Seward

Seward Harbour

The sight of land that is Seward, Alaska brought rousing, raspy, cheers and careless waving of mobility aids skyward as passengers realised that their torturous six-day passage from Japan, that included a life threatening plague and cabin lockdowns, was ending.

As the gangways slid up to the ship, passengers launched themselves ashore as if they had just survived a long voyage in a leaky Indonesian fishing boat. The Captain, on the bridge, rubbed his hands together and curled his corporate moustache as Seward is a Carnival Cruises subsidised town. Princess owns the dock, the coaches and most of the tourism outlets in the small town.

Passengers thought they were outsmarting the cruise line by buying their alcohol, cigarettes and sweets ashore and secreting them in their hand luggage to return to the ship but a high percentage of all purchases comes back to the Carnival coffers.

Seward is a pictureseque little town of 2800 people on the Southern tip of Alaska set between stunning snow covered mountains behind and plentiful Bering Sea waters in front. It is only a few hours away from the Capital of Anchorage.

High St Seward

Seward was named after William Seward, who in 1867, had the foresight to buy Alaska for $US7.2 million (19 cents per acre) from the Russians who were struggling to maintain the icy outpost.  Russia had just taken over Vladivostok (1860) from China so were not initially unhappy at selling Alaska.

Seward was ridiculed for many years afterwards over the purchase, tagged as “Sewards Folly”.

Interestingly, in 1927, thirteen-year old Seward resident and Native Alaskan, Benny Benson won a contest to design the Alaskan Flag. His design became the territorial flag and eventually the state flag so there are many memorials and references to Benny in Seward.

Walking through Seward takes all of 20 minutes where many of the stores are trinket shops. There is a modest Sealife Centre at the end of town, full of stuffed wildlife, if that is your thing. The surrounding tree and snow-covered mountains overwhelm the modest evidence of human habitation on the peninsular stealing your attention at every glance.

Anchorage City

Up the road is Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, easily reached by good quality roads.  Driving between Seward and Anchorage provides an excellent panorama of the Alaskan country and is a “must do” if you are in the area as wildlife abounds. Anchorage has several large department stores including JC Penny’s. These were fun to walk through but not cheap. Anchorage is also home to yet another Captain Cook statue.

Trivial pursuit question: Who has the most statues of themselves around the world after Queen Victoria who has the most?

Answer: Captain Cook

Captain Cook took three major cruises in his life before being killed in Hawaii in 1779. On his first cruise, as Kings Surveyor, Cook came to the Pacific Ocean and Surveyed Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. On his second cruise Cook surveyed the Antarctic and New Caledonia. On his third and final cruise Cook mapped Northwest America and Alaska.

Dutch Harbour King Crab and Wheat beer

Back to Anchorage; Walk the town, visit the department stores, with free wifi, and then go for lunch at Phyllis’s Café that serves the largest, sweetest and cheapest King Crab in town at $US40 per lb. Wash it down with some Alaskan Wheat Beer and life doesn’t get much better……..