Airport stories

 Heading back home on 29th June, 2018, and at Washington Dullas Airport all the Etihad systems were down.Experienced this for the  first time and had a apt answer  for my son who did not want us to leave home early. My son was telling us that we were leaving for the airport way ahead of the time and since this was US and things are done fast and quickly, we need to be there just an hour before the flight. However, we insisted on leaving early and kept to our Indian time and reached the airport two and a half to three hours before our flight departure and it was good. Saw that be it developed or developing nation, technology can play tantrums any where and at any time. Hence we had hand written tickets for both Boarding pass and luggage  issued in the US and naturally the flight was very much delayed. As a result missed the connecting flight in Abu Dhabi for Hyderabad. Now have to wait for the next flight connection after four hours. The positive side is, I got to see and spend quality time at the beautiful and huge Etihad lounges in both Washington and Abu Dhabi. They are really very grand and with an amazing quality of good food and a lovely variety of snacks.

Preparing to say good Bye to America

 As I wind up and get ready to pack my bags on 24th June, 2018, to leave for  India, the  thing that will be missed very much by me is the long trails that are available for walk in the US. Though not a great walker like my husband Suresh who can walk for miles together and has been doing this regularly, I go for walks once in a while. The   serenity, greenery and the long  winding roads in the US have a natural pull. Almost every colony is surrounded by a forest and there is something called the open area protection programme where these forests are protected. Today, morning, I also saw few Boards in the jungle which were like a Botany and Geography lessons done back at school. These boards explaned how a forest is created, what were the kind of trees in this forest and a forest is divided into four layers starting with Forest grass, shrubs, undercover and a canopy. These forests are known as deciduous forests and the different variety of birds and Animals found here. There were small ponds, rivulet as we walked. There were very few walkers that we came across and each and every one said good morning. Such open spaces, neat and clean environment and greenery is indeed a luxury in Hyderabad.

Good Bye Alaska

 As I leave Alaska on 14th June, 2018, the only thought that comes to my mind is that there is no need now,  to travel, to roam, to wander and see other places. Talk of snow, wilderness, mountains, ice, glaciers, forests, pristine waters, birds, solitude, magnitude, vastness, scale, nature at its sublime best, I have seen it all.

Perry Island in Port Wells

 on 14th June, 2018, we took the 26 Glacier Cruise, where we travelled 140 miles in five hours abroad the M/V Klondike Express in the sea  to Egg rock also known as Perry Island in Port Wells. To reach here we had to travel one and a half hour through road and pass through  the Anton Anderson Memorial rail road Tunnel, constructed during the second World War and is in between the Maynard Mountain. This is one of the longest rail and road Tunnel in North America and is 2.5miles long and it took us exact seven minutes by road to cross this. The ship voyage took us through wilderness, pristine waters and on the way we could see, sea- otters, many varieties of birds, seals, owls. We were not lucky enough to spot a whale, which other cruises had seen earlier. What we were were lucky in , was that this cruise could never go to Mount Howard Glacier and their last trip was in 2009,for this area is always covered with fog, rain, sleet, icebergs, and the ships never ventured here, but we could go to this glacier though we were at a distance of six miles from it and  we could see the ice burgs, the melting snow,   the majesty of this glacier and nature in its purest form and untouched. The crew told us that this was one of the best days which they had encountered. The glaciers had very interesting names like, Surprise Glacier, Harriman, Barry Arms, Yale, Baby, Dartmouth, Williams, Amherst, Crescent etc. The lady commentator on the cruise told us that in this five hour trip we would become an expert on glaciers and I feel very thankful for being part of this and knowing about glaciers in such details and learning so much. She answered all kinds of queries. This is an ocean of knowledge and one that is fascinating and needs more reading as far as I am concerned.  Glaciers are of three kinds, Tidewater, which move towards sea, Piedmont, which rest on base of mountains and Alpine the hanging glaciers. The beauty of the ice, the majestic beauty of this Prince William Sound region will be imbedded in my heart, mind and soul for ever. I feel proud of the fact that I could visit  the largest intact marine echo system of the world that was carved more than  15million yeas before., along the coastline and of the 150 glaciers here I could touch at lest twenty six.

Visit to Exit Glacier

 On 13th June, 2018, we travelled along the coastline towards the Kenai Peninsula, again dotted with snow covered mountains, lakes, rivers and beaches. After a drive of two and a half hour we arrive at the small fishing town of Seaward named after William Seaward, who was a member of Lincoln cabinet and he was the person who was responsible for purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867.By paying an amount of 7.2 million dollars he was able to get a total land of 1,518,800 kilometers to the United States territory at that time. We then took a trail and reached the Exit glacier, which lay spread, before our eyes majestically. Here too the fact that the glaciers were melting hit us in the eye, for they had put up boards with the years as to the extent and spread  of the glacier and we could see how much the glacier had shrunk from 2005 to the present day. While the glacier with its solidified white ice, the light blue coloured rings in ice are a feast to the eye, the fact of climate change and Global warming also hits us. No where else does this fact come out as a stark reality  of our times as in Alaska for though I had gone to Gangotri we could not reach the Gangotri glacier for it was inaccessible but here we are able to see the glacier in front of our eyes and some times touch and feel it too.

The handicrafts of Alaska

 The handicrafts of Alaska made by the natives  are very beautiful. Originally, art work had its roots in toolmaking items for daily use made from wood, ivory, stones and animal hides. When the Russian fur traders arrived in the coast of Alaska they brought furs and decorative beeds and these also became part of their art. As we were travelling to Seaward today we came across a beautiful cottage and were surprised to see an art museum and many of the artifacts made with wood inside it. Many of the objects were very beautiful and attractive. There were Bears, Octopus, birds, chairs, book shelves, beds all made of the wood available in the forests.