Gallivanting Geismom: Adventures in Sitka

Traveling through the night, we docked in Sitka at 7:00 AM and were on the reserved shuttle by 7:15 headed toward the village. The shuttle is free, but is required to prevent crowds of people standing in line waiting to board. After all, this is a 5000 passenger boat.

What we learned is that most people sleep in, then head on the shuttle later, as there really isn't much to do in these small towns, unless one is taking an excursion. Since Marty and I are used to venturing out on our own, we didn't feel the need to spend money on extra trips when we thought there would be adventures that we could explore on our own.

Our travel friends all decided to join us, and soon we were departing the shuttle to make the walk to the National Park that is located on the edge of the barrier island.

We were told that we were very fortunate regarding the weather, as the snow capped mountains are rarely viewed due to the high volume of rain that falls here. So, we felt quite lucky to admire these amazing vistas.

And how lucky could our day be than to begin with the spotting of two bald eagles, looking like sentries?

The waterfront walk offered some entertainment with these creative structures along the way.

And how beautiful is this?

Just around the corner, we stumbled upon scads of jumping salmon in the harbor.

It reminded me of a Sesame Street episode from years ago, when Ernie & Bert are in a boat, and Ernie calls out "Here Fishy Fishy Fishy", and a fish plops into the boat, over and over again. Well, if you can picture it, that's just about what we saw here sans the boat. We could see their fins popping out of the water, and suddenly.....Whoosh!....a fish would jump up, sometimes two or three at the same time as if they were synchronized swimming. What a hoot. We must have stood there for 10 minutes or more, enjoying the free entertainment.

Here, in the distance, we spotted two bald eagles looking for a meal.

Simply amazing. They were in the spot for at least an hour, if not more. We could hear their cries as we walked through the National Park.

This particular park holds replicas of totem poles that had once stood in various villages in the area. The original poles, carved from wood, weather over time and are not able to be sustained. These poles were featured in the World's Fair on two occasions prior to being permanently placed at Sitka National Historic Park.

The park is located along the edge of the island and offers some beautiful scenic views as you can see.

This pole stands in the spot of an historic battle that took place in 1804 between the local natives and Russian Fur Traders.

The National Park Visitor Center holds a fascinating museum explaining the culture of the local Tlingit Natives who were indigenous to this island. It held some fascinating original items.

One interesting fact that we learned was that the Tlingit society was divided into two separate groups, called moieties named The Raven and the Eagle.

Society deemed that an Eagle marry only a Raven, or a Raven marry only an Eagle. No explanation was given as to why this rule was enforced, but I can't help but wonder if it was to prevent inter marriage.

There were three totem poles on exhibit with an explanation to the carvings. A Human figure at the top is the Village Watchman. His role was to warn people of approaching danger.

A raven was represented with a strong straight beak and a bear had a protruding tongue and large claw feet. We would see figures of bears carved on totem poles that reminded me of a dinosaur rather than a bear. After seeing a few, I finally caught onto the symbolism.

From here we headed to the Sheldon Jackson Museum. This man collected thousands of items from Alaskan natives which are in display. There are cases brimming with various treasures, and drawers that one can pull open to see categorized items on display.

Here are a few of the holdings:

I've found an excellent use for those jars of white buttons that I have somehow accumulated. I can't tell you how many robes/vests, etc. that I have seen that are adorned with these white buttons.

This is the mask worn by the battle leader of the Tlingit Indians who was in that famed battle in 1804 against the Russian Fur Traders. I find it pretty amazing that it still exists, and in such great condition.

This is an Aleut mask on display. Very few masks from this culture remain as they were normally destroyed after use.

Finally, I just really liked this bowl carved like a seal. It was one of hundreds of designs of bowls on display here.

From here we headed back towards the town of Sitka.

where we headed to the Russian Bishop's House, one of few surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North America. It was built in 1852 and has been preserved by the National Park Service.

The interior was filled with informative placards that explained how Russian missionaries came into this area in order to save the local Tlingit natives who were being enslaved by Russian fur traders, something of which I was completely unaware. There were a few religious icons displayed

and a particular devotion to St. Innocent.

It was sad to read of the hardships that the Alaskan natives endured after the Russian fur traders invaded this land. I mentioned in a previous blog that Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. I had never given a thought to that transaction, until I read that the Alaskan natives were never owned by Russia. So, they have always felt that Russia had no right to sell the land to the US as it was never their's to begin with. Certainly something worth contemplating.

In the middle of Sitka stands a Russian Orthodox Church, St. Michael's. The exterior is different from the style of Orthodox church of which we are familiar. But it does have some similar features.

A fire in 1966 destroyed the church but the icons were salvaged, so now a new replacement church stands here to replace the original built in 1844.

Walking through town we came across a bear.

and an interesting totem pole near the visitor center.

We were able to spy a lighthouse in the distance. Look closely and you will see a man standing on the rocks in the front of the picture. He is fly fishing. No.....it is not Marty.

We took the shuttle back to the ship, which was relatively easy and we were greeted with hot Mocha on this return. I had failed to mention that we were offered chicken broth the previous day. Not exactly our cup of tea.

Marty wasted no time making friends with this musical group on the ship named ADDA. He had a fun time chatting with them out on deck 8.

Our dinner was a specialty restaurant named Ocean Blue, which specializes in seafood. I had roasted beets for my appetizer. You have to love this presentation.

Dinner was Salmon which was delicious! And desert was this delectable chocolate mousse that was drenched in a chocolate ganache and served with chocolate sorbet.