Day 10...Ferry From Prince Rupert to Port Hardy

Up really early this morning to go down for breakfast and be packed up and ready to head to the ferry terminal.  Since our bus is still on Haida Gwaii we had to take taxis to the ferry terminal and board the ferry as foot passengers.  Of course as with all the ferries up here it's a waiting game!  Finally got onboard.

The bus company had reserved us an outside berth for our 15 plus hour ride through Grenville Channel and B.C.'s beautiful Inside passage.  We saw a lot of this when we went to Alaska in the Spring, but every once in awhile the Captain of the ferry would announce a point of interest, slow down and pull closer in to shore so we could see it...we never got that on the cruise ship!

The berth had a bathroom with a shower and there was a TV at the foot of the left side bed.

We had to make a stop at Klemtu to drop off some passengers and take on some new ones.

Nice dining room on board.  Our whole bus group met there for a lovely buffet dinner.

Got into Port Hardy about 11:00 or 11:30 that night.

A bus picked us up at the ferry and took us to the hotel.

Day 9...Prince Rupert

The hotel had their "serve yourself" breakfast this morning then we went exploring.

My parents were commercial fishermen and since the early 1970's and until they retired, they fished area 6, which is around the islands on the mainland side and across from the bottom tip of Haida Gwaii...of course in those days it was known as the Queen Charlotte Islands.  Every week or so they'd make the 10 hour run up to Prince Rupert to offload their fish at the cannery, restock ice and groceries and do laundry before heading back down to the fishing grounds.

Today all the fish canneries in that area are closed and the old cannery is now a series of artisan shops and a port authority display which was very interesting.

I think this is where the cannery was that Mom and Dad used to deliver to. 

This area of town is called Cow Bay.  They have planters and garbage cans painted like black and white cows.

We walked along the lower road of the water front and saw a lot of activity here. A fellow came up to us and asked if we'd like to see what they're loading into a transport truck.

He showed us this tote of live crabs.  They were packed in ice to keep them calm and were being shipped to the Vancouver area.  He told us they also unload sea urchin at this plant to be shipped overseas.

A little further down the road was this staircase and walkway.  Prince Rupert is built on a mountain side so there are some pretty steep hills there.  This was an alternate way of getting to the upper level.

The view from the top.

Day 8...Time to Leave Haida Gwaii

We had to get up early this morning and have our suitcases ready to be loaded on the bus.  We went to the restaurant for breakfast when our tour host came in and told us that we WOULDN'T be leaving today.  Apparently the ferry that was to take us back to Prince Rupert has broken down and B.C. Ferries doesn't know when it'll be fixed! There is only the one ferry, so until it's fixed....We're stuck here!!!  After breakfast we had to put our suitcases back in our rooms and the bus took us to a place where we went for a walk on the beach, the bus was supposed to bring us back for lunch then we were supposed to go on a hike, we had been told we had our rooms for one more night.
BUT:
When we came back for lunch our tour host told us there was a change of plans...he'd hired 3 or 4  Beaver float planes to take 4 people at a time plus their luggage and fly them to Prince Rupert.  He then listed the times we were each scheduled to be on the float plane.  The folks who were already booked to go on a grizzly bear tour the next morning were the first to leave.  We hadn't booked that tour so our time to leave was 8:30pm unfortunately we wanted to go see the old Port Edward cannery but since our bus was still going to be on the Island, they cancelled that tour.

The ferry dock in Skidegate.

Coming into Prince Rupert

Our pilot.

We were late leaving Haida Gwaii and the flight takes about 45 - 55 minutes so we got to our hotel in Prince Rupert as the sun was setting...just after 10 pm.

It's been quite the day!!!

I got to cross "riding in a float plane" off my bucket list.

Only problem...I didn't know it was on my bucket list!!!

Day 7 of Bus Tour

After breakfast this morning we took a short ride on the bus to Skidegate where we toured the Haida Cultural Center which also houses a gift shop and museum.  Started with learning about the Haida totem poles then saw the shed where they work on their canoes.

The museum was really well done, big and very interesting.  Told about the history of the Haida people and about the passing of the federal Indian Act and how it affected the native people, especially the residential schools and what they're doing to re-introduce their culture and language to their younger generations.

We went back to our hotel for awhile then re-boarded the bus and went to Marla's for a wine and cheese party.  Marla is the lady who came on the bus for 2 days and told us lots and lots of stories about Haida Gwaii.    

After our wine and cheese social we got back on the bus and went to a hall where we attended a Haida Fiest.

Started with a fried bread with jam.

Then we got crab, smoked salmon, halibut, oyster fritter, crab cake and salad.

The most interesting thing was K'aaw (pronounced gow...rhymes with cow).  It's a piece of seaweed that herring have deposited their roe on.  Very interesting to eat because when you bite it..it makes a popping sound and as you chew it you can still hear the popping in your ears.  Doesn't taste salty, or fishy or seaweedy, just kind of a mild, fresh ocean taste!

After our dessert the dancing began.  The ladies beat their drums and since they're trying to teach the younger generation the ways, language and culture of the Haida these two children were included in the dancing.  They worked really hard at remembering all the steps and motions to the dances and they danced several dances, each telling a story.

The Master of Ceremonies gave a talk about the meaning of the dances and how the Haida are trying to regain the heritage that they lost when they weren't allowed to speak their language or dance their dances. 

Second Day touring Haida Gwaii

Today we took the same road north but went past Port Clements to the northern part of the Island.  There was a park there that had boardwalks over the marshy ground that took us to Tow Hill or to the Blow Hole.

A familywas gathered around the blow hole.

Some of our group walking on the beach.

Went for the walk out to the Blow Hole but the tide was out so didn't see it "blow" but we looked out over Dixon Entrance and could see Alaska on the horizon, unfortunately it didn't show up in my pictures.

 We did see a lot of moss covered trees and this totem pole at the entrance to the park.

After our walk we stopped and had a picnic lunch then continued our tour.  Drove into Masset and Old Massett.

This is a gift store we visited in Old Massett.

Took this picture from the bus.  The street signs are these boats with the Haida street names on them.