We were soon on our way back towards Anchorage. But on the way, I spotted a salmon viewing spot on the map. Unlikely that we’d find any, but we thought of stopping anyway since it was on the return route.
“We also have to empty the bear spray can,” I reminded folks. Can’t be carrying that on the flight.
At 3pm, we pulled over and followed the Google Maps walking route. It was a little trail surrounded by trees that led us towards a waterway, and there was even a viewing platform constructed just above the water.
“No salmons today.”
As usual, we tested the water temperature, and it was cold.
Rakesh needed to take a toilet break – and as per Google, there was no rest area anywhere in the vicinity.
“You are taking a risk in bear territory,” we warned him.
Raghav took out the half-filled bear spray can from the bag. After figuring out how to pull off the cap and trigger it, he fired the remaining contents into an open area after verifying which way the wind was blowing.
“Let’s get back to the car. Now we don’t have the spray if we encounter a bear.”
On the return leg, Raghav mentioned, “I’ll anyway need to check in my bag because we have the birch syrup. Can’t take that in cabin luggage.”
“Oh yeah, forgot about that.”
“And in that case I can pick up the Alaskan gin in Walmart before we head to the airport if we have time.”
“We should be good.”
Raghav had spotted this when we had arrived in Anchorage on day 1. The stop at Walmart’s was like a pit stop – he knew exactly what he wanted, billed it, and returned to the parking lot.
Raghav and Rakesh picked a restaurant in the vicinity – the good thing about Anchorage was that the airport wasn’t too far from the main area of the city. So we still felt we had sufficient time to dash to the airport.
“Ok with an Ethiopian restaurant?”
“It seems to have veg items also.”
“Let’s go.”
All of us were game to try different cuisines.
A distinctly red board labelled “Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine” welcomed us. The restaurant is called the Queen of Sheba (Google reveals that the Queen of Sheba has historical significance and is also a key character in an Ethiopian epic).
The menu described their cooking style – which reminded me more of Indian cooking – use of spices, turmeric, pepper, garlic, fenugreek etc. The food comes with what they refer to as a flat sourdough bread (called injera) or rice. The injera is more like a South Indian dosa (an Indian pancake or crepe) than bread. Even the way of eating was mentioned in the menu – use your fingers and scoop up the food using a bit of the injera; again, how we normally eat without the use of spoons and forks (they do offer cutlery). And Ethiopian food is generally communal eating – so people share from the same plate.
We just stuck to the vegetarian dishes to keep it simple, and there was a mixed vegan platter with all their veg main course items. They brought us two plates with the injera spread open, and on top of each were a few scoops of the curries.
Raghav and Rakesh ate from a plate while Moorthy and me shared from the other. The food tasted really good – reminded me so much of Indian food – not spicy hot but flavorful and light on your stomach.
The items on our plate – ground chickpeas, red lentils, yellow lentils, a dish with cabbage and potatoes, collard greens.
We drank some Ethiopian caffeine-free herbal hot tea (we have variations of these in India) and wrapped up our meal with Baklavas for dessert.
On these trips, you don’t really think about the number of mementoes that you need to buy; I thought I had bought a handful that should suffice, but as I sat in the car, I remembered that I had a few more folks for whom I needed to get stuff. And so we decided to check out the Alaskan Wild Berry Products shop that was nearby and on my list.
“Let’s go if we don’t have time,” I said.
“Make it quick. We still can manage,” the others said.
So I ran in and was pleasantly surprised by the size of the shop – this was a fairly large outlet. I noticed that they also had birch syrup and plenty of the other mementoes we had seen in Denali. There was also a Chocolate Waterfall that you won’t miss when entering the shop – literally, chocolate flowing down! A notice did say no diving or swimming, and that it’s only for display, not for eating, though it is real chocolate!
“Hey, we get to see a polar bear before leaving,” Raghav commented. It was the only one we hadn’t seen.
They were busy taking snaps with the bear and at the fountain while I picked up a few items and rushed for billing.
You always get into this situation where, when you are in a hurry, the queue at the counter will not move. It was taking quite a while for the 2 customers ahead of me to complete billing. Our folks were already in the car and ready to go – we didn’t want to delay any further, and right now I was starting to cut it close. I kept wondering every minute whether I should just leave the items and head to the car, switch counters, or stay on. Only two counters were operating, and there was already a longer line in the other one. Eventually, I got my turn and dashed out and into the car.
We did make it to the airport in time; we also loitered around the airport to soak in the atmosphere – this feels like a cosy airport- a lot of artefacts on the ground, in the walls, on the ceilings, and it doesn’t give you the commercial vibe.
That brings a wrap to a marathon travelogue on Alaska – an unplanned trip, but certainly was worth it. Hope you enjoyed reading it as well.