Petersburg
There was fog again, and a continuous drizzle almost all morning. We were traveling north to meet the famous Wrangel Narrows, which separate Mitkof Island, with the big town of Petersburg, and Kupreanof Island, with isolated houses. The marvel of the day was the enormous quantity of birds we saw. Bald eagles, gulls of different species, terns, pigeon guillemots, murres, and even phalaropes! In the water we saw shy harbor porpoises, making their way north. The bird abundance kept on, even as we entered the famous Wrangel Narrows. Quite shallow (too shallow for big ships, and narrow, it has the highest number of navigational aids of any waterway in the United States, as it is definitely not straight! Little by little we encountered more signs of civilization, until we suddenly were in Petersburg, founded the century before last by Norwegian fishermen, as ice, wood and a safe haven were clearly available here, in abundance.
After our arrival and docking at the town, among dozens of fishing ships of all types, we awaited the US Customs agent, after our lunch. With all the paperwork done, we started off to our different interests. We chose between flying in floatplanes to the nearby glaciers, walking along the dock to see and learn about the different fishing boats there, crossing the Narrows in a Zodiac to the Island of Kupreanof and exploring the very interesting bog or muskeg on that island, and lastly, going into town to do some shopping, especially for raingear, so much needed these days in this part of Alaska.
At around late afternoon we sailed out of the Narrows, and into Frederick Sound, en route for another day of adventure.
