July 22 - 27

Sitka and Juneau

The small town of Sitka is located on the west side of Baranof Island, with a prominent recent volcanic island cone just offshore and otherwise the Pacific is open all the way across to Japan. It was the Russian capital of Alaska until purchased by the Americans, but as the Russians with their Innuit compatriots did not get on with the local Indians, it was the scene of fortifications and battles. Today many of the small (tourist) business there today seem to still have a Russian influence, particularly when it comes to painted eggs and nested wooden dolls.

A small reserve is set apart where a significant number of the native totem poles are preserved and it is a very peaceful area to walk, and talking with some of the local descendants it appears that the original stories held in the carved images are not fully known or understood.

The ferry terminal and campground is located 10km out of town and so as it was last time, it was necessary to hitch a ride to get to town, and the wood is still as wet as ever and virtually impossible to get any kind of fire going.

During our three day stopover, we skirted around the dangerous animals that were lurking on the street corners and did a day paddle in the harbour that abounded with small islands and eagles.

Then it was a "fast" ferry on to the new capital city of Juneau where we again encountered the flotilla of cruise ships, we arrived late in the day and so knowing we had to make onward travel plans decided to abandon the idea of camping out and found a motel downtown. The weather continued fine and we walked to the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier that spills out of the mountains on the north side of town.

We had some time to fill in so bought one of our few tourist trips and took a day boat ride a long way up TraceyArm a fiord hidden behind Admiralty Island, where we got to the face of a glacier where it enters the sea. Blue ice, loud booms of splintering ice breaks, harbour seas on the ice floes, crunching of ice on the ships hull, orcas hunting the seals, humpbacks in the channel. Tourists we.

... next installment coming soon ...