Day 5 of My Alaskan Cruise

By:  Cody Thomas, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent

Day 5 of my Alaskan cruise:  Icy Strait Point, AK! This was a different port than many other Alaska ports. It is more intimate and you can feel really connected to the locals and the culture. The Huna Tlingit are the original inhabitants of Glacier Bay, and many of them still inhabit the island. Icy Strait Point’s town is named Hoonah and translated, it means “where the north wind doesn't blow”. This is also a great port to really connect with the wilderness and wildlife.

Unlike other ports 85% of the people you meet during your port stop will be Hoonah locals. This is unique as most other ports have people that are operating the ports only for the cruise season. We loved getting to meet some of the locals and hearing their personal stories about living here and what their heritage was all about.

Our morning started like most on a cruise ship, heading up to the Windjammer for some breakfast. On these Alaskan sailings they always have items like hot tea and warm coffee to help you stay warm. We were lucky enough to have another really beautiful sunny day. After breakfast we headed off the ship and enjoyed a little walk over the bridge to our excursion meeting location. As we headed over the bridge we got to take many pictures of the area, our ship, and the port. We even got to see some birds and a sea lion fishing in the waters below.

Our excursion was to head further inland to find some bears to view in their natural environment. Our bus driver and tour guide were Hoonah locals, one of which was part of the Tlingit tribe. He taught us about how the Tlingit language is starting to be taught in schools again and how he learned a bit from his mother who had learned from her mother who was fluent in the language. Our guide taught us a bit about the bears. If a bear was to approach our group we were to stay calm and say “go bear” as most of them really want nothing to do with us. Also staying in a crowd helps us seem like we are the bigger threat. We learned there is 1 bear per every square mile on the island. These bears were brown bears and another reason they were not much of a threat was because their stomachs are always full. Living so close to the water they get plenty of salmon and other things to eat near the streams. An estimated 100,000 brown bears inhabit Alaska. The brown bear is the smallest of the North American bears. Adults stand about 29 inches at the shoulders and are about 60 inches from nose to tail. We really appreciated learning about the animals so we had a better understanding of them when we saw them.

As we arrived at our excursion location our guide told us how we needed to remain quiet to not scare the bears and about the swamp-like area we were going to be walking over. They said they laid down wood so we could walk through as this swamp is unique in the sense that it has sinkholes all over. They said if you step off the wood there is a chance you could fall into a sinkhole. The fascinating part of this was seeing the trails the bears and other wildlife had made to navigate through this area. 

We took a short walk to these platforms that were created as overlooks. As we walked up to the first platform there was a lookout that quietly told our guide he had spotted a bear. Our guide quietly came around and told everyone where the bear was located. This was a joy as this bear was particularly active and very playful. He/she was splashing around in a creek and playing with the salmon. He looked like a little kid. After a bit of play he laid down in the tall grass for a sunbathing break. A short while later he was up and on his way to new adventures. 

Our next platform was where we could see the salmon in the river. Salmon in Alaska always return to the river they were born in to lay their eggs in about a four year cycle. As soon as the Salmon hit the fresh water of the river they stop eating and spend energy heading upstream. After they have laid their eggs and fertilized them they perish and the new generation take their place.

After learning about the salmon we headed to the third and final platform. The lookout at this platform had spotted another bear and this one was quite large and of a more red color than the last one. We also had our guide bring out a slug from the shrubbery and boy was that a funny looking creature.

All in all this was a great experience to see the bears in their natural environment and learn more about the natives that live in the area. If you get the opportunity to visit Icy Strait Point, we highly recommend this excursion.

Our evening ended back on Radiance of the Seas with a special guest performance from a lady who had performed on Broadway and was known for her role in CATS. She was a delight and very entertaining to watch. Another great day in our Alaskan journey!