs.  They must recognise Elinor's car by now with her frequent visits.

What you looking at?

luckily we had trousers on underneath

We wanted a bottle of this to bring back but we could only find it on tap, Sarah Pale Ale from the Kodiak Brewing Co. after the great lady president of Alaska (and soon the world) herself.

Pasagshak was the road we chose, both good names though...

I think the beard's getting to Ralph, as he now attempts to walk on water.  This was us on a local Audubon walk to Heitman Lake.

On the way back

Elinor in her balalaika outfit accepting our gift of some award winning jam

Elinor gave us a very appropriate Brit bear and two cool mugs from the Kodiak senior centre as a leaving present

Time to leave...sadly we had to go.  We had completed 75% of the 101 things to do in Kodiak thanks to a last minute tour of the town cemetery in the middle of our last night on which we found out that Russian Orthodox crosses have 3 horizontal planks (Patriarchal crosses).

In the tradition we had learned from seeing off the pilgrims two weeks earlier we waved a blue scarf from the ferry (well Ralph's jacket but it did the job).  As soon as we set off on the ferry the sea was incredibly rough and it continued to be through the night.  It was hard not to get rolled away across the floor as we (tried) to sleep.

 Goodbye Kodiak! Unfortunately Fiona got back on the ferry at the last minute - Dam, Only joking :)