We were anchored in the bay at Sitka by 7AM, and after breakfast we were off for a short tour around town, visiting the local Russian Orthodox cathedral, a local Indian museum and a presentation of Russian folk dances. We were impressed with the cathedral, mostly because it was filled with interesting and old icons. They cover everything on the painting with silver, worked in intricate designs, except for the flesh. The Virgin Mary has a face and hands, but the rest is overlayed with silver. Very different form the Greek Orthodox church I visited in Seattle a few years ago. We were impressed that the services are sometimes three hours long and they all stand up the entire time. I'd give up church if I had to do that. Our guide was a Tlingit indigenous person and he was well informed about everything. I think he said Sitka has 8000 people and 18 churches! That should tell you something. The church burned down in the 60's and the parishioners made a human chain and saved 90% of the furnishings of the church. They have one icon that was shipped from Russia and the boat sank on the way; they found the icon washed up on the shore of Sitka with little damage! Stories for the faithful.
The visit to the museum was interesting, too. Most of the artifacts were collected by a Presbyterian minister who traveled all over Alaska, gathering cultural examples of weaving, baskets, scrimshaw, beadwork, regalia, canoes, furs, and anything else the native tribes used. Everything is catalogued for five different groups, Aleuts, Eskimos, several indigenous tribes, like Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian, and Athabascan. (Not sure about the spelling on all those.) The collection also held copies of letters and notes from a 19th century Army surgeon's wife. She mailed baskets and other native cultural artifacts to friends, including forks and spoons carved from bone or wood. I saw the most amazing scrimshaw at that museum; one had the whole story of an Eskimo hunt for a seal. Very detailed work.
The Russian dancers were amazing. A group of women living in Sitka decided to recreate authentic Russian dancing, although none of them are Russian. The enlisted the help of the then Orthodox Russian Bishop to help them interpret the books with information about the dances. They've been performing for over 30 years, and they have women dancing the male roles because they couldn't get any men to volunteer to dance. They perform all over the states and overseas. In the middle of their performance, three of the tour guides told the story about the Alaskan flag, which was named by a 13 year old boy in an orphanage. He had the flag be blue for the water and the sky. The trim was gold for the goldrush, and the north star at the top was always shining for Alaska. The big dipper reminds us of the starts that surround us. It was very moving and sweet.
We are anchored in the bay at Sitka; the sun came out for a few minutes; the seas are flat and calm; the salmon are running and go by the boat jumping out of the water, trying to get to the nearest stream. It's a lazy afternoon, we've been reading in a quiet corner, and then they showed up with white tablecloths, napkins and tea cups to serve afternoon tea where they served tea, sweets ,and savories. I had a cup of tea, a cucumber sandwich, (a tiny round with a smear of cream cheese and thin, thin cucumber on top) as well as a fruit tart, a tiny thing with two bites of cream filling and bits of fruit on top. It was very civilized! We just found out they do this every afternoon. What have we been missing?
This ship is small and we keep running in to the same people for meals. Lots of people are looking for their next cruise, so I am not alone in that pursuit. Tonight we'll probably watch a movie in our cabin since there is nothing much going on that interests us. Maybe I should play the slot machines. A lady last night told me she won $480 the first night out! Tomorrow we go to Skagway and another tour. Loving Alaska, Jim and Virginia
The visit to the museum was interesting, too. Most of the artifacts were collected by a Presbyterian minister who traveled all over Alaska, gathering cultural examples of weaving, baskets, scrimshaw, beadwork, regalia, canoes, furs, and anything else the native tribes used. Everything is catalogued for five different groups, Aleuts, Eskimos, several indigenous tribes, like Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian, and Athabascan. (Not sure about the spelling on all those.) The collection also held copies of letters and notes from a 19th century Army surgeon's wife. She mailed baskets and other native cultural artifacts to friends, including forks and spoons carved from bone or wood. I saw the most amazing scrimshaw at that museum; one had the whole story of an Eskimo hunt for a seal. Very detailed work.
The Russian dancers were amazing. A group of women living in Sitka decided to recreate authentic Russian dancing, although none of them are Russian. The enlisted the help of the then Orthodox Russian Bishop to help them interpret the books with information about the dances. They've been performing for over 30 years, and they have women dancing the male roles because they couldn't get any men to volunteer to dance. They perform all over the states and overseas. In the middle of their performance, three of the tour guides told the story about the Alaskan flag, which was named by a 13 year old boy in an orphanage. He had the flag be blue for the water and the sky. The trim was gold for the goldrush, and the north star at the top was always shining for Alaska. The big dipper reminds us of the starts that surround us. It was very moving and sweet.
We are anchored in the bay at Sitka; the sun came out for a few minutes; the seas are flat and calm; the salmon are running and go by the boat jumping out of the water, trying to get to the nearest stream. It's a lazy afternoon, we've been reading in a quiet corner, and then they showed up with white tablecloths, napkins and tea cups to serve afternoon tea where they served tea, sweets ,and savories. I had a cup of tea, a cucumber sandwich, (a tiny round with a smear of cream cheese and thin, thin cucumber on top) as well as a fruit tart, a tiny thing with two bites of cream filling and bits of fruit on top. It was very civilized! We just found out they do this every afternoon. What have we been missing?
This ship is small and we keep running in to the same people for meals. Lots of people are looking for their next cruise, so I am not alone in that pursuit. Tonight we'll probably watch a movie in our cabin since there is nothing much going on that interests us. Maybe I should play the slot machines. A lady last night told me she won $480 the first night out! Tomorrow we go to Skagway and another tour. Loving Alaska, Jim and Virginia
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