Spotting Marine Mammals in Sitka

The flight to Sitka was stunningly beautiful. We flew over countless small islands, each with just a home or two and a dock.

Exiting the plane was a bit unusual because there were about 20 state troopers waiting. Apparently, Sitka is a training facility, and there were 50 new recruits on our flight.

Once we retrieved our bags, the next step was to get a taxi. We headed to the curb where you’d typically find taxis at an airport, but there was no designated pick-up area. Our Airbnb host had provided taxi information in the welcome email, but neither of the two numbers worked.

There was no phone signal and no Wi-Fi, so I asked one of the state troopers how to get a taxi, and he mentioned a piece of paper inside with some phone numbers. Despite a long search, I couldn’t find the elusive paper, so I asked the Avis rental car guy. He gave me a few phone numbers and told me where to stand to get a phone signal. I called Baranof Taxi, and although the driver had another booking soon, I explained that we had our bags and were ready to go, and that our destination was just a short distance away.

He must be the only taxi in town because he received about three calls during our 10-minute ride to the Airbnb. At one point, I overheard him ask a caller, “Do you smell like fish?” He then explained to us that he often picks up people from the cannery, and the smell tends to linger in his cab long after the passengers have left.

Since check-in wasn’t until 2 p.m. and we arrived at 11 a.m., we had pre-arranged with the host to drop off our bags early. Fortunately, the place was ready when we got there. The location was very convenient—just two blocks from the main part of town and two blocks from a grocery store. It was a modern studio, super clean, and best of all, it had a washer and dryer. We quickly threw in a load of dirty clothes and headed out to find lunch.

Options were limited since it was Sunday, so we went to the Mean Queen. They serve breakfast until 2 p.m. on Sundays, so Andy ordered a breakfast sandwich, and I opted for bacon and eggs. About an hour later, the waitress informed us they were out of eggs, but the manager had gone to the store. While we waited, I used their Wi-Fi to take a photo of Andy’s hands and asked ChatGPT for a diagnosis.

Dr. GPT suggested Devil’s Club, Cow Parsnip, or stinging nettles. Since his hands seemed to be getting worse, we located an urgent care, though it wasn’t open on Sunday. After about 45 minutes, our food finally arrived, and I have to say, it was pretty good.

That afternoon, we walked over to the Raptor Center. The centre in Sitka is dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of injured birds of prey. It’s heartbreaking to see these magnificent birds in enclosures, but visiting the centre supports their mission to protect Alaska’s raptors and offers a unique opportunity to see them up close.

The is Jake, a red-tailed hawk who was taken from his nest as a chick and raised by a boy until he was surrendered to the Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife. After spending time at an educational facility, he was transferred to the Sitka Raptor Center in 2014. Though physically perfect, Jake is imprinted on humans and does not associate with other hawks or hunt for himself.⁠ Wild animals should not be pets.

Dinner options were limited since it was Sunday, and the town empties out when the cruise ships leave. We learned that Sitka has 8,000 residents, but some cruise ships carry 4,000 passengers, and there are often more than one ship in port at the same time. This means the population doubles or triples when cruise ships arrive. They close the streets in town to make it more pedestrian-friendly, and there are lots of food trucks, mostly selling fish (which I don’t eat).

Plan A for dinner was the Bayview Pub, but when we arrived, we found a sign saying they were closed due to kitchen repairs. Plan B was to return to the Mean Queen for pizza. However, as we were walking in, some locals were walking out and mentioned they’d been waiting two hours for their pizza and had given up. We tried to recall any other places we had passed earlier, but as we retraced our steps, everything was closed. We were about to settle for Subway (Plan D) when we stumbled upon the Asian Palace. It looked pretty crowded, so we decided to give it a try. The food was tasty and the service was fast—so it all worked out in the end.

Just as we were walking into our Airbnb, I noticed a hummingbird in a flowery tree across the street. I never expected to see a hummingbird in Alaska, but it turns out that the Rufous Hummingbird travels from its wintering grounds in Mexico and the southern United States to its breeding grounds in Alaska and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. This journey is one of the longest migratory distances relative to body size of any bird in the world.

We had one free day in Sitka and had pre-booked a 2.5-hour marine wildlife tour with Sitka Sound Tours. I jokingly showed the captain a list of animals I hoped to see in Alaska. He laughed and said we’d likely see most of them, except for orcas and puffins. And he delivered—stellar sea lions, otters, humpback whales, harbor seals, and more sea lions.

Since we were about to board a small ship for six days with no port stops, Andy agreed to get his hands checked out at urgent care. The medical centre (and I say “the” because it seemed to be the only clinic in town) was a 20-minute walk (about a mile/1.6 km).

It’s been interesting to experience the US healthcare system as a (technically) foreigner. Our health insurance doesn’t cover us outside of Australia, so we buy an annual travel insurance policy. In the US, they’re always surprised and a bit unsure how to handle it when you just want to pay out of pocket. The doctor was great, and prescribed a cycle of steroids and antibiotics to knock out whatever was causing the spots. When we went to check out, they said they’d send us a bill. I reminded them we lived in Australia, and the response was, “Oh, then maybe just pay us a hundred now and wait for the bill.” It’s been over two months as I write this post, and we still haven’t seen that bill.

The pharmacy (inside the “other” grocery store) was also a bit confused about us paying cash and not having health insurance. Even without insurance, the prescriptions were only about $60—so not sure what the big deal was. This grocery store was much larger than the one by our Airbnb, and I picked up the best Sitka souvenir ever—a grey hoodie with a giant salmon on it. Lesson learned: skip the gift shops and hit up the hardware and grocery stores for the best souvenirs.

We were up bright and early on our final morning in Sitka. Since we didn’t need to check in for the ship until 2 p.m., we signed up for a two-hour “Otter Express” tour with True Alaskan Tours. We had to check out of our Airbnb by 11, but Lindblad had a room at Harrigan Centennial Hall (right at the marina) where we could leave our bags, so that worked out well. With time to kill, we grabbed a coffee from Bear Claw Coffee—highly recommend. I didn’t have high expectations for a two-hour wildlife cruise, but it was amazing! We saw stellar sea lions, otters, and even breaching humpback whales.

With a few hours to spare before embarkation, we were back to the restaurant dilemma. Mean Queen was the obvious choice, but they were closed for a private function. We ended up at Coldwater, which had been closed on Sunday night.

The Sitka weather began to kick in as we made our way back to the community centre.