The sun shone all day in Juneau. We
cast our lines at 10 pm and slid silently out of the harbour. The
Celebrity Millennium left before us as did the Princess ship. Not
sure when the NCL Pearl left.
This morning we are anchored off shore
of Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, Alaska. This is a Tlingit (pronounced
Klinkit) settlement. The shops are all owned by natives so we will
see what “Made in Alaska” items we can find.
Icy Straight Point is a tender port.
We cross to the point on the small tender ships which are also the
life boats in an emergency. It was quite foggy in the morning but by
10 am the fog had lifted enough to see in front of your face, so we
made the trip over.
There is a very well laid out salmon
cannery display in the old canning factory. Along with that are some
shops which sell handcrafted Alaska items and some of the artists are
working on their crafts in the shops. We walked the boardwalk as
well to where the zip-rider ended. It was very quiet and relaxed
since we were the only ship in port.
Hoonah is a small town about 1.5 miles
from Icy Strait Point itself. We walked into town and were grateful
for the exercise on land that wasn't moving. It is a very small
town, built just beyond the tidal flats. Some people coming back
from town told us where to find some native carvers and we did find
them. They have an ongoing carving project – a screen for a tribal
house that will be placed in Glacier Bay, the original home of the
Tlingit people. The screen is finished and they are working on the
house posts, basically small totem poles. They will also carve some
totem poles before the project is finished.
We happened to be there when one of the
town tours came through and stayed for the presentation. One of the
carvers explained the significance of the symbols and when he was
finished we were also presented with a dance that is used when the
screen will be erected. Very nicely done.
The sun was out by this time and we
walked a little farther along and found an eagle, a nest and a young
eagle. On our walk back to the tender point, we saw a humpback
whale. Later, sitting in the Crow's Nest, I saw a pod or Orcas swim
by, three at least, and as they swam away it looked like two more
joined them. Apparently there were sea lions on the starboard side
of the ship and that brings out the Orcas.
The movie today was “One for the
money” based on the Stephanie Plum series. It was very true to the
book and quite enjoyable. I wonder if the rest of the books will be
made into movies. Will be quite the series.
After we left Icy Strait Point, we were
in the Gulf of Alaska. We will be sailing it all day Thursday as
well. It was quite calm, surprisingly so and I hope that continues.
This was a formal night at dinner, the 2nd of 4.
Normally, formal nights are sea days so not sure why they changed it
since Thursday is a sea day but it all works out, either way.
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