Sitka was to be our last port day; again we arrived very early in the morning, but in this shallow port, we could not pull up to the dock, but dropped anchor in the harbor and used tenders to get into town.
Historically, the Sitka culture is a blend of Tlingit Indian, Russian and American. The Tlingit were there first, of course, and lived undisturbed until 1799 when the Russian explorers arrived and built a fort a few miles to the north. They came to gather and trade furs. The Russian Orthodox church established then is still a focal point of Sitka today. When in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million, the transfer ceremony occurred in Sitka.
From our cruise notes, " Sitka is one of the world's finest places to view wildlife. The surrounding waters provide important feeding grounds for many species of whale. Sea otters, sea lions and other marine wildlife are abundant in the area."
Our morning tour was called The Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest. We disembarked from the ship to the waiting tour boat, in a light dirzzle. Brave souls that we are, we chose to sit on the top, semi-exposed, no huddling in a warm cabin for us. Actually it was good to sit up high, we had a great view of the open seas, and even though it was raining, we did see some of the abundance of wildlife that was promised - we saw sea otters feeding, a deer on a small island, and eagles both soaring and in nests - those with really good eyes could see the nest that held eaglets. The waters were choppy but out on the open sea, we finally caught sight of a few humback whales, before returning not to the ship, but to Sitka's dock. David's camera lens captured some of the beautifully, he is going to share some with me, so that I can share them here later this week.
It was raining lightly still, so David and I decided to take a quick walk to St. Michael's church, for a quick look. then a bit of shopping before taking the tender back to the ship for a leisurely lunch. We set sail early that afternoon, so we went to the Observation Deck, found window seats and had a few glasses of wine while watching the sail away.
A few pictures of the church:
It got rather choppy that afternoon and evening, and for the first time on the cruise I could really feel the pitch and roll, and had to find the dramamine tablets. Unfortunately it was also the evening we had reservations for Prime 7, the new steakhouse on the Mariner. I am probably not the best judge of food that evening. David thought it was excellent. I think that Signatures, the other restaurant has better food. I will say that the steaks were excellent, both my medium rare and David's well done were done right. I'm not so sure about the side dishes, tho we had a pretty good crab cake to start. David enjoyed an excellent red wine, I was on the fizzy water that evening. We went to bed with the pitch and roll.
For our last day at sea, a full day of sailing, we were heading to the Hubbard Glacier.
Comments (5)
Beautiful photo of the church interior doors. It sounded like a most wonderful trip.
Posted by Barb Cabot | June 25, 2009 4:48 PM
Posted on June 25, 2009 16:48
I love the photo of the church, and can't wait foe wildlife photos.
Posted by candi | June 26, 2009 12:43 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 12:43
Hi Marcia, wonderful photos. Sitka looks beautiful. How great to see the wildlife that you did. And the little church is very charming.
Thanks so much for continuing to share so much of your experiences.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 28, 2009 2:06 PM
Posted on June 28, 2009 14:06
Hi Marcia, I'm just catching up -- this must have been a fascinating stop. Hope your tummy settled down without too much trouble!
Posted by sandrac | July 8, 2009 6:24 PM
Posted on July 8, 2009 18:24
I still can't get over a $7.2 million price tag for Alaska!! On the other hand, the US just took over Hawaii. Sorry sea sickness took hold the night you had your reservation for Prime 7.
Posted by girasoli | August 16, 2009 8:58 PM
Posted on August 16, 2009 20:58