Alaska - Part 2 - Icy Strait Point

The ship travels mostly in the early evening or at night so we're usually in port by the time we wake up. Most of the time we didn't notice the ship moving unless you looked out the window to see the water going by.This morning we got up to an absolutely picturesque day. Snow-capped mountains all around with a blue sky. We definitely needed sunscreen this day.

This is the little port of Icy Strait Point. It isn't on most cruise ship agendas. It hasn't been a port all that long. It's a quaint native village that was a treat to enjoy. This is a cannery that has been turned into a museum about salmon canning. There are several native shops inside as well but none of the touristy trappings of other towns.

There is no dock for a cruise ship. In fact this little boat (1 of 4) is the only way into port. Only 1 cruise ship on any given day is allowed here so many people miss this place.

There is a long boardwalk that goes down the beach and around the point to a small restaurant. We walked both. It was a gorgeous day. This is a spot set up for photo opportunities - obviously the name of the ship can be changed.

This is our tour guide for the afternoon. She is native Tlingit ("kling-it") from the Raven tribe. Her fiance is from the Eagle tribe - perfect match. Her first husband was from the wrong tribe. Anyway, she told the story of this totem then took us to see....

...this carving which will be the front piece to a new tribal house going up in their native village. It tells the story of how their people had to leave their original village when it was overrun by a tidal wave. The matriarch of the clan chose to stay behind. Her image is the one for the door. It will be moved in pieces and then the door carved when in place.

We were treated to a native performance about how Raven brought the sun, the moon and the stars. It was explained that the people have their tribe or family symbol on the back of their robes. When entering other homes they do so backwards so you know if they are friend or foe. He showed us his robe but told how not everyone will do that because of the great respect they have for their identity.

This was the chief - the storyteller.

Some of the main performers. In the background you see the image of Eagle and Raven. When you see the birds on a totem you can tell the difference because an eagle has a curved beak and the raven's is straight.

One of the claims to fame of this little town is it hosts the longest zipline in the world. It is a mile long. It takes 45 minutes to bus to the top (you can almost make out the platform on the hill) and cost $120 to ride. We watched several groups (6 at a time) but no way would I ride one of those!

It was a gorgeous day. At one point our friend Dave left our tour because he just couldn't stand watching all the fish people were catching. He rented a pole and within an hour or so had snagged 5 silver salmon - throwing them all back, of course.

Learned the varieties of salmon the schoolkid way: hold up your hand; Chum - rhymes with thumb (also called dog salmon because they have canine teeth and that's what they feed to the sled dogs), Sockeye - pointer finger (because you could poke an eye), King - biggest finger (also known as Chinook), Silver - for your ring finger (also known as Coho), and Pink - for your pinky finger (also called Humpy).