Nikolaevsk, Alaska

In Nikolaevsk we experienced something very unusual and fun at the same time. We were on one of the scenic drives around Homer. We drove what seemed to be miles of wilderness and we were dying for a nice cup of hot coffee. Suddenly a settlement appears - Nikolaevsk. We see a church, stopped, took a picture. On a post nearby was a hand painted sign- cafe. Oh!! we could smell the coffee already. Off we drove down a little dirt road to a house which housed the cafe- in we went. The place was full of unique gifts, pictures and vintage clothing. We soon discovered that the hostess, Nina Fefelov prepares only authentic Russian food and by reservation only. As it turned out that someone cancelled their reservation and we were convinced to stay . Stew insisted on having coffee and Nina tried to convince him to have tea instead. In the end stew won and received his coffee. The meal was tasty. Before we left, Nina insisted we dress up in Russian clothing and have our picture taken. Nikolaevsk's population is 304- a settlement of "Russian Old Believers". Nikolaevsk is one of the settlements near Homer. The other settlement you can only get to by foot or boat. Traditional clothing are worn, Russian is the first language, and the church dictates that males do not shave. The Old Believers in this area lead a family -oriented, self-sufficient life-style. They use modern utilities, and food sources are from gardening, small livestock, fishing and hunting. Families are typically very large (8 to 12 children).