Kenai Peninsula is Alaska in all its splendor. There are impressive glaciers, fjords filled with whales and orcas, migration of Pacific salmon, fishing villages with a typical Alaskan charm and an omnipresent and unpredictable wildlife. In short: everything we love!
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
This is our first day on Kenai Peninsula and a strong gust of wind awakened us. The Jeep swings. Wait a moment, what wind? There is no wind. I cast a glance through the window: clear. But the Jeep swings again. Gosh! We look at each other. Would it be a bear? Remi casts a glance through his window and... comes face to face with a black bear! Astonishment. It's standing on its back legs, with its front legs on the Jeep and he is sniffing the window! Remi has a bird's eye view of his big drooling chops. "Oh boy!"
Without a second thought, Rémi triggers the car alarm. Me... well, I grab my phone to immortalize this funny moment. Our fuss inside the car doesn't seem to bother him in the least, nor does the alarm. He continues to sniff the top of the door. We can hear his claws crunching against the Jeep. He's not going to scratch our Jeep, is he? 😖 Finally, the bear climbs down, takes one last look at our Jeep and nonchalantly waddles away. We can't say that our alarm scared the hell out of him.
Only after ten minutes do we dare to venture outside. We didn't feel in danger, but it was nevertheless impressive. And very funny! Of this rude awakening, we will keep marks of drool on the front window, the print of claws on the door and a badly filmed video. And an unforgettable memory, of course.
From the viewpoint, we enjoy a magnificent view of the Fjord and the glacier. Our adventure with the bear has already spread among the travelers who slept in the area, because an American couple rushes towards us to hear the details.
We stop at a salmon river. They are hundreds of salmon swimming in the current! Dan, a fly fisherman, is fishing, but it's "only for sport". As soon as he catches one, he releases it.
Whittier is a charming village, with its harbor in the mountains, its fishing boats, its activities around fishing and its fishermen. In short, an Alaskan fishing village!
🥾 Portage Pass trail – 6.8km (4.2 miles)
It's been several days since we've done a nice hike and we're excited to put on our hiking boots and set off to the glacier. The trail takes us to the top of the hill overlooking the glacier, and then down to the lake, from where we have a breathtaking view of every detail of the glacier. Magnificent! The water is obviously freezing.
We quickly hike back to the parking lot, because we want to catch the next tunnel drive. When we arrive there, it's once again a bad timing: the next drive is in 1 hour. We cook again on the parking lot. Perhaps we are going to be offered a salmon once more 😀 Then, we head to Seward, another fishing village at the end of another Fjord. The road leading there is splendid... but when isn't it?
Riverbeds are always great places to spend the night. It's vast, with a clear view of the surrounding mountains, the sound of the river and the sun: everything is perfect. With the 4×4, we can get away from the "crowd" and find a quiet place, behind a copse. It's time for a beautiful evening: tent, campfire and the salmon offered two days ago by fishermen! We cook it delicately and lovingly in foil, with a simple mashed potato, so as to appreciate it even more. We enjoy it in front of the fire, in the middle of the river bed, alone in front of the Alaskan mountains. What else could we ask for? Thanks again to Tim and his fishing friends for this great gift 😃 A very funny and romantic evening in Alaska! ❤️
Wednesday, July 27
After a nice morning and a sunny breakfast, we head to Seward.
Seward is a typical Alaskan fishing village. The port is very cute with its fishing boats and sailboats. It smells strongly of fish! Signs indicate that it's forbidden to feed the sea lions sunbathing under the pontoons, but today they are nowhere to be seen.
In the harbor, many activities are offered to the tourists: we would love to kayak in the fjord, fly over a glacier, cruise to see the glaciers and the whales/orcas/seals, even climb on a glacier. But everything is very expensive... For today, we opt for another way to discover the landscape: our feet! Let's go for a hike along the Fjord!
🥾 Tonsina Creek Trail – 5.5km (3.4 miles)
The hike along the Fjord becomes a hike along the Fjord, but in the woods! We have to walk several kilometers through dense and inhospitable vegetation, before arriving at the viewpoint. Before reaching the bay, we pass on a bridge under which tens of salmon are swimming.
It's low tide and we can walk on the beach. The view on the Fjord and the surrounding mountains is stunning.
Back in Seward, it's time for fishing day return! The tourists and their guides come back from their day on the boat. All bring back some beautiful fishes, which they proudly expose on the harbor. There are all kinds of salmon, halibuts and huge rock fishes that are over 100 years old! While sipping our milkshake, we observe the preparation of the fish. The leftovers are thrown into the sea, where they will be eaten by sea lions and seagulls.
In the evening, we go back to the riverbed. We meet our neighbors for the night: Kuan and Victor, who live in Salt Lake City, Utah! We have been reading their travel blog for several weeks, so it's really funny to meet them here! We take the "apero" near the river and obviously we speak about travels! We even get the chance to visit their campervan: it's spacious, comfortable, cosy. We are nearly jealous! 😅 We hope to see you again in Utah! Back to the Jeep, we are eating when a car shows up: it's Marie and Brian! How they found us in the middle of all these thickets, we have no idea, but we are very happy to see them. We light up a campfire near the river until midnight! A great moment 😊
Tomorrow, we plan to hike to another glacier: the Exit Glacier. It will be a long and beautiful hike, before we continue to discover the Kenai Peninsula!
1 commentaire
Finalement c’est vraiment beau l’Alaska !!! et les ours sont sympathiques !!!
Magnifique la photo devant le bois flotté. Celle là il faudra l’agrandir.
Bisous.
Mamie.