A Trip to Cordova, Alaska

As some of you know, a few weeks ago, I took my first trip to Alaska with a few of my friends; Alana, Gerry, Kristan, and Molly courtesy of Copper River Salmon. I flew from San Francisco to Anchorage and then Cordova which has the tiniest and cutest little airport that reminded me of Martha’s Vineyard. I’m not going to talk too much here as I’ll let the photos do that but Alaska is one of the most gorgeous states I’ve visited; the views, the scenery, the people, the wildlife (I didn’t get to see any bears or moose or elk or reindeer though but did see a bald headed eagle, otters and of course, salmon!). Things, I’d never thought I’d say, “Alaska can get hot”. Yup, in summer you can wear shorts! 

Cordova might be physically large in the Copper River Delta but the population is small compared to cities like San Francisco. But a lot of the fishermen come from the West Coast including Seattle and even some, all the way over from Russia! We took a ride on a little propeller plane and I saw my life flash me by when we met some turbulence over the glacier but after that I got a little more ballsy and that plane ride was probably one of the best things I have ever done in my life. We tried reindeer sausage (I didn’t notice any gamey taste) and ate salmon every day (more of that to come later on). As the water melts from the glacier, it carries down with it a lot of soil that gives it a grey appearance and makes the salmon work harder to swim upstream and downstream the Copper River which also explains why the salmon have higher fat content and are so nutritious. 

We took a ride on a fishing boat, went to a salmon cannery to see how they process the fish, attended the Salmon Jam Festival, tasted salmon berries (a sweet and tart berry), saw salmon spawning, learned how to fillet salmon and even cook some at our home. And yes, we had a lot of sunshine, it rose at 4am and set at about 11pm which was nice if you stay out late at night. I loved Alaska for many different reasons including the most important one, the respect and relationship the locals have with their land and how they truly revere nature. Stay tuned for the salmon stuff in the upcoming weeks!

Disclaimer: This trip was sponsored by Copper River Salmon, Cordova, Alaska. However, all opinions expressed are solely my own.