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Friday, July 8, 2005 - Day 11
Barrow air trip, Alaska.
Today's total cost = $77 + air fare+hotel ($446 x 2)

That was the high point on our Alaska trip.

We woke up early and under rain we packed our tent and locked the bike at the campsite.
We will leave the bikes here, with Mike (he is not going to Barrow) and we have to downsize to one RV spot only. Rodolfo, Dolor and Mike kept their tents up.
At the airport everything went fine, we took some pictures there (very nice airport in Fairbanks) and then the flight left almost on time.
Later we arrived at Barrow, the north most town in Alaska on the top of the world. It was cold. At the time we arrived it was 25F and wind.
Our tour started right from the airport were a very well organized guide took us inside a bus with about 30 other visitors and we started sightseeing the town’s most important places, like the 70 million dollar school (the most expensive school in USA), museum, research centers and more about the Eskimo culture.
We had lunch in a very nice Mexican restaurant (yep... you read right: Mexican restaurant in Barrow, AK). The owner is a lady, who has been there for more than 30 years, but she is not from Mexico, she is from New York.
The town looks very different from any other place that we've visited in US. None of the roads are paved, old houses, lots of old snowmobiles falling a part around the houses, as well as junk cars and furniture. The Eskimos are very relaxed, and many of them never left town. Families are very big; sometimes they have more than 12 kids per family.
After lunch, we went to the library/cultural center to see this presentation about their culture. We heard many of their songs in their own language (which is not English), learned how to do their dance and games. Their costumes are really pretty. We also visited the museum were they have all the history about whale hunting in winter and how they divide and process all that meat.
The guide drove us close to the beach and we looked for whales, but we were not successful on our hunting.
After the tour was over the main reason why we went to Barrow came: the Polar Bear bath ceremony.
There 3 of us took a full submersion bath in the Artic Ocean. That was a quite experience. Only the brave ones did it. They put on their swimming suit and to the freezing waters of the Artic Ocean we went for a full body dive. Elton was chosen as the brave one to represent the Marks family and Eliane had to stay warm to take the pictures!!!
The water was 32 degrees F. and the outside temperature was a little better than when we got there (30degrees F). It was a scene to remember forever, the frozen water, full of icebergs. Elton said that the bottom of the ocean was totally frozen and he could barely feel his feet but the circulation of his body compensated and he felt very warm after walking out of the water. Now, he is a member of the Polar Bear Club with pictures and a certificate to prove it.

After that we went to a great pizza place and then walked on the beach back to the hotel.
The ladies went to sleep (it was past 11:00PM) and Rodolfo went to an Internet Café.
Dolor and I, after asking around, flagged a crew who was doing Sea Lion hunting at the ocean, in a very tiny small boat, and asked them if they could take us to the floating icebergs off the coast. They were very helpful and after a fee of $40, they agreed to take us there. That was another frightening experience. We were overcrowding that small boat and if that thing would flip around we would be dead, but we manage to stay on float and got to the icebergs. Took a 'Midnight sun' photo, amazing experience
After that we went to bed (1:30AM and the sun was there, bright and strong)
Temperature today was 23F to 34F

	Fairbanks airport
	Before our trip to Barrow
	Was raining a lot today. but we don't have to ride bike, so...
	Fairbanks view from the top
	Barrow. The North most town in USA.
	All the distances are air miles
	Need to get info about this historic mark.
	Einstein Rodolfo
	Today we had 25F. and frozen seas
	Old army ice tractor.
	all the antennae for TV, cell, and comm.
	mourning.
	Sports center. Built with high tech

	Our tour bus
	Note the only stop light in barrow city !!
	Note both 'cars' on this garage...
	The mexican restaurant in Barrow and the owner: a Texan engineer.
	Whale head
	Traditional dance
	It can keep you warm at -30F
	Look at the baby on her back.
	Blanket toss
	the only 'three' in Barrow. (the leaves are Whale teeth.
	Iced ocean
	Eliane

	Barrow sigh
	and Barrow landmark
	how about this pizza place?
	the canoe, with and w/o the Whale skin
	We preparing our self's to the 'Arctic Bath'
	This is the local attraction, when tourists like us came to take a bath on the Chukchi Sea
	Rodolfo running for his bath
	Elton's turn
	I got complete submerged
	and was fun
	after the first shock, it's not that bad.
	actually, the water was 32F and outside was 25F, so was warmer into the water.

	After our bath
	No sunset here.
	snow machines are everywhere here.
	in a floating ice
	Chukchi Sea (between Bering Sea and Beaufort Sea)
	our Top of The World Hotel at the back
	Later, (11PM) Dolor and I wave to a fisherman's boat and ask for a ride
	$40 dollars later and we are in a small fish boat, hunting sea lions. Final score was Sea Lion 4 x Hunter 0
	Barrow seeing from the sea
	Dolor in an iceberg
	Elton in an iceberg
	This is the midnight sun! I took this picture on top of one iceberg on Chuckchi Sea, at 11:59PM