Elfin Cove & Inian Islands
Imagine a town with no traffic jams, no auto accidents, no stop signs, lights or speed bumps. No parking wars or meter maids. No horns, sirens, or the shriek of brakes. No proof of insurance, proof of registration or DMV. A hard thought to hold if you were say stuck on one of the myriad concrete rivers that make up Los Angeles for example. But in fact all this is experienced or rather not experienced in the small gunk hole known as Elfin Cove. This tiny Alaskan town consisting of homes, lodges and connecting boardwalks is supplied solely by boat and seaplane. We made a visit to this hamlet after spending our morning exploring the nearby George Island, home to a gun emplacement from World War II. The muddy trails revealed natural and human history along their paths. A few brave kayakers plied the waters nearby in search of sea otters and the like.
After our visit to Elfin Cove and the customary shopping, the National Geographic Sea Bird was repositioned to the Inian Islands where the Zodiacs were used to search for and find all manner of marine mammal. Humpback whales, harbor seal, sea otter, and Steller sea lions were seen amongst the turbulent waters of the incoming tide. The Steller sea lions were most numerous both in the water searching for salmon and on the low lying islets resting from their food forays.
Later the skies parted and the off and on rain squalls turned into low golden light and calm seas for our viewing pleasure during dinner, and not a road nor car was seen much to our delight.
Imagine a town with no traffic jams, no auto accidents, no stop signs, lights or speed bumps. No parking wars or meter maids. No horns, sirens, or the shriek of brakes. No proof of insurance, proof of registration or DMV. A hard thought to hold if you were say stuck on one of the myriad concrete rivers that make up Los Angeles for example. But in fact all this is experienced or rather not experienced in the small gunk hole known as Elfin Cove. This tiny Alaskan town consisting of homes, lodges and connecting boardwalks is supplied solely by boat and seaplane. We made a visit to this hamlet after spending our morning exploring the nearby George Island, home to a gun emplacement from World War II. The muddy trails revealed natural and human history along their paths. A few brave kayakers plied the waters nearby in search of sea otters and the like.
After our visit to Elfin Cove and the customary shopping, the National Geographic Sea Bird was repositioned to the Inian Islands where the Zodiacs were used to search for and find all manner of marine mammal. Humpback whales, harbor seal, sea otter, and Steller sea lions were seen amongst the turbulent waters of the incoming tide. The Steller sea lions were most numerous both in the water searching for salmon and on the low lying islets resting from their food forays.
Later the skies parted and the off and on rain squalls turned into low golden light and calm seas for our viewing pleasure during dinner, and not a road nor car was seen much to our delight.
