We arrived early to the port of Sitka with temperatures in the mid 50's, 88% to 100% humidity, and 12.7 mph winds. The 100% humidity was due to light rain, which we knew was coming our way. Not a bad rain, but wet and drippy off and on most of the day. As long as we were dressed properly and packed umbrellas, we were fine with it.
Sitka is a major tourist destination with a current population of 8200 people. It was the seat of the Russian empire in North America since 1741. The credit for this discovery goes to Danish explorer Vitus Bering who was part of the Russian Navy.
Native Tlingit warriors destroyed the first Russian settlement, only to be defeated a few years later. The Russians capitalized on the otter hunts for their excellent pelts almost to the point of extinction. By reading some of the signage in the park today, we learned that not only the European women desired the furs, but the Chinese valued them even more. It is said that the Chinese paid 10 times what they were worth for the prestige of owning these plush furs.
In 1867, Alaska was sold to the United States and Sitka remained the capital until 1912. The territorial government was established in Juneau where it remains to this day. A picturesque town, Sitka has both native Tlingit and Russian history that has been preserved for centuries. In our opinion, this city is far different from Juneau, Skagway, and even Ketchikan. Far less commercialized.
Some of the ship's excursions included the Fortress of the Bear and Raptor Center for $115. The Raptor Center is a sanctuary for eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls that have been injured. It is a chance to see these birds of prey close up. Also a tour we took many years ago.
The pedal and pub crawl involved a unique 15-passenger bike with stops for locally crafted beer. We assume it went rain or shine.
The sea otter and wildlife quest is a tour we have done in the past. It is a 2 ½ hour boat ride with hopes of seeing otters, whales, seals, bald eagles and more.
Then there was the Fortress of the Bear and Silver Bay Cruise for $255. It is a sanctuary for orphaned bears, more like a zoo setting. The cruise part took the folks into a glacier-carved fjord to spot sea lions and otters.
Breakfast got busy around 8:30am. We have an all-new crowd now that is enjoying the food and service here as well as the free mimosas and fresh-squeezed orange juice. On a side note, we noticed a change with the serving dishes in both the dining room and Pinnacle. The bowl-like dishes that yogurt was served in are reduced to a smaller glass container that holds about 6 ounces of food. Portion control? Our waiters admitted the new glass containers are quite breakable, so they don't like them. Neither do we. The berries we have every morning are best when added to the yogurt. Now there is no room for them. Maybe we can ask for a small soup bowl.
A crew drill began around 10am, so it was a good time to go off of the ship. Layered up and packing umbrellas, we headed through the terminal area and to the waiting shuttle bus. There was no need for us to get a shuttle ticket. Besides, most all of the tours had left, and there was no line of guests waiting for the ride to town. And we got lucky with a new bus with plenty of leg room. It was not so on the way back later on. Crescent Harbor is where the cruise ships used to drop anchor before the new facility was built. There was a very small ship there, but we did not catch the name.
We happened to be here in Sitka at the end of April while on the Grand World Voyage. The mountaintops were covered with snow and it was gorgeous. Many of the stores and restaurants were not opened for the season yet, so we never went to lunch. From the drop-off at the Harrigan Centennial Hall, we followed the Sea Walk that took us past the Crescent Harbor full of fishing boats. The Russian Bishop's House was across the street built in 1841. It is one of the oldest buildings here.
St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church was built in 1899 and is one of the oldest standing churches in Sitka. Continuing up the scenic street, we came across the Sitka Sound Science Center, which used to be a hydro plant. Now it is an onsite fish hatchery, an aquarium, a wet lab, and learning center. There is also a fish ladder where we watched the silver salmon going up the creek. Since today was a Saturday, the center was closed.
Across the road was the Sheldon Jackson State Museum, the oldest in Alaska. Opened since 1897, it houses over 6000 native artifacts from the entire state.
Our final destination was the best - Sitka National Historical Park, the oldest park in the entire state. Besides the towering spruce and fir trees, it has the site of the 1804 battle between the native Tlingits and the Russians. Modern-carved totem poles line the forest walk. A sobering sign is always posted at the beginning of the path warning folks of recent bear sightings. Hoping not to encounter one, the only critter we saw that lives here is a red squirrel about the size of a chipmunk. We must have walked into its territory because it flitted back and forth between us and the shoreline before ducking into the brush. Cute little thing.
Another big attraction here has to be at the mouth of the Indian River where the remains of the silver salmon lined the banks of the river. We never saw so many birds, mostly sea gulls, ravens, herons, and some bald eagles. Watching them gorge themselves with the rotting salmon brought a whole new meaning to the term of a "salmon feast". No kidding, there must have been 1000 birds if not more.
The trail turned at this point, and we followed the shorter one back to the visitor center. The forest floor is littered with fallen and decaying trees and made the scenery even more intriguing. The trees are so densely planted that it was dark there. It was lightly raining, but under the canopy of the trees, we did not get very wet.
The all aboard time was 4:30pm, so we had to bide our time to make it back to town and have enough time for a leisurely lunch. Unlike the last visit here, all of the eateries were open for business. We chose the Cold-Water Bar and Grill which used to be the Westmark Hotel's restaurant. It was sold a few years ago but still offers the same type of cuisine.
Seated at a window table, we ordered two Alaska Amber drafts, a salad, one cheeseburger with fries, and finally - a slice of mud pie. How about that? Never expected the treat of mud pie today, which needless to say, was quite good. We left the bar and grill around 2pm, and joined a waiting shuttle back to the pier. This time, we were in what the locals call the "prison" bus. The seats were so close together, it was obviously a school bus. We went all the way to the back to find seats with a little more leg room. Made for the little ones, we all had to sit sideways. Good thing it was a short ride.
We got back to the room after 3pm due to a long wait to board the ship. Many people were being scanned twice because they cranked up the xray or they were training new security people. Good thing it was not raining at the time.
The Captain came on with his talk at 4:30pm saying we had 227 nautical miles to reach Hubbard Glacier tomorrow. The timing would depend on the amount of ice and the weather conditions. Then he added that the winds were expected to pick up to 30 to 40 mph tonight with 8 to 11-foot waves all evening. He advised all of us to be careful around and about the ship.
Dinner time found us ordering Caesar salads and mains of halibut and prime rib. Both were delicious. We passed on the dessert.
The Shredderz were on stage tonight with classics from the Beatles, AC/DC, and Queen.
Looking forward to seeing Hubbard Glacier tomorrow. It has been years since we were there, so we hope the ice and bad weather do not cancel the stop.
Bill & Mary Ann
