Bethel

Bethel is our hub for the week, about 350 miles west of Anchorage on the Kuskokwim River. This town is organized, especially when it comes to the cabs and flights (which, granted, is about all we are being exposed to). We have never waited more than 2 minutes for a taxi, and our flights into and out of the Era, Bering, and Alaska terminals have been on time every time. There is a minor issue of "weather permitting," but more on that later.

The Longhouse is where we are staying, nothing fancy but clean, the only issue the paper thin walls and the doors that slam horrifically loud no matter how gently you try to close them. The Red Blanket restaurant is attached to the hotel, and Moon, the waitress, has taken excellent care of us for multiple American-style meals. We ventured out to Dimitri's as well, a Greek-owned restaurant with an Italian bent and the typical burger fare found everywhere else up here. It came highly recommended, and was quite yum - I stayed away from the burgers and went for a salad with a delicious and light homemade vinaigrette dressing, and cheese ravioli.

The local grocery is horrifically expensive for some coming from the lower 48, but has everything you could hope for. My biggest complaint is the complete lack of seafood when I am surrounded by water. Lindsay noted that it is worth more to export, so it's hard to find here. Makes me realize that there are some things horribly wrong with the way the world runs these days.