Overland in the Americas: we want to sea otters

Our trip to Homer did not start in the most promising circumstances with one of our fellow bus passengers opening up the petrol cap of the nearest truck and sniffing it deeply. Despite my worries he seemed fine for the 5 hours except for occasionally babbling incoherently about rabbits.

When we got to Homer we were dropped off by the bus and then taken by the worst taxi driver ever to our bed and breakfast. He was on the phone the entire time and managed to drop us at the chalet owned by the bed and breakfast up a mountain and half an hour from where we were staying. By the time we realised he had already sped off. Luckily for us the neighbour was the nicest person ever.

Terry made us a cup of tea and entertained us with tales of his life as a commercial diver in Nome up at the Arctic circle.

Security at The Pratt museum was a bit over bearing

Sealion skeleton

RSPB should have some bike racks like these at Islands and Oceans visitor centre

Bald eagle to the left of its nest which had a young eagle in

Unidentified wader - we await to hear from RSPB colleagues on this one

Sandhill cranes in the garden of our B and B, they are on route to coastal California where they spend the winter

Max (a random dog we met) and Ralph on Homer spit

On a water taxi in search of sea otters, MV Tustamena, our ferry to Kodiak in the background

The water taxi collected these dogs and their owners from a campsite across the bay

Homemade octopus at the coastal study centre where we had a guided tour of the creatures of Homer dock, we lay on our fronts looking down at the pier, much to the amusement of passers by.