Cruising to Alaska (day 3)

At about 10:30 am as our ship stopped in Sikta, Alaska, where we had just stopped half a hour before. The weather was overcast and after waiting in a long, meandering line, we boarded a bus to town, 15 minutes away.

We got there around 11:30 am and had a chance to visit the area until about 5:30 pm, that day. Our first walk along the fishing port took us to  Sitka National Historical Park and Totem Park where we could immerse ourselves in the rich Tlingit history and culture by walking among the collection of totem poles, exploring the museum exhibits with plenty of old photos and artifacts. 

This was followed by a walk into the nearby scenic trails through the Tongass National Forest. We also walked past a hatchery where the workers were killing salmons that were returning by climbing a “ladder” to their place of birth thus completing the 2 year life cycle before being separated from their eggs. 

Around noon we returned to town to eat lunch as we grew hungry, couldn’t find any place we liked to eat and settled for a small, busy Chinese eatery where we could only find some fish and chips to soothe our big hunger. All along the rain was threatening but never really fall hard enough to bother us. 

Then, in the afternoon, we had booked a tour to visit the so-called, Fortress of the Bear, a place were we were guaranteed to see these big guys in what really was a bear rescue facility where you we saw brown and black bears in their natural environment from a covered viewing platform. It was a bit further out from downtown, but worth the trip. 

Then our guide took us to see a river filled with salmons swimming  upstream to spawn and that was quite a spectacle for us to observe! We concluded our very busy day with an excellent Asian food dinner and “Icons”, a great show showcasing hits of 80s and an excellent choreography!