Old makes contact

I just received a message from Old in Port Alexander, where he is staying with Kesia and her father at his home in the wild Alaskan bush. Due to the lack of technology in Canada, er, um Russia, I mean Alaska, and them being so far removed from civilization, Old has been left with no choice but to rely on Morse code to communicate with the modern world. I'll do my best to translate his coded messages in order to document his time away from Stumptown.

He first made contact with me a couple hours ago, nearly three days after he departed from Portland. His message was brief, simply telling me he and Kes made it safely to their destination, as well as some of the details of their trip there. Although making it safely, their journey there wasn't without its troubles. They had to fly from Seattle to Sitka, but due to bad weather, they had to detour to Anadyr, Russia, where they then boarded a boat and crossed the Bering Sea. Although the ship's captains made their best efforts to accommodate the passengers, it didn't make their 2-day subsistence on potatoes and vodka any easier. What's more, they were briefly forced in to slavery by a group of Siberians that were sharing their 50-bed, 15 by 20 foot sleep deck. While not having to complete any inhumane tasks for their captors, they did, however, have to whittle babushka dolls for the Siberians to sell once they got to Alaska.


When they finally arrived in Alaska, they still had to board a sea plane to get to the remote island where Kesia's father, David, lives. In all, it was a two and a half day journey that had its ups and (more) downs. Now, they no longer have to worry about Siberian slave holders or arduous journeys across the Bering Straights. They can take comfort in the company of bald eagles, grizzly bears and mountain men, all while filling their days chopping wood and fishing.


As the Morse codes come in, more updates will follow.