I was slicing a roll to eat a sandwhich for lunch in Chignik Bay before we were going to leave and I didn't move my finger quick enough and I watched myself slice right through my finger! This was the first time that I've ever cut myself like that so I was a little nervous and I think being so far away from a hospital made me more nervous. BUT I have some pretty great friends who reassured me that I'd be okay and they took care of me : ) When we got back to Port Heiden, we cleaned it up and super glued it! I had the nurse look at it and that was her (as well as the rest of the village's) recommendation and so far so good!
So after that happened, I hopped on the plane to come home. Before we headed back to Port Heiden, we had to drop Richard off in Chignik Lagoon which was about a 10 minute flight around the the mountain! And then it was a stop in Chignik Lake which is right around there, too! That was pretty neat to be able to see those places! All of the Chignik's are so much different than Port Heiden and I'm glad I got to experience one and see two others. After another 20 minutes, we were back on the Bering Sea side and landing in Port Heiden. We came home and no sooner were we home and the 65 mph winds started up! And they haven't left yet! Currently it's raining, windy (65 mph winds with 80 mph gusts) and it's sunny. I haven't been out there yet but it appears to be warm!
It's funny how all this crazy weather can mix together and create something like this!
Yesterday started carnival and it's quite a different scene at the school than it usually is. Every classroom is being used for some activity, game, bingo, raffles and prizes, etc. It's pretty crazy but the time that we spent over there was nice! During carnival is the only time that you can shoot caribou and only two can be shot. So each year they pick two people to shoot them. Yesterday, one of the high schoolers shot one and so I was able to have caribou sandiches and last night I had a caribou burrito! I also got to try akutaq which is berries and crisco. Traditionally, instead of crisco they use whale blubber but since that's not something people just keep on hand, they use crisco! It was pretty good. You just have to get used to the consistency of the crisco.
That is the akutaq!
The burrito and then the sandwich. Everything was so good!
I had a really nice time at the Bay with everyone. Here's some random pictures from the trip:
First time riding on in a caravan!
There's the tiny village - right at the bottom of the mountain!
Enjoying the beautiful weather and exploring : )
Kasie took this of me while she was standing in "Hole in the Wall"
When I was in there - it's a tiny little path to walk in - apparently you used to be able to walk through to the other side of the beach but there's a huge rock in the way now. We had to wait until the tide went out to get out of that. I took this picture when the tide was coming in!
Kasie's turn to come out of the hole! I didn't do it so gracefully - go figure - and I ended up with a really wet boot!
This guy was so close to us! He was really cute but from what I hear, they're no so nice.
I collected a lot of neat rocks and then also some shells. I was searching for a big starfish but ended up finding a tiny little guy that's the size of a quarter. I was still excited! Before we saw the sea otter above, we saw a seal but he was harder to get a picture of. On a day or two before we saw a fox while we were out by all the frozen waterfalls. It was a fun few days and I'm glad I got to hang out with everyone : )
Now a few days of relaxing and carnival before school starts back up on Monday!
Okay, so now I see what this akutaq looked like... still gagging a little bit... but I'll trust your word if it was good. I think I'd eat Crisco before whale blubber! The caribou looks good, though. :) You'll have to get recipes for all this stuff and cook for us when you get home! :)
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