Stepping on
the last frontier
When we got on that plane, I already knew that the experience was going to be unique. I knew that the thought we had of Alaska would be very different from the reality, but... that much?
I had never thought that I´d find lots of convertibles, or jet skis, nor bikinis! I thought that summer would be a fleeting illusion of a couple of soft sunbeams, and the reality is that if you come to Alaska in July you need to bring a great amount of suncream. They are not many days per year, but, surprisedly for me, they are. Since it is a gigantic territory, you can go from -20º to 35º on the same day. And we did it.
Marah showed us to perfection this fact. That brave Canarian woman who has revolutionized the lands of Anchorage and its surroundings is the perfect hostess. In the morning, we landed in the intense blue and fresh of the Matanusca glacier to drink sangria seasoned with millenary ice and, in the afternoon, under an intense and warm sun, we submerged ourselves in the crystalline waters of the Big Lake, the largest in Alaska. Well, to be honest, the only one that got wet was the Marah´s hat, although we picked it up in time, I think... And if we´re talking about lakes, there are more than 3,000 here. All of them are all spectacular!
Alaska comes from the Aleutian word "ALAXSXAQ" and means "the Great Earth". And only this name is explained when you have visited it. Everything is superlative here. And that is something that struck me in this wild territory. If we compare it with Spain, it is three times bigger but it only has 650,000 inhabitants, something less than the population of Seville. There are hardly any roads and ninety percent of the state is inaccessible by road. This explains why there are almost more small aircraft than cars. And the best pilots, accustomed to flying in extreme conditions. And, for me, Robert will always be the best pilot in the world. As Ricardo said, many people would pay millions to live the experience that Robert gave us flying over the summits of the highest mountains in the United States, almost crushing the waters of the river in the search of salmon hunters and going through one of the worst fires. Summer heat caused in the vicinity of Fairbanks. At the end of the day, we landed in Talkeetna, a curious city emerged by the Gold Rush that served as inspiration for the creators of "Doctor in Alaska", where Cicely was born, the fictional city of Dr. Fleischman. Thank you, Robert, as promised, when you come to Spain, I will teach you the secrets to survive the M-30.
I like Alaska. Here there are no traffic jams. Mountains are much bigger than buildings, bears roam the gardens of houses, there are more animals than people, more glaciers than traffic lights and more wildlife than in the rest of the planet. And although, as Grace said, a house with 35 years is already considered old, this territory contains more stories than many corners of old Europe. The indigenous people have survived with pride and today they show us their crafts and their roots. The Anderson family opened the doors of their house and told us about the present and the past. This family has the grace, hospitality and affection of a curious mixture of traditions and blood, has Nordic, Native American and Spanish roots, wow! And that's how they are, endearing. The father of the family, Kris, is an indigenous aleut. When he was 14 years old, he moved with his mother to Barcelona. Imagine an Alaskan native, a teenager, without understanding a word of Spanish, accustomed to the American way of life, landing in a postwar country and on black and white television... After a while, he already spoke a "miqueta de catalá" and appreciated the Catalan rumba. We enjoyed like children listening to the affection with which he recounts his memories of a time when Casimiro sent us to bed and "Dad had bought an apartment in Moratalaz".
And I have to confess that with so many stories and pictures of bears walking through the gardens of the people and the four killed by a bear attack last year in Anchorage, I walked through the parks scared to death. And the truth is that entering with Ricardo in Denali Park, the largest grizzly bear house in the United States, without any protection, seemed more a provocation. Once, a friend told me that you are more likely to die by the cork stroke of a bottle of champagne than by the bite of a poisonous spider... Sure, but these are bears and much larger than a spider! Those on Kodiak Island are giants, the biggest in the world. We only saw them fillings (I never liked taxidermy, it seems that it steals the soul) and still, they impress.
Oh, and I almost forgot about Santa's house, the ice´s hotel and the Iditarod dogs. We´ve lived so many amazing experiences that, better than reading about them or watching the tv docushow we filmed, I recommend to go and take a small bite of them for yourself.
I knew I was going to like it but I did not believe that much!
Just before the flight back, there was only one thought in my head, well, only two: "I have to go back when I need to use gloves, hats and scarves to see this wonder under the incredible white blanket of pure snow" and: -"Run, Raul, we're going to miss the flight ...”. Mmmm... a tempting idea...
Thank you, Alaska!!
