HOMER, AK (Day 3).   Today we rode by boat to Seldovia, portrayed as a quaint Russian heritage village on an island.  Along the way we saw sea otters, puffins, and thousands of sea gulls.  Sea gulls are so common that I did not photograph them, but I did my best with the equipment I took on the boat to photo otters and puffins.

Otters are comedians of the water who truly seem to enjoy their lives.  They dive down to capture crabs, which they bring to the surface, then roll onto their back to eat them shells and all.  One was floating on his back eating an octopus as we sailed out of the harbor.  They seem to grin at you as you pass by.

Sea Otter Eating While Floating on His Back

Another Otter Doing the Same

 Puffins swim faster than the fish they eat, diving below the water to pursue them, then surfacing with a mouthful of their prey.  After eating them, they fly quickly in pursuit of more fish, diving under to catch them.  Amazing little birds!

Tufted Puffin with Mouth Full of Fish

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin About to Lift Off

The island town of Seldovia was founded in the eighteenth century.  It has a population now of 255, a quarter of which have ancestors of Aleut and Alutiiq descent.  In 1787 or 1788 a Russian fur trading post was established, and its Russian Orthodox church was built in 1820.  The town's original Russian name was Seldevoy, meaning Herring Bay.  Thus tourists are led to believe there would be a heavy presence of Russian culture and influence here, but we found a typical small Alaskan town with wood carvings and fishing equipment that looked pretty American, but also rather run-down.

We first sought out the Russian Orthodox church, which like all these churches was tucked away in a hard-to-find place.  They always involve a pathway up a steep grade, but this one actually had a wooded stairway leading up to it.  We were surprised to see no golden dome on top of the church building.  It was locked, so no one was present to talk to us.  Everything was quite simple.  It is now known as St Nicholas Chapel.

Like All Russian Churches, One Must Climb a Trail to Find It

Not a Very Ornate Church, and No Dome

We walked the waterfront boardwalk, which is all that remains of the original waterfront after the 1964 earthquake that caused the shoreline of this part of Alaska to drop six feet into the water.  What remains now is a sort of artsy-eccentric colony trying to sell things to tourists.  Not much to see here.

Only Grocer on Island

Scene from Old Boardwalk

Sample Wood Carvings

More Wood Carvings

When we got back to Homer Harbor we watched the professional fishing tour guides cleaning their customers' fish.  Quite an operation.  We saw one fish that did not look like it would weigh over 75 pounds, but the scale read 127 pounds.  Those halibut are fat and heavy.

Closeup of Scale Reading

127 Pound Halibut