When the wind blows in Homer, it blows cold !! Woke up this morning at about 5.30 am after
having had a late night last night trying to get the blog and photos uploaded.
I am not overly impressed by the internet in Alaska, but then I guess it
wouldn’t be any better in Coober Pedy or Cunnamulla camp sites !! But it wasn’t
raining – And I am learning that in Alaska, that means it is a nice day !! So
after a while thinking about the contortions I needed to go through to get me
dressed to go out into the outside world, I put my thoughts into action, got
dressed, and went for a walk down the spit. Lots of the bat charters go out at
about 6 or 6.30 am, so the place is a hive of activity early. While on my walk I went to check out the dock
from which my ferry would be leaving later, and also went further down the spit
where I had been told that sea otters often congregate in the mornings – But
apparently not this morning !! Not much
wildlife out there at all this morning, which was a bit disappointing. However,
I had the ferry trip to look forward to, so went back to camp, and by the time
I had showered and had my breakfast, and chatted to several people who came
wandering by and wanted to talk, it was time to head for the dock.
The Danny J is an old style boat that holds about 30 people,
and only about 10 of them are able to be inside – The rest put on ponchos if
required, and brave the elements ! No
rain today, so it was just necessary to rug up against the wind, and we set off
across Kachemak Bay towards Gull Island.
Gull Island is the nesting place for large numbers of
seabirds, including Kittywake gulls, several other types of gulls, cormorants, and
Murres (a bit like Gillemot – stumpy
wings like penguins) and also
puffins. When we got out there
the island was mostly covered in gulls, nesting on sheer cliff faces, while the
water was largely covered in these murres which apparently only use land to lay
eggs, and otherwise spend their whole
lives on the water. Funny little birds
that have to run on the water to get up enough speed for their stumpy little
wings to give them enough lift ! And
when they come in to land, it looks more like an accident than a landing – They
just kind of splash into the water !
Puffins are hard to see because they actually nest in holes
in the ground, and Gull Island has a tufted grass top where you can see their
holes, but hard to spot the birds.
However there were several swimming around with all the murres on the
water, so at east we did see some.
Interesting there was a bald eagle out there, causing chaos because
everytime it flew around, all the gulls
took off, and this left their nests unprotected, and the eagle would land and
eat the eggs or chicks.
As we moved on towards Halibut Cove, we saw a few sea otters
lying on their backs, but they disappeared fairly quickly as we approached. The
village of Halibut Cove, on Ismailof Island, was once the base for a thriving
herring industry in the early 1900’s, but this collapsed in 1928. During Prohibition a number of bootlegger’s
stills were located among the trees. Now it is home to a small community of
fishermen and artists, and an excellent restaurant called The Saltry. Several
art galleries are on the island and you can visit these during the visit,
wandering along the boardwalks to get around. They have very big tidal
variations here, amongst the largest in the world, so the whole community is
designed around the need to stay clear of the water at high tide !
If you want isolation for a while, there are a few
properties available for rental, but I think you would really want big time
”remote” to want to come here, especially during the winter.
Everyone had a delicious meal at the Saltry Restaurant – I
had halibut and it was very good. After
a wander on the trails for an hour or so to have a look at some of the amazing
houses out there, it was time to once again board the Danny J for the return
trip to the Homer Spit. We got back at 5
pm and it was a very pleasant and relaxing day.
I then grabbed my camera and went off up the spit looking for
eagles or any other interesting wildlife taking advantage of the fisherman
filleting their catches, but tonight there weren’t any around. So on the way back to the tent, I called into
the Salty Dawg bar for a beer as someone had told me to pay a visit. It certainly has lots of character, with low
ceiling and all a bit like an old Cornish pub, except the walls are covered in
one dollar bills that you sign and then stick up on the wall ! A fun place to drop in to for a beer at the
end of a hard day’s fishing !
After that it was just a case of getting super and to bed as
I have to be up at 6 am and ready for
another day at sea tomorrow – This time as Giles the Halibut fisherman !
Could be an interesting day !!
Pics for today are here. https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/063HomerDay1?authkey=Gv1sRgCKWynIWD3o3obQ#
