Over the fireplace

Littleboat Harbour, Seward

The day dawned bright and extremely early – there’s about 22 hours of daylight here on the summer solstice and we’re only a couple of days away from that.

A brisk walk around the Aleyska Resort revealed a giant moose head over the fireplace in the lobby; a grizzly bear statue peering through a huge picture window; beautifully tended gardens with beds of tulips, daffodils and primroses and baskets of fuchsia, petunias and geraniums that made me feel I was back in an English spring.

The bus ride south to Seward took about an hour and a half, through the Turnagain Pass, and once again, our driver was a font of information and family anecdotes.

Alaskans are extremely proud of their state and refer to the rest of America as ‘the lower 48’. FYI: the population is just 710,000 and most people are employed in the resources industry (mining, oil and logging); military and government; and tourism.

Once we’d boarded Zaandam and made a quick exploration of the ship we headed off in the local schoolbus that doubles as a shuttlebus to visit Seward’s Alaska SeaLife Center, on the shore of Resurrection Bay.

This popular exhibition features Alaskan seabirds, seals and sea lions, fish (salmon in all its varieties), and some extraordinary marine life. Particularly fascinating was the giant Pacific squid.

The Center is Alaska’s largest marine science facility and as well as providing visitors with the chance to see birds, fish and mammals up close it carries out important research, rehabilitation and conservation work.

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