August 3, 2013
Grizzly land
Many thanks to Nikolai!
Many thanks to Stefan!
Good news: the heating is working thanks to Michael and Cornelius!
Press release Homer and Seldovia download here:en_2013-08-01_press-release-toptotop_usa-alaska_homer.pdf
August 4, 2013
Homer - Alaska - Seaside Farm
When we arrived in Seldovia at the 31st of July we saw a river otter sleeping in the harbor. The next day we went to Homer. There we met Mossy Kilcher, whose father emigrated from Switzerland to Alaska. We stayed for three nights and Dario organized the further journey. The kids enjoyed all the animals and had fun exploring the whole farm.
Mossy showed us around and told us a lot of interesting things about how she tries to live in harmony with nature. You find more information about it in our latest video clip!
At the 1st of August we celebrated the Swiss national day with Mossy and her family. Mossy still knows German and they could even sing the very traditional Swiss song "Es Buurebüebli". You can listen to this on our latest film! In response Dario sang an origanal Vilterser "Alpsegen" which is a prayer for the cows in the Swiss Alps.
We had a great time at this very beautiful place! It was such a pleasure to meet Mossy and her husband Kornelius at the seaside farm. Thank you very much for your hospitality!
For everybody who is planning to go to Alaska, the seaside farm is a must-do! This is the link to their website.
August 8, 2013
meeting wales and otters
Sabine's first film - congratulation!
More pictures from Homer and Seldovia where we are at the moment. It looks that we have a weather window on the 9th of August to continue...
August 10, 2013
Seldovia
We went back to Seldovia the next day, where Dario and Sabine delivered a presentation on the 6th of august.
A lot of people invited us to their homes. We want to thank you for all your hospitality! There was Erin and Hig who invited us to their home several times. They're living with their two kids in a Mongolian tent called yurt. In the past they have completed several expeditions very similar to the TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition, one a walk/paddle/ski trip from Seattle to the Alaska Peninsula. It was inspiring to meet a family with a similar lifestyle and similar passions. You can get more information about Erin and Hig in our latest film or go to groundtruthtrekking.org.
We wish to thank the Winters family with four kids with the same ages as Salina, Andri, Noe and Allegra. Thanks a lot also to Margie and Byron! They invited us to their home and we had a great time together. A big thank you also to Ted and Jenny. We could use their shower and internet access over the past few days.
Unfortunately we got the flue on the Pachamama and everybody fell ill, one at a time, at least for one day. But luckily we had to wait here for better weather anyway, to sail around the Kenai Peninsula into the Gulf of Alaska.
In Seldovia the new teacher, Helen, came on board and we had to say goodbye to Christina. This was of course very sad. She has been with TOPtoTOP for three months now and was sailing from Hawaii to Alaska. Salina, Andri, Noe and Allegra loved her and we are already missing her! Christina, thank you a lot for your big effort on the Pachamama!
August 14, 2013
August 18, 2013
TOPtoTOP - Seldovia to Whittier
After our time in Seldovia we headed for Seward on the 10th of August. We had to fix a new windage scale before leaving. The old one broke because of corrission. Because of our new plans it was possible that Christina could accompany us up to Seward. We all were happy to have her on board for two more days. The next night we anchored in a nice bay. After that we saw a piece of ice floating in the water for the first time. The next day we reached Seward where we finally had to say goodbye to Christina. Thanks again for everything you have done for us!
In Seward we've been invited to the Sealife Center. We had the chance to get a lot of information about the animals that live in Alaska like seals, sea lions or otters. Thanks a lot for the invitation, we enjoyed it a lot!
When we left Seward we entered Prince William Sound. We approached a big glacier and could observe a lot of seals.
For the first time we had to navigate Pachamama through big fields of ice. We anchored in a bay near the glacier and celebrated Noé's birthday at this beautiful spot on the 15th of august. The traditional birthday treasure hunt was a highlight! The kids followed the trace to a marvelous beach we named "Noé's beach". There we all had bath in the sea, where the water had about 1.4°C.
The next day we continued to Whittier. We've been very lucky to see two hunt back whales very close to our boat.
In Whittier we stayed a night in the harbor and hiked up to the Portage Glacier the next day. Nevertheless it was raining the whole day we had fun on this hike, which is the first passage of the way to Denali. From that point we start cycling all the way up to Denali National Park next spring.
