We awoke, having returned to the dock at Queen Charlotte City. This time, we set out to experience the Haida Heritage Centre, an impressive set of buildings housing a museum, cultural artifacts, classrooms, and gathering spaces. The museum describes the history of the people of Haida Gwaii, reaching back hundreds of years ago – before first contact with European explorers. The Centre has brought the culture of the six southern ancestral villages of the island together by commissioning six totem poles - one representing each village. The poles were crafted by local carvers using 50-foot long cedar trees in 2000-2001 and erected one per day over six days. Guests of the Centre enjoy all six poles from one grassy, peaceful beach lining the bay.
After returning to the ship for lunch, we headed back out for some exercise – to the Spirit Lake Trail just uphill from the ancient village of Skidegate. The winding trail passed through red cedar, alder, hemlock, spruce trees, and looped around several small lakes. It was lined with forest treasures: mushrooms, native berries, and the ever-present banana slugs. Native people have used many forest species for food and medicinal purposes for centuries – and they continue to heal many ailments.
Meanwhile, the undersea team explored beneath the surface alongside one of the many small islands dotting the waters surrounding Queen Charlotte City. A gentle tidal current pushed them along rocky reefs, over crabs, fishes, sea cucumbers, and kelp. Although there may have been enough scallops, prawns, and crabs to feed the whole ship, the divers took only videos and returned to the ship. Luckily, there, they were rewarded with crab cakes, smoked salmon, soup, and cocktails prepared by the accomplished ship’s galley.
We closed the evening with a calm passing through Hecate Strait. We have left the islands of Haida Gwaii and now head for the Inside Passage of British Columbia.
