After leaving Vancouver under smoky skies, due to the inland forest fires, we sailed the inside passage aboard Celebrity Millennium - our home for the next 26 days. We headed North to the clear skies of Alaska. Our first port of call was Sitka - a lovely Alaskan port with a Russian heritage. We did a walk-about the small town, with a visit to the Raptor Center where birds are rehabilitated before being released back into the wild. Weather was cool and dry, making for a refreshing stop before our next 8 days at sea. Then we would finally set foot in...Japan! Our next port of call after Alaska would be Otaru, on the northern island of Hokkaido.
A few steps out of downtown Sitka, on our way to the Raptor Center.
The entrance to the Sitka Totem Park.
Injured Eagles learning to fly after recovery.
This guy was used in the talks they gave about rehabilitating the birds back to their native environment.
This little guy was about 4 inches high, and was fully grown.
Some of the birds were kept outside. They were still unable to fly away.
St. Michael's Cathedral. "The earliest Orthodox cathedral in the New World, it was built in the nineteenth century, when Alaska was under the control of Russia.
The entrance to St. Michael's Cathedral.
The old Russian Graveyard.
Unfortunately the graveyard suffered from neglect and some vandalism, but that left it with a spooky kind of feeling.
Our ship awaited us for our next week at sea before we would set foot on land again in Japan.
Next: (Day 12) Otaru, Japan
Vancouver to Japan