Kodiak and the Bears

The 15-hour ferry ⛴ crossing to Kodiak was tough. The sea was rough and the waves tossed the Tustumena high up and then down into the sea... 🤢🤪

We were relieved when we arrived 😄

There are about 3,500 Kodiak bears on Kodiak, the largest in the world 🐻. However, with so much rain and fog, it seems extremely difficult to spot the cute little bears!

Kodiak has 100 miles of road, the rest of the island is basically owned by the bears. The nature is lush green, and after three days, we finally saw a little more than just the windshield on Thursday. It looks like a picturesque landscape. Truly beautiful, hilly with many streams where fishermen cast their rods. Here, everyone who can stand on their own two feet fishes 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦.

We pass the rainy season with small hikes, doing laundry, chatting, and chilling out. The laundries are always a cool experience, with many fishermen who also sometimes feel the need for clean clothes, and of course, housewives. The fishermen are often talkative. That's how we found out that there are often bears at the Russian River after 9:00 p.m. So we had the night shift on Wednesday. Unfortunately, without success. On Thursday, we march towards Miller Point (northeast of the island). Several paths lead through dense pine forests, swampy clearings, over streams, along steep cliffs, and wild, small bays. At the very front of Miller Point, we find small observation bunkers. Slightly offset, you can see concrete shelters that housed powerful 60-inch searchlights during World War II, which were ejected at night to identify or locate ships off the coast. From these position data, the elements for the coastal battery of Fort Abercrombie could be calculated. 16 men operated each cannon.

This coastal artillery battery with two 8-inch cannons was installed in the Aleutians only after the Japanese troops attacked Attu, Kiska, and Unalaska, to protect the naval base in Kodiak (today's harbor of the US Coast Guard) from attacks from Narrow Strait and Kizhuyak Bay. The battery was supplemented with a top-secret radar unit at Piedmont Point in the southwest of Miller Point.

In the afternoon, we cover the last miles to Anton Larson Bay. Oh! Look over the bay, a huge bear. Uff, and there in the grass, momma with cub, and later next to papa bear, another momma with cub, of course, with the necessary distance. Yes, we practiced patience. We observed the little ones safely for 3 hours 😃

Back over the bumpy track, we position Verny so that one can cook and the other can spot the Russian River. But there was nothing left there.

Now we're heading back to Homer with the MV Kennicott, hopefully with calmer seas...