Today did not start well.
The WiFi in my room packed up. I tried to get it to work, but, despite several attempts, I failed. At my request, they sent up an engineer, who confirmed thay it wasn't working. After several brief phone calls, it turned out that there was a problem in the system, and they were already working on it, but they had no idea when the connection would be restored.
It's quite inconvenient, as I'm in the middle of a lengthy correspondence with my organizers, and I won't be in during the day. It's also a bit worrying that the parcel from Cabela's hasn't arrived. I'll be in real trouble if it does't get here. The pretty black girl at reception tried to calm me down, explaining that the "overight express" (the service delivering a parcel within one night), doesn't always work in Alaska, because of the weather.
My meeting last night with Eddie Grasser, the president of Safari Club International, Alaska Chapter,
did not take place. At 7.00 I was waiting in the hotel lounge, but he never came, and I didn't know why.
By the time I got back to my room there was an email from him waiting for me. According to this, he had been out in his small plane, when the weather became so bad that his take-off from Valdez has been delayed, forcing him to miss our evening appointment. I asked if he could meet me tonight instead, but because of the problem with the internet connection I can't check his reply.
The sky is almost constantly overcast, and, yesterday, we only had a few hours of bright sunshine. It is usually drizzling, but that doesn't seem to bother the locals: for a short walk in the street no-one bothers with a raincoat, and I haven't seen a single umbrella. I saw a young couple walking in one of the parks in Anchorage; when the rain began they did not even alter their pace, but kept on ambling along, oblivious to their surroundings. In Alaska, rain is part of everyday life, but at the same time, it's not very cold, the temperature being around 60 F.
It rarely gets higher.
Chapter I.: Arrival
Page 31
Expedition Headquarters
Anchorage Hilton