It was bright and sunny like daylight when our flight landed at 11:30 pm. We were in Alaska, America’s ‘Last Frontier’ and ‘Land of Midnight Sun’. The sun would set at 1:00 AM and rise at 5:00 AM. The only way to sleep was to close the thick curtains in the room and shut out all light.

We stayed in Anchorage for half a day and then drove to Seward, a sea side town in the Kenai Peninsula. Seward is named after William Seward, the US Secretary of State who campaigned bitterly to purchase Alaska from Russia. United States bought Alaska in 1867 for a pittance of 7.2 million dollars. This translated into approximately 2 cents per acre for almost 600,000 square miles of territory, half the size of India. His purchase was heavily criticized and even called “Seward’s folly” until miners found gold in 1896. Then in 1900 they discovered oil and the rest they say is history.

We stayed in a small Bed & Breakfast inn near the main street in Seward. Tom, the innkeeper was a great host. He told us the story of how he and his wife quit their jobs in Los Angeles, bought a small boat and sailed around the world for 18 months. On the way back to the US, they stopped in Alaska, fell in love with the state and opened this inn. B&B’s are cheaper than regular hotels in Alaska (exactly opposite in the rest of the US) and come with free breakfasts and very interesting hosts.

The biggest attraction in Seward is the Kenai Fjords National Park. Fjords are narrow inlets of sea between steep mountains. The Harding Ice field, a 700 square kilometer has been instrumental in feeding numerous glaciers and carving the cliffs and coastal fjords in this region. This ice field receives over 1000 cm of snowfall every year. Some of the glaciers that stem from this field terminate in the Ocean. The best way to see those glaciers and the fjords is to take a boat cruise. Exit glacier is the only one that can be accessed by a car.

Glaciers of Alaska

There was a choice of a 4 hour and an 8 hour cruise. According to Tom’s description the longer cruise sounded more exotic and fun, so I wanted to go for that. My husband (Saru) thought that was a horrible idea because I have sea sickness. He reminded me of every single time I went on a boat and became nauseous and sick. The informed traveler that I was, I came equipped with a sea-sickness pill called ‘Bonnie’. I completely believed in it. Saru…didn’t and started rehearsing his “I told you so” dance.

I barely opened my eyes the next day and saw the husband, fully dressed, just about to tie his shoe laces. Very casually he said, “I am going on a hike to see bears, you go back to sleep”. He wanted to go alone into the forest to see wildlife! I imagined all kinds of dangerous bear attack scenarios, jumped out of the bed and got ready at a lightning speed. Tom was shocked to see us both ready to go out at 6:00am. He was just done baking peach bread for breakfast. I really wanted to sit and enjoy the bread, but Saru was already outside the door. Tom quickly wrapped the warm bread in a bag and gave it to go.

We went to the trail and started hiking silently (Saru has a theory about my loud mouth and heavy footsteps scaring away wild life). It was a really nice hike in the woods, but we did not see even a single wild animal, save a mouse! We had the bread for our picnic breakfast, took these pictures and returned back.

Alaska

We had a nice full breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Saru reminded me that a big breakfast and a bumpy boat ride was the perfect recipe for throwing up.
We had selected Major Marines for our cruise. There was a naturalist on board the boat. She told us that the bay was very rich in marine life and was a birder’s paradise. In the 4hrs that it took us to reach Aialik Cove, we saw stellar sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, orca whales, a black bear on the mountain, bald eagles, puffins, cormorants and numerous other birds amidst breathtaking scenery and glaciers.

Alaska

The day started out cloudy, but kept getting better and better. We reached Aialik Cove which had the Holgate glacier. This place was simply spectacular. There were little icebergs in water all around making cracking sounds. Water from melting glaciers had formed waterfalls on mountains all around.  As we pulled in closer to the glacier, we noticed that a massive chunk of the ice broke off and fell into the water with a huge thud creating big waves. It almost felt like a loud gunshot and the boat started swaying from the giant waves.  This phenomenon called “calving” occurs when there is instability in the ice.

Glacier Caving In

Icy Ride

Saru would look at me from time to time and ask me ‘Are you ready to puke? He would come up with variations of the same question: Do you want to go to the back of the boat? Do you want a barf bag? Are you ready to feed the whales? I was thinking hard for an intelligent retort to shut him up, but it never came. What did come was much better than a witty comment.

The boat was going into open seas without the protection of mountains. Waters became very choppy and the boat was going up and down. It was very bumpy, but the medicine seemed to be working and I was surprisingly OK. I was looking around and noticed that Saru was missing. I looked all over the place, inside the boat, upstairs and found him after 10 minutes. The sight that greeted me – it was one of those rare sights that you don’t want to miss. I just stood there savoring the moment. It was great! There are very few times in life when you get the perfect poetic justice. I didn’t know if I should have made a run for the camera to capture the moment or run towards Saru and offer help.

Trying really hard to hide my grin, I asked him if he wanted any ginger ale. It is supposed to make you feel better after throwing up!! Saru took one look at me and said “Don’t you dare say anything”. I didn’t, and never had silence been so satisfying. My head was bursting with different ways of telling friends about this incident. “I didn’t throw up, but more importantly, Saru did”. Maybe I should get myself a custom made T-shirt that said “My husband puked in Alaska”. Saru was a little somber for the next one hour. He didn’t eat lunch. I ate everything in sight to celebrate my victory over nausea.

On the way back, the captain took us to a bird colony, a little island literally crawling with birds. There were countless number of white and double crested cormorants and lots of puffins and gulls. Puffins are the cutest birds that can swim/fly in water in a very funny way. They are nicknamed the “clown of the Ocean” and “Sea Parrot” for their distinct beaks. They live in large colonies on cliffs in these islands. On the way back, we had the bluest skies and saw more marine life.

Beautiful!

We came back and told Tom all about our trip and headed to the downtown for dinner. We had seafood pasta and Greek pizza and then went for a stroll along the waterfront area. We watched a great sunset and went home after midnight.

The next day, we started driving to Denali National Park.  On the way, Saru decided that we should write our travelogue. I was driving and dictating while he was typing in the laptop. After some time, Saru screamed STOP. Usually when Saru screams stop, it is because we missed a great photo-op or if there is wildlife on the road. I promptly pulled over. Saru ran out and I followed him all perplexed because, there was nothing there. It was then that I saw Saru lean over the railing and throw up. I could not believe my luck. I mentally redesigned my T-shirt to read “My husband puked in Alaska – Twice!” I asked him if he wanted to take my motion sickness pill. He threatened to disown me if I teased him. He stopped writing the travelogue and here I am many years later, still reliving that joy.