Hoonah, Alaska

Icy Strait Point

May 14, 2013

Hoonah is the original name of this port. When Celebrity decided to use it as one of their stops, they renamed it to Icy Strait Point. This is unspoiled wilderness, native Tlingit Culture and a walk-friendly village. Greg said that Skagway has 600 people in the winter, and that is if you count the post-office boxes, not the people who are really there.

... the evening begins to fall ...

We were tendered in to Hoonah and tendered back to the Celebrity Millennium. Using the life boats is a chance to test them. Our life boat got an extra test. The driver missed getting close enough to the platform for the help to throw him a rope. The second trip round he seemed to get close enough, edging sideways, but the rope slipped off of the boat again and out we went for a third large circle, giving the driver, yet a little more practise on making a good approach. For some reason I had gone to sit at the front of the boat, and in all of this I had plenty of time to admire the lovely Italian shoe leather on the foot of the driver. When the rope was snuggly attached, all 165 people on board gave a huge cheer. He turned to them, apologized and said he didn’t know what happened. On the test he had received an “excellent” but now he knew the captain was not going to be happy. “Don’t tell us your real name,” some yelled from the back of the boat. “Someone else called, I thought I was going to miss lunch. I was getting worried.” I said to the woman in front of me, “At least none of the men on the boat went up to coach him in.” “Oh no,”said the woman back, patting the seat beside her which was now empty. “The man who was sitting here, apparently, is a professional.” I am trying to figure out why I was laughing. Group of old people now with high anxiety, tender going a roaring 2 mph, unable to reach the pleasure boat. I was one of them.

Of all of the places we have been, this feels like true wilderness. No Diamonds International, Tanzanite International. That helps. How about a ride on the world’s largest Ziprider -- $100 for 90 seconds. I stood underneath the six zip lines, listening to the screams long before the people appeared out of the mist and zooming down towards us. I waved. They waved back. They have a trip called Guaranteed Whale Watching or your money back. Since 2004 they have not had to return any money. The kayakers were coming home just as I was going back to the boat. There is a forest Tram. I wanted ... really wanted to go to the Tribal Dance and Legends, but I was too late for the morning show and too tired to get back to the afternoon show. “Won’t you just take my money at the door?”, I asked at the Native Theatre when I saw them putting out the sign, Show in Progress. “No. You have to go back around those other buildings to the ticket office. Try for the afternoon show. But by then I was trapped on a tender boat that was having trouble docking.

Greg walked into the town, proper. Along a less travelled road to the airport. That is where he saw a bear. All we have been hearing from cruisers is that they would like to see a bear. Greg did not want to see one.

I checked out the Hoonah Historic Canning Line, the Museum, the beach trail, the wood chip fire on the beach, and the nature trail. I did the walk twice, both times in the rain, watching photographers get down low to capture the yellow leaves and the ochre colour of the pistal of the Skunk Cabbage. I do that out at the lake.

Arta