The cruise industry has created many venues throughout the world to enhance the experience of its passengers. Some lines own their own private islands. Sometimes many lines work together to manufacture shared ports like Costa Maya in Mexico. Icy Strait Point, outside the Tlingit village of Hoonah, is one such port. With the ability to accommodate two vessels at a time, the port hosts many activities of its own including a mountain tram, zip lines, and a ropes courses. The campus also includes restaurants, gift shops, and a launching area for other excursions.

Our excursion of Day 5 was the Spasski River Valley, Wildlife & Bear Search. Our meeting time was an early 7:15 AM where we were loaded onto our transport and ferried through the small village and into the wild interior of the island. Our knowledgeable guide informed us that more than 4,000 brown bears claimed the Chichagof Island as their habitat. With rivers and streams rich with salmon, the bears find it easy to fatten up for their long months of hibernation.

We finally reached our destination and headed into the woods. All groups include a guide and a bear guard who is equipped with bear mace and a firearm. I asked the guide if bears find their way onto the paths to which she replied, “that’s why we have the guards.” The paths were well constructed, and often became boardwalks. Three observation platforms lined the Spasski river and we were blessed to see a bear while standing on the first platform. All of us excitedly took our pictures and marveled at our good fortune. We moved on to the second and third platforms, but alas, that was all the bears we were destined to see. At the third platform we were introduced to the resident bear which had been sculpted into a stump. The artist required an armed bear guard during its construction. With 4000 bears around, you can’t be too careful.

On the ride back our guide shared with us some traditional native stories recounting how the Tlingit came to be on the island and how peace was achieved among the tribes. I love storytelling and she did a nice job! The bus dropped us off at the old cannery that had been converted to a gift shop mall of sorts. One of the stores, a book store, gave all its proceeds to the student activity fund of the local school. So we added to Janet’s class library with a couple of new books. The walkway between the cannery and the center featured an Orca statue and a nice rock beach. Unfortunately no real Orcas were visible on this trip. Maybe next time. Back at the center, we enjoyed a ride on the tram to where the Princess Cruise ship was docked. This ride was free, but the tram to the top of the mountain would have been $50/ea. We decided to skip that ride and again availed ourselves of the free trip back to our ship.

As we continued south, the days were getting shorter and the weather warmer. After the evening show we ventured out onto the promenade deck for a walk around the ship and were pleasantly surprised by the elevated temperatures. The skies were clearing and the vistas continued to be beautiful!