Sitka, Alaska
We arrived in Sitka and we had to tender off the ship, it was good fun, we got to ride in the lifeboats! They were the coolest things ever! As we came into the harbour I got such a great vibe from this little town, it has a lot of history and it has a lot of charm. It is a fishing village and it has really tried to stay authentic and not become full of tourist shops, it was wonderful! Not a jewellery shop in sight, well maybe one or two.
My roommate and I were booked on a tour of the culture and history in Sitka, particularly the Russian influence in the town. The tour took us to a museum, to the first church in Alaska - a beautiful Russian Orthodox church, and to a cultural dancing performance of Russian folk dances.
Tendering off!
Inside the museum
The items of clothing they wear were so fascinating to read about - it was so difficult to make each piece!
At the performance of the Russian folk dancers
The Russian orthodox church
After the tour, I went walking around the town to see what I could discover. I popped into a few of the little shops in the town which were so lovely, and I went to the site of an old castle (long since gone) and saw the view. I then headed to the Russian Bishop's house and did a tour of that. Later, I was walking past a cute little church and taking pictures when I spied a small sign for a tea house! I followed the sign and it led me to the back of the church carpark where the vicarage was, and down the stairs into this basement was this lovely little tea house set up! There were little tables with nice tablecloths and flowers, and this one little old lady who ran the place who had baked scones, banana bread and cookies. I asked her for a piece of banana cake and a cookie but I think she misheard me because instead she sat me down at a table and gave me a scone! She told me about the town and about her life history, it was so neat to speak to this lady, and I was so happy that I had discovered the place. I finally left, after really having to ask and ask to buy a piece of banana bread, with a smile on my face, and headed on towards the national historical park to walk through the totem poles.
The Bishop's house
The church where the tea house was
The scone that I never asked for
The national historical park was laid out so well - you followed a track through the woods and along the trail there were totem poles peeking out at you! It was so magical. I really loved it.
After I left the park I started heading back to the ship, but I still wanted one last adventure in Sitka, so I stopped in at this unassuming building which turned out to be an unusual aquarium where you could touch everything! It was fantastic, and I was the only one there so I was able to talk to the staff extensively and ask all sorts of questions! All the creatures were native to Alaska and there were many different types of starfish and crabs and even sea cucumbers! I have to say that the sea cucumbers were my favourite, when you picked them up they would become huge and then they would become so small and like slime - they would squeeze out all the water in them and just slip through your fingers like seaweed!
The sea cucumber getting ready to squeeze out all the water
As I got to the harbour and was about to get on the tender, I saw the local library so I ran in and had a look around. Outside they had a stand for free books they were trying to get rid of. In amongst the books I found this little book which was from 1951 (first published 1937), filled with cocktail recipes for bartenders! It was so interesting and unusual, I had to pick it up and take it with me! It is a little gem! Thank you Sitka, I loved you!
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan was an interesting experience - we were only in port for a few hours, and I had planned on meeting up with a couchsurfer to show me around, but in the end it didn't work out. So I didn't really have anything planned, I just went around by myself. I spent a bit of time in the jewellery shops getting the free stuff (yay) and then went walking. I found an excellent map with a walking trail and managed to walk about 90% of the route, despite the short time in port. What was neat in Ketchikan was the historic Creek Street, where the bars and brothels were. It was so neat to see the history, and the buildings and houses there were so quaint and cute. I went for a tour of the house of a notorious prostitute from the 1920s, a lady just known as Dolly. It was great because it was so well preserved, and the tour guides were all dressed up in the period outfits! There was even a secret "married man's trail" leading to the back door for unfaithful men of the town to sneak in unnoticed! I then walked all over the town, up to the highest points, through a tunnel, into the industrial area, throughout residential streets. It was different to the other ports, we had less time and I was a little more relaxed about the pace that I saw things, it was really enjoyable, and such a sweet place.
Victoria, British Columbia (Canada)
After having it rain constantly for the entire cruise, you can not imagine the joy it was to see the sun as we headed to Victoria, B.C. As we came in for port the sun was streaming in and I was seated on my balcony reading my book. It was bliss! We were due in port at 6pm but it ended up being 9.30 that we were able to get off. It was just as well we had a balcony because at least it meant we were able to fully enjoy the sunset and see the mountains surrounding the area. When we got off so late, my roommate was discouraged to even disembark, but I talked her around and we went for a walk to downtown. It was really lovely, it was really dark and there was very little that we could see but it was just so nice to go for a walk and to see what we did. We didn't get all the way to downtown because time was short, so I will be looking forward to going back sometime and checking the place out properly. It was a great ending to our trip.
All in all, I had such a great trip. Cruising has its pros and cons, but I would consider doing it again (and the food was sooo good!). Alaska was slightly different to how I thought - I never in a million years realised it was full of jewellery shops - but I really tried to make the most of all my time there and I really tried to seek out interesting and unusual experiences and people, which really made the trip what it was. I also got to read 2 entire books while on the cruise. It was a really good mix or rest and action, it really recharged my batteries. The crew worked so hard and I really appreciated them, and the locals were great! Thank you Alaska for sharing a part of yourself with me!
