Day #5 Sitka

We arrived in Sitka this morning. What a beautiful entry to the bay area. It is littered with little islands. Our ship had to be escorted through the passage as there was a low tide when we arrived. The tides here will fluctuate 20+ feet each day. Wow. The ship dropped anchor quite a distance from the little harbor and so we had to be tendered in to shore. We were among the first to go ashore as we had another excursion planned.

Today’s adventure was combo volcano exploration by ocean raft and four-by-four. Only six passengers fit onto our raft. No wonder, you should see what they made us wear. I felt like a marshmallow in a space suit. But boy were we glad we had on that protective clothing when we hit the water. Crossing the bay at 50 mph straddling torpedo-like seats that had a “shit” bar for rough waters, was quite an experience. We saw lots of sea otter and a lone humpback as we across the bay. When we arrive on the designated volcanic island we were awaited by Rhino four-by-fours. As our guide said, they drive like golf card but on steroids. We took turns driving the carts on the guided 90 minute trip on which we got some spectacular views of Sitka and its surroundings; we then crossed the bay again in our speedy raft so that we could shop in Sitka the remainder of our stay on land. As it turns out Sitka is pretty small and the shopping was limited. We did purchase one artifact that John has been wanting for some time: a carving called First Breath. It is a mother with her calf that she is lifting to the surface right after it’s birth. What makes this carving extra special is that it is carved out of whale bone that is at least 300 years old.

I’ve been exhausted from lack of sleep and was grateful when I was able to take a nap when we got back on board before getting ready for our second formal dinner. The captain had invited us for cocktails but we opted for another pre-dinner show instead. Heck, we can get a drink anywhere but a good show is hard to come by in Our-Neck-Of-The-Woods.

Tonight’s towel art was an elephant. I’ve got to get the book with the instructions for this art form.