Eskimo-Indian Olympics

Every now and then, when you are on a long journey, you need to do laundry, check your emails etc. After all this was done (it took a whole day!), Asser and I were ready to leave Denali and drive further in the Interior of Alaska. First we went to soak ourselves in Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles east from Fairbanks. Our muscles were actually not very sore after the hike in Denali, but it was still very relaxing to lie in the warm water. That was the luxury part of our holiday as we decided to stay at the hotel, after doing so much camping. The resort was annoyingly touristy and not that attractive (even though I admired the abundance of flowerbeds), but we were happy with our stay there. In Fairbanks, we were just in time for WEIO, World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, a four-day event taking place every July. It was good to see the natives, who have been oppressed for so long, to proudly share, preserve and promote their precious and unique culture. At the Opening Ceremony, we saw some beautiful, traditional clothing and dances:

For time immemorial, Native peoples of the circumpolar areas of the world have gathered in small villages to participate in games of strength, endurance, balance, and agility. Along with these athletic games, dancing, story telling, and other audience participation games took place. This is the background of the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, where participants compete in one hand reach, high kick, fish cutting, ear pull, fish cutting, muktuk (whale fat) eating, just to mention a few of the contests. Here you can see descriptions of WEIO athletic events: http://www.weio.org/the_games.php. And here is a photo of women's blanket toss:

As we are in America, of course there was also a Miss WEIO contest with a talent show. In the following picture, one of the candidates is presenting the parkas she has made:

Now it seems like we are "stuck" in Fairbanks: first the hostel beds were so comfortable that we did not want to get up early and leave... then we started making pancakes for breakfast and met some nice people we had good conversations with... and now we are planning a group dinner...