After a night of farewells, much celebration and plenty of nice wines, (compliments of the Captain & National Geographic) we left Chatham Strait and started the tricky bit of navigation through Peril Strait which separates Baranof Island from Chichagof Island. Peril Strait apparently got its name from the circumstances where in 1799, about 150 Aleuts perished from eating poisonous mussels.
Although the passage through Peril Strait is too narrow for large vessels, our “Sea Bird” could get through at the correct tide (slack-water) time. The challenging part is Sergius Narrows which is impassable at full ebb or flood tides due to the dangerous whirlpools that form.
By 0600 we had arrived at our final Lindblad destination, Sitka. After breakfast with inevitably more farewells, we disembarked from the “Sea Bird” for the last time feeling a sense of sadness after a week of brilliant action and great friendship amongst our group of 62 travellers and the boat’s crew.
Sitka sits on the outer coast of Alaska’s panhandle, on Baranof Island. “Sitka” is a corrupted pronunciation of “Shee-Atika” a Tlingit word relating to their people living by the Shee which is their name for this quiet and beautiful harbour.
The indigenous Tlingit people have inhabited this region for thousands of years and fought in battles against the Russians who invaded the area in 1802 in quest of furs, especially the otter pelts that were classified as ‘warm gold’.
The Russians occupied Sitka until 1867 when the USA purchased Alaska for a mere $8 million.
There’s still plenty of evidence of the Russian presence in Sitka, most notably the St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral which is in the centre of town.
Our first activity in Sitka was to visit the Alaska Raptor Centre where injured eagles, owls, falcons, kestrels, hawks and other birds of prey are treated after accidents associated with power lines, cars, animal attacks, oil spills, gun-shot wounds,… Birds are brought in from all over northern USA and the veterinary facilities are those of a top class hospital. About 200 birds are rehabilitated each year.
Where possible, after recovery and flight training, the birds are released back into the wild although some with serious injuries have, by necessity become permanent residents of the park.
We then visited the Sitka National Historic Park which was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka where the Tlingit warriors initially defeated the Russians. There is a visitors’ centre and a museum but most interestingly there are trails that lead through the rainforest past a dozen or more totem poles. A guide explained some of the information to be gained from the figures comprising these elaborate wooden structures, some of which would have been 12 m high.
After checking into our hotel which, to our great joy had a laundry, a good deal of washing and drying of clothes was undertaken.
We then had an early evening meal in a nearby tavern and retired for a quiet night. Tomorrow is a free day in Sitka prior to boarding the local ferry that will take us down towards Prince Rupert to start a new phase of this North American adventure.
Totem pole, Sitka National Historic Park, Sitka
Wild rose, Sitka National Historic Park, Sitka
Owl, Raptor Park, Sitka
Forest, Raptor Park, Sitka
Pink salmon, Indian River, Raptor Park, Sitka
Bald eagle, Raptor Park, Sitka