Transcription
In this territory, people live a large part of the year in extremely cold conditions. Hunting is 100% legal. There are places where, in the middle of the snow, beautiful girls in bikinis serve you coffee. There is a small town where the mayor is a cat. Bear moose crossing signs, a moose walking home through a private airport. We walked into a little shop in town and they have a bear skin hanging on the wall. The daily life of Alaskans.
We found ourselves in Alaska. Wow, what a thrill to be around here. I feel like we've heard our whole lives about this territory. One of the coldest and harshest conditions to live in on the planet. And finally, we will have a worthy adventure here for the channel. In this video, I plan to focus on what life is like in and around the city of Anchorage. Anchorage, as of the date we visited, has a population of almost 300,000 people, which is quite a large number considering that the total population of Alaska today is just over 700,000. A very curious fact is that official data show that the population of Alaska today is even smaller than it was ten years ago, as a result of the fact that today many young people are moving away from here in search of better job and social opportunities, and the older population that has remained permanently, with each passing day, is dying off. In fact, we are going to see Alaska with a smaller population than it normally has, because we are visiting in the middle of winter, when the tourist season and the season of, let's call it, good weather, is over. A significant percentage of the Alaskan population moves during the winter months to avoid the harsh conditions that are experienced here on a daily basis.
So, come, enough introduction. What begins this tremendous Alaskan adventure that will await us? A wild moose will try to attack us? A polar bear? It will try to steal our food. What a thrill to be doing this adventure and above all, to share it with all of you. So let's go. Alaska, one of the coldest and most extreme territories on the planet, awaits us. Let's go for it.
As I was telling you, today Alaska is just another state of the United States of America. But this was not always so. In fact, at some point in history, Alaska belonged to Russia, and it was in the 19th century that the Americans bought the entire territory for 7.2 million dollars. It is even said that this transaction has been one of the best deals in the history of mankind, because when the Russians decided to sell Alaska, they thought that there was only ice and land here, but then it turned out that it was really full of mines, lots of natural resources, hunting, etc., etc. And it is estimated that the United States to date has already earned more than 100 times its economic investment. It seems crazy to me how it is that, in spite of being such an isolated territory and from which so many young people move every year, living here is very expensive. It is estimated that the cost of living in Alaska is 25% higher than the average for the rest of the country, due to the fact that there really isn't much local industry. About 90% of the inputs have to be imported, which, of course, drives up costs tremendously. However, it is more than evident that the government's plan is to populate much more of Alaska's cities. Well, just by taking a short walk through the streets of downtown, we realize that it is indeed very, very empty. There is plenty of room. Of course, there is. What a joke this is! Someone has a reindeer in his house and there is a sign that says it's okay to take pictures of it, that it's okay. Let's see, it's not even legal to have a reindeer as a pet. It's not like anybody can just grab it and say, "Ah, I found a reindeer. No, come to my house and live in my backyard." But these people, the owners of this house, they have a special seniority permit. Because from what they tell me, they are native grandparents from long ago. Their family has lived for generations here. So they defend it as a matter of tradition. And yes, see it. Here they have it. They've even taken on the role of having a museum, so to speak. And clearly, we can see how they put not only one, not two, not three, but four different layers of fences so that it does not represent any risk for the population and also so that people are not sticking their fingers in there and feeding it and maybe they can hurt Star, the Reindeer. It makes me laugh that Star here has his own book club. So you can grab this. It's open and you can grab a book. And the rule is you have to leave an old one. Why not? I brought one of my books. It would have been nice not to leave one of my books. I'll take another one. By the way, remember you can get a Luisillo book at your nearest bookstore. Now, for Christmas time, why not? It's a great gift. One of Luisito's books communicates. When in Anchorage, Alaska, don't hesitate to stop by and visit Star the Reindeer, the town star.
This is one of the main squares in the city of Anchorage. Check out how it's all filled with snow. And it is quite shocking to see in these squares that there are so many homeless people living here. And wow, seeing them is really devastating. The cold here gets really hard at night, not to mention. Right now, in the middle of the day, it's almost -10 degrees Celsius. At night, it gets to -15, maybe -20. And of course, there are some shelters, but most of them stay out in the street, and to get rid of the cold, they take refuge in alcohol and drugs. I'm going to make a more detailed video on this topic so you can stay tuned, but I wanted to include it here in the main Alaska video. Yes, homeless people are a latent problem, and they have a very, very hard time.
It is very surreal to walk through the small towns, through the communities, and see how overnight the cars are completely filled with snow. It is in the daily routine of the people to have a shovel and to give them hard, to wait for a little while, to pass the hair dryer because the doors literally freeze and blow your head off. To think that many people to this day continue living in what are known as dry houses, dry cabins, so called because they have no plumbing or drainage system. They toilet in latrines outside their homes. Human waste is eventually disposed of in nature. They live by hunting, which, by the way, is legal in Alaska to hunt practically any animal if you are native. And if you are not native, you have to avoid certain endangered animals. But yes, quite a few people to date survive this way.
A very common concept of consumption here are the little coffee houses in the middle of the street so that you can drive by in your car and just roll down your window and buy yourself a hot coffee. All very efficient, but there is a concept in which the baristas serve you in bikinis. It is literally called "bikini babes," and if you pass by and the girls are there in bikinis, so in the cold. Just now, we went to buy a coffee, and the girl who served us had a jacket, although she told us, "No, the bikini is down here, but this morning is very cold." It's like -15. And yes, the truth is that yes, it is -15 Celsius, and it is very cold. But that's the concept of the place. Pretty girls in bikinis in the snow serving you your coffee.
We went to visit the Anchorage prison in Alaska, which is here behind us, and it is very interesting how the system works. Since it is very, very expensive to have someone imprisoned here because of everything we have discussed, that here we are very isolated and the costs of heating and food, legal services, it is cheaper to send convicted criminals further south in the United States. So the thing is that here they spend a few days, maybe a few weeks, until the sentence is established. Then the people deprived of their freedom will be sent to some prison in another state where they will serve most of their sentence, and their last days will be sent back here to be released in the same place where they were detained, and then they can resume their lives. Rumor has it that the cost per prisoner per day in this correctional facility is $450. How crazy is that? I had no idea that this is how prisons worked in Alaska.
The cemeteries around here are very interesting. One for their appearance, with the graves all covered in snow, and two for the methods used to bury the bodies. You see, if someone dies here in winter, it is really going to be a very difficult and expensive mission to bury them, as the earth is meters below the snow level. So those who decide to bury their dead in the traditional way, with the whole body, must keep the corpses in refrigerators so that they are preserved until summer arrives, most of the snow is gone, and they can dig a hole to put the coffin there. That is why nowadays most people choose, as in many parts of the world, to burn the bodies, make them ashes, and in this way lower the costs and not have to wait months to bury your grandfather. This cemetery I am in is a native cemetery for the Inuit people or some other local tribe. But there are also many cemeteries that are fully Christian. There are also Orthodox ones, inherited from the times of the Russian Alaska.
And while we are on the subject of tribes and the like, did you know that about 16% of the Alaskan population identifies itself as Native? This ranks Alaska as the state with the highest percentage of people who identify as Native. Many tribes, in fact, enjoy extensive benefits, such as land rights or the right to medical care at Native-only clinics. Certain fees and taxes are waived if there is enough benefit overall, and people take pride in celebrating their roots, as they should.
About two hours north of the big city, there is a small town where the mayor is a cat. This is in the little town of Talkeetna, where only about 800 people live. Basically, what happened was that in the year 1997, the inhabitants said, "Oh, we kind of need a ruler, someone to lead us. A leader." But the candidates that were put forward for this position did not convince the population. Then someone jokingly said, "No, I'd better put a cat to see what happens." And everyone jokingly voted for him. He kept the post and kept it for 20 years until he died in 2017. Once he died, his daughter, I think she is a kitten named Aurora, in the same way, they nominated her. People voted for her again, and to date, she is the mayor. The mayoress. Meow! In a little local shop, you can even buy magnets, souvenir t-shirts, and a locally brewed beer with her face on it, very tasty indeed. This little town of Talkeetna, I am told, is actually very touristy. Right now, we are not appreciating it because of the winter season, that few people really dare to come here, but in summer, it is supposedly very popular, especially because here we are quite close to Mount Denali, which is the highest mountain in the United States. From here, you can take, for example, tours by plane, by helicopter. In something like 15 minutes to half an hour, you get there. They can even land you there so you can have an expedition. Yes, it's nice. Lovely little town of 800 inhabitants. What an Alaskan thing to do. It's nice like this in the snow, outside a house, some reindeer antlers. There. Casual. The daily life of the Alaskeños. We go into a little shop in town and they have a bear skin hanging on the wall. They also have feline skins, wolf skins, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Well, yes, hunting is legal. Here it is peculiar to analyze how businesses that are clearly very successful in summer, today are completely frozen, full of snow, and there is nobody really in the street. If it gets really, but really deserted. These are businesses that have to pay rent, utilities, etcetera, etcetera, all year long with the profits from really just the summer. It is interesting that here they put plastic on the water hydrants. See what it will be like so that the water is not being irrigated and does not freeze later. Look, I don't know, things from very, very cold places.
Traveling by road here is quite a spectacle. Snow-capped mountains, lakes in the process of freezing, trees everywhere. It's a wallpaper of any office computer, before our eyes. I think it's pretty cool to see the elk crossing signs on the roads. You see them a lot. And if my guide tells me here, it's actually not that unusual to see a scenery. So you're driving along and you come across a family of small moose, bears crossing back and forth to sample some fresh salmon. Wow, what a scene. More Alaska. We just encountered a moose walking home through a private airport, and the rangers have already come for him to open the mesh so he can get out. Because it can be very dangerous. We just saw a small group of elk like this, hiking up the mountain. How divine. But kind of intimidating. Experience. Of course, we stayed pretty far away because think about it, if one of them gets mad and starts chasing you, brother, this is not your terrain. You're going to lose. A tiny footprint, possibly from one of these little critters.
In Alaska, private aviation is a big issue. Being such a big state, practically the size of Mexico, where the roads are not really reliable, as they are constantly getting clogged by storms and snowfalls, the locals have learned over the generations that having small aircraft is of paramount importance to be able to transport supplies, transport people, and not get stranded in unwanted places. Here, the light aircraft trade is more than casual, and many, many people are constantly getting pilot's licenses. Right now, we are at a private airport where we can see hundreds and hundreds of these small aircrafts. It is well known that moving through the air is very efficient for transportation in Alaska, of course, as long as there is no deadly storm going on. Don't stain.
I just saw how the garbage trucks work here. I managed to record it in action. Wow! Previously, I'm told it was just like everywhere else, that the garbage men would get out, dump, go on. But so they don't have to get out and work in this extreme cold, it's actually a truck that jams the sides of the dumpster, tips it over, puts it back on, and so the operator doesn't even have to get off, and it makes it much more efficient. I loved it, I was fascinated.
Once you get out of the downtown area, everything starts to look much more crowded. There is even traffic. Much more flow of people shopping. That's what we did. Pay attention to the type of tires that the vehicles use. They put some metal nails on them so that they are not skidding, because when the streets freeze, they become very, very slippery. And in the same way, it is normal to see salt or sand thrown on the streets so that they do not freeze, and in this way, many accidents can be avoided in Alaska.
Another valuable resource is daylight. During the winter months, you only get about four or five hours of sunshine a day, and this becomes much less as you travel further north. When you get to the very top, you find villages where the sun doesn't rise at all. And when it's summer, it's completely the other way around. You have to make good use of the hours. Right now, I see that the sky is starting to get darker and darker at dusk, so early during so many months of the year.
One of Alaska's biggest problems is alcoholism among its population. Well, I guess it's human nature, isn't it? It gets dark. You have nothing to do. You're drinking with your buddies? Yeah, yeah. Something very similar to what we saw in Greenland during last year's winter adventure. Another way the Alaskan population deals with leisure is with legal marijuana everywhere. Why yes. In case you were wondering, for ten years now, in the state of Alaska, marijuana has been completely legal for recreational purposes, and stores, at least in the city areas, are everywhere. The everyday way to call cannabis stores is "Flower Shop." Flower shop. Look, you can tell your wife after work, "My love, I'll pick up some flowers," so you don't say I'm not detail-oriented.
We stopped by to check out the McDonald's in Alaska, which is called Willis. Even the logo is not like the flipped "m" with a little bee on it. A little queen bee, cook. What is it that characterizes this place? Is it that they make hamburgers? Of course, they do. But not only cow burgers, here you can buy reindeer burgers, deer burgers, buffalo burgers, bison burgers, among others. Something very worthy of Alaska. Come on. I'm very curious. What would a bison burger taste like? Not bad. The Alaskan McDonald's is very classic, and something very curious is that you can order your burger with popcorn instead of French fries. This is something that is not often mentioned, but look how craveable it is. Brilliant idea. I ordered a reindeer meat burger, which I'm sure you've had reindeer before, but never in this cheeseburger-like presentation. Provechito. Well, if no one tells me it's reindeer, to tell you the truth, I wouldn't even know. It was just the same. This consistency is a little bit harder, but this may depend on the cooking. Very rich, very tasty, and a very Alaskan experience.
And of course, hunting is a way of life in Alaska. Clear evidence is this massive outdoor store where you can really find it all. They have a massive display of stuffed animals. Beavers, bears, birds. For real. You name it, they have it stuffed here, and they sell lots and lots of hunting weapons displayed in a way that is very impressive to an outsider, with their price tag on the bottom, lots and lots of models. And in fact, buying and carrying a gun in Alaska is a very, very common thing to do. Obviously, they ask you for a lot of paperwork, but I was told here by the sellers that if you show your documentation and it's all in order and such, they send it to the FBI, and in less than an hour, the information is bounced back so you can take it with you. Also, the law here allows one to carry guns without any problem, even displaying them. So you could have your gun in your pants here, and you go through life like that. All of this is fully backed by law. Let's see, obviously by seniority, by the Second Amendment, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Check this section. In the archery store here, they have crossbows of many types for you to practice hunting animals. The deer where you want to hit it, you want to hit it in the lung, in the heart, name it whatever you want. Oh, and obviously a massive elk head over there. Wow, good thing the ones we've encountered have been from far away because, oh, the fat thing, what an intimidating animal. Of course, we have a hallway full of bullets. How very interesting. Like chewing gum. Like this. Some popcorn, some candy. I'm going to take these bullets and load 'em up and let's go. You get home. What did you do today? I went to buy ammo for my gun. Wow. And that's it. Look at that. I mean, the whole ceiling. This is a work of art made out of animal bodies or Borgo. But very nice lately. Strange to say. They even sell you Christmas tree ornaments about hunting. This other one is also a snowman. Ready to go, mother?
Well, there you have it. A little taste of what life is like in Alaska. Wow! Honestly, I have been thrilled with this adventure. What a beautiful state, how much nature, how many talkative people, what peculiar lifestyles. Would you like to give your opinion? Correct me with some information, please. I'll read them down here in the comments. Thank you very much for joining me in one more adventure. See you as always. You know, in a few days with a new video. Bye.