First Day in Sitka

Our first day in Sitka has been glorious. We've been revelling in wandering
around the town, getting our bearings, and chatting to anyone who will
listen.

Checking in with the harbour master and clearing customs was a simple
procedure. In fact, it was so simple, we wondered if we'd forgotten one, or
several, steps! Only customs seemed concerned with our arrival. No
immigration. No health. No agriculture. And Customs only seemed interested
in issuing us our cruising permit, without concern for our clearance papers
from our last port, what items we have on board, etc, etc. When we asked her
if we should check with immigration, she said it wasn't necessary. We were
Canadians, after all!! Nice. We're happy to be here.

After receiving our cruising permit, we pulled on our walking shoes and
headed for town. We inspected the sporting goods store (cabin heaters), the
grocery store (greens), the trinket stores (souvenirs), and found a cute
restaurant for lunch. We also picked up a new comforter for the bed and a
propane cabin heater.

We returned to the boat for a rest and shower, during which time the
forecast gale began to make it's appearance in the harbour. Rain began to
fall, and wind whistled through the rigging of the boats. By the time we
were ready to head out for dinner, we decided against walking into town for
a dinner that we would likely sleep through. Instead we hit the nearby
golden arches and quickly returned to the boat for an early night. We were
exhausted, and slept blissfully for 10 hours, each of us waking only a few
times, our bodies well tuned to a 5 hour sleep cycle.

Now, onto boat projects and more exploring...

**We don't have internet on the boat here in the harbour, but we'll still
attempt regular updates.**