Day 25 Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak is on Kodiak Island and has a population of around 6000.  When Alaska was sold by Russia to America in 1860, fur trading was the main source of income for the area but commercial fishing soon replaced fur trading and remains the biggest employer in Kodiak.  Our cruise ship is docked in the commercial port and the walk from the ship to the town area is via a long street that is called "canning street" because of the number of canneries.

This is the Trident canning factory that is in fact a ship that was washed ashore in the great  Earthquake & Tsunami of 1964.

Kodiak is not a tourist town so you won't find tourist buses lined up to take you on tour and there are certainly no gift shops to purchase your Kodiak memorabilia.  It was the school buses that took us on a tour of Kodiak and the tour guide/driver was a local priest who was roped in for the job.  We loved it! Our driver had a great sense of humour and regaled us with plenty of yarns.  Our first stop was overlooking a lovely bay that would be full of colour once summer has arrived.  Already you can see the burst of new growth on the trees.

The next stop was high above the bay that gave us magnificent views of the snow capped mountains in the distance.  Kodiak, like Dutch Harbour, does not get a lot of snow but certainly is cold and windy.  Our guide said that occasionally in summer the temperature reaches 20 degrees and the residents think it is a heat-wave!

When we arrived back at the ship we had a quick bite to eat and then left the ship again to walk the short distance into the town harbour.  It is only a short distance - around 2kms.  We walked past the canning factories that did not have a pleasant smell, but it was worth the walk to wander around the harbour area with a huge number of boats.  This is one of two harbours.  As I mentioned, fishing in this area is extremely lucrative.  Philip was talking to an American who comes to Kodiak each year just for the fishing.  We noticed that one of the boats was "shrink-wrapped".  See if you can spot it.

We really loved Kodiak and I'm sure it is mostly to the fact that the sun was shining brightly with hardly a cloud in the sky.  I would love to return here in the summer when the hills are covered in wildflowers.  It would be spectacular.  Oh yes, and this area is home to the Brown Bear.  We didn't see any of them today - thankfully.  We have been given lectures on being "bear aware" and it is a bit scary really.  I think I would have a heart attack on the spot if I was confronted by one!

Tomorrow we will be at Seward where we have another tour booked.  Hopefully we will get a good nights sleep but with 18 hours of sunlight each day it is difficult to sleep when the sun is still high in the sky!