Today is the first tender port for this trip but the waters are calm and all looks good. We soon realise that not everyone is going ashore today - no doubt they've been here before - as there are barely any queues to disembark. This little port was only opened for its first full summer season of tourists in 2004 and a single dock was constructed in 2016….. a very pretty view from the ship and we are eager to explore.
Once ashore, we decided to walk around the foreshore to the little village of Hoonah, and a very decent walk it was!!! Hoonah is a truly authentic Alaskan native fishing village and was established when the Tlingits were forced from their ancestral lands because of advancing glaciers. Most of the little timber homes right on the waterfront are so very basic – water views to die for – but they're not all 'house proud' here!!! Like many of the coastal ports in Alaska, the only way in or out is by sea or air.
I happened to overhear a local telling someone that he gets tired of salmon and halibut and just craves for a 'Maccas Cheeseburger' sometimes. We ended up having a great conversation with this 'cool' local and he even offered to put us up in his place if we wanted to return in the future. With few paved roads and no 'stop' lights, it is truly unique, and how lucky are these fortunate folk who can fish to their hearts content and live in this beautiful part of the world.
We returned to Icy Strait Point, spotting 3 different eagles in their nests and wandered around the Old Cannery Museum, which was really interesting and had a peep in the obligatory souvenir shops.
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