When cruising the waters of SE Alaska you shop for supplies in the same stores as local folks, use the same harbors, and often tie up or anchor for the night next to the working boats. You are provided a front row seat into a different world and the lives of people who live there.
A seiner awaits the start of an opening, photo by Andrew Cooper
My father worked on the commercial seiners and in the salmon canneries when he was a teenager, then left to find a another path. I may have had some odd jobs in my teen years, but never anything quite like that. I wonder what it is really like to live there, in a world that is more than a few steps removed from our tamed and civilized towns and cities found in most of the Lower 48. Alaska is a place where most folks still wrest a living from what the natural world provides. A place where the vagaries of nature have such an immediate impact on everyday life.
I chatted with a lady working on a gill net strung along the dock, performing the age old fisherman’s ritual of mending the net and lines. I saw another life, of fish and water, where regulated seasons and luck determine the results of the fishing season, whether the bills get paid and if the boat gets fixed.
I met folks who have lived in remote communities much of their lives, places where they would like to spend the remainder of their days if economics and luck permits. A struggle made more precarious when a cannery closes, or a soft economy allows fewer sportsman to come fish local waters and spend money earned in the cities far to the south.
Boardwalks serve as the main street in the fishing village of Pelican, photo by Andrew Cooper
I saw a fishing community remaking itself to provide a place interesting enough that the cruise ships will stop for a day. Floating cities with thousands of people and thousands of wallets full of dollars that can provide a better life for local residents. That money could create a future for children that may not have to leave and seek a living elsewhere. A once closed cannery complex is now remodeled into a large visitor center with dozens of boats in the harbor for charter fisherman, whale watching excursions and eco-tours.
I spent a moment talking with a young woman, who has bet on the local economy and started a small cafe. Behind us were tables full of cruise ship passengers munching on their salmon tacos white watching eagles and ravens squabble overhead. The character of her little town has changed and likely will continue to change. I wonder what I will find when I visit again in a few years.
Traveling the world with open eyes gives one a perspective into other lives. So often when you meet someone who displays intolerance or even bigotry towards other nationalities, you discover they have never traveled or taken a few minutes to chat with local people. Experiencing the world, different cultures and their people are an important part of any life. To travel, to see, to consider what it means to live somewhere else allows you appreciate what you have.
