Klemtu Big House

Frances tells us that the Spirit Bear swam across the inlet on the week that the Big House opened. When this was reported to the Elders, they said of course, this was our ancestor coming to see what we were doing.

Spirit Bears are white and belong to the Black Bear family. One in twelve black bears are born white. This is because the Raven, who created the world, brought the ice age to the people and from then on made a white spirit bear to remind the people of the ice age and the Raven's power.


The door to the museum that holds the artifacts used for the Tribal ceremonies and dances. Note that all four clans of the village are represented on the door, the Raven, the Orca, the Wolf and the Eagle. Frances told us that most of the original tribal masks, coppers, etc. were long ago sold to museums and were unable to be returned. The artifacts that they use now are gifts from other tribes in the area.

I asked Frances whether he could speak his Tribe's native language and he said no, that he was sent to a residential school where they were punished if they spoke their native tongue and he lost the ability to speak it. He can understand some but cannot speak or write it.

Frances also told us that many of the children today will not eat traditional tribal food, like the seaweed eaten by the Elders -- rumored to be the reason you never see a bald native. The children are called "spaghetti indians" because they are so used to western fare. The elementary and high school in Klemtu teach the Kitasoo language and they also have special culture classes. It is hoped that many of the traditions will be renewed. The new Big House is a great start.


The Canoe in front of the long house -- and me without a paddle!

I hope you can see this picture -- my flash wasn't working and this doesn't present the awesomeness of the interior with Frances telling us about his Tribe. The Carvings you see are at both ends and brilliant against the cedar wood. The firepit in the middle is used a the potlaches. They have six a year. Often an Elder will hold a potlach to celebrate or give thanks for something special that a grandchild has done. They schedule the date a year in advance so that the elder can begin to collect all the things he needs to hold a potlach -- food, gifts, etc.

Klemtu was a fascinating place with proud and friendly inhabitants. An enjoyable stay.

More later on our adventures beyond the charts.... time now to fill up at the fuel dock and turn away from civilization once again.

Klemtu Touring...

During our walk around town and up to the Church we were met by two fellows (Ray and John) who offered to give us a tour of the inside of the church -- they are both caretakers and were proud to show it off. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures other than this one of the church bell. The inside of the church was lovely. About 20 wooden pews and wonderful wooden pulpit and altar. The stain glass windows each commemorated an event or person in the life of the village and Ray was able to tell us all about each of them. They do not have a minister locally but they have lay people and in the summer, the Mission boat comes up (it's on the dock today) and holds services and fellowships.

Outside the church, the original missionary ministers are buried in above ground tombs. It is very apparent that these early ministers are greatly honored.


Richard rows us over to the Big House for our Tour (see the House in the background).

Now, we've also been invited by Frances Robinson, an elder in the village, to tour the Big House. Other yachties as well as the mission ship crew have also been invited. It's a special privilege. Frances is about 75 or 80 years old and volunteers to show the house and tell its story. Frances' father is from the Raven Clan and his Mother was from the Orca Clan. Because the First Nations society is matriarchal , Frances is from the Orca Clan.

At the entrance to the Big House in Klemtu. The house was finished in 2002. Carvers from Bella Bella and Port Hardy did the carving and painting.

The interior is an incredible space and this is where Frances sits us down to tell us of his Tribe and Clan.

Klemtu

We leave Mya II and Golden Days as they make their way further north and we separate to investigate the village of Klemtu and environs beyond. Richard has an itch to do some boating on the "outside" so we'll start our tour here.


Boat Bluff Lighthouse and Weather Station -- we've seen so much green, blue & grey it was great to see color for a change!!

The Village of Klemtu - a Kitasoo tribal village presents an interesting walkabout. The town has about 500 people, many newly build homes, a church and both elementary and high schools. The band store was open for us, however, the next ferry boat with provisions is a week away so they were not able to offer much in the area of fresh vegetables -- so we'll dine on carrots & cabbage until our next stop.
Richard at the entrance to Klemtu

The Tribe continues to carve poles for their houses.

If you look closely, you'll see a "real" Raven on the adjoining roof-top. The village has the wolf, orca, raven and eagle clans all represented.

At the high-school building in Klemtu -- an example of the modern and well established facilities that the Band manages and provides for the Tribe. Everyone was very friendly and we were invited to view the Church and the "Big House" which I'll talk about in a later post.

Leaving Fiordland.....

You all must be sick of my waterfall pictures by now but I couldn't resist a few more, these on our way out of Fiordland.


Mya II leaves the spectacular Lizzette Waterfall in Mussell Inlet


Up close and personal!


Lizzette Falls from the helm station on A cappella

Anchored in "Windy Bay" where there is no wind today -- at the end of our day.

Fantastic Fiordland!

Certainly my pictures don't do this justice -- the mountains rise sheer up through the clouds ending on the other side! At every turn there is a waterfall.


Poison Cove - our anchorage for our stay

A look into Mussel Cove, the next bay over -- full of eagles, river otters and a seal rookery.


Our pot luck tonight is aboard A cappella where we, together with Pat & Bernie Miles, celebrated Jack and Donna Scannell's 49th Wedding Anniversary!!

Awe Inspiring Fiordland

We have left civilization behind again (well at least a ghost town of 41 people) to head up Mathison Channel to what the province now calls "Fiordland". It is designated a wilderness marine park area and it is a not to be missed adventure. I am quite sure most folks in BC are unaware of the fiord like inlets up here in the north country. They must be so similar to Norway -- but I'll let you know that after our trip next year!

Taken off the bow of the boat with the burgee in view to give you a perspective of how it's easy to tuck up right against most of the waterfalls. We're are probably in over 150 feet of water here.


An impressive site -- one of the larger falls in the area -- we caught Bernie and Pat's boat Golden Days in fine form!


Out the starboard side door of A cappella -- we could feel the waterfall's mist on our faces!

Once through Mathison we entered Mussel Inlet and our spot for the night -- Poison Cove -- so named because four of Captain Vancouver's men ate the mussels from this cove and died of paraletic poisioning. Mmmmm -- no shell fish tonight!

Wild Life!

We have seen so much amazing wildlife on this trip -- here a pair of bucks enjoying their mid-day meal and totally ignoring us!

The deer are quite a bit smaller here than we see in the lower part of the province - beautiful nontheless.

And of course, each time we begin our walk, a local will say -- watch out for the bear, he's been reported to be in town today and sure enough he was!


And now for an entirely different view of wild-life -- check out the white beard on Grandpa....

A trip through the Ghost Town

The firehouse at Ocean Falls -- when the town went up for auction the fire truck was sold for $85,000 to Bella Bella. Now inside you will find storage of what? Why wood of course, so easy to burn......

Richard standing in front of a building that is being reclaimed by Herb Carpenter (an American who spends his summers up here). Herb has our local character "Nearly Normal Norman" helping him with the effort.

Looking towards the Martin Hotel, building about 1945 - expanded and at it's closing had 750 rooms. As you walk by you can see the broken windows with curtains flying through -- and wonder about all the people that stayed there when this town was thriving.


This may be a bit difficult to interpret but it is a bridge between the plant and the town (taken from the town side) that collapsed in the storms this past winter. It seems that the minions in government can't decide which government is responsible for fixing it -- provincial, department of highways? , oceans & fisheries? so on it goes and now the few workers that go to the power plant to work each day take a little boat since they can no longer walk over the bridge.

Ocean Falls Power Plant

I can't believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since the last blog update. There are very few opportunities out here in the hinterland to connect to internet -- I am sure we will see that change over the next number of years. We also found out that our Canadian roaming partner for our US cell phone is Rogers -- fine enough up to Alert Bay, but after that IF there is coverage (via satellite) it is through Telus.

Enough about communications -- it's not as if we thought we'd be crusing in our backyard!

I can't leave Ocean Falls without showing you the pictures of the Power Plant still in use and feeding nearby Bella Bella and Martinsville, as well as the few homes & hotel left in Ocean Falls. The Dam is an easy walk from the marina and quite spectacular.

The roar is ear splitting

Link Lake on one side, roaring over the Dam into Cousins Inlet Ocean Falls

One of the highlights of the walk was discovering a group of Venus Flytrap plants -- very rare, but according to a local they established themselves some time ago in Ocean Falls -- this one is from the abandoned baseball field.

One Venus --

And the Other -- perched on the entrance to the Ocean Falls dock is the Mermaid, beckoning us in.

We had gorgeous weather during our two day stay at Ocean Falls. We won't soon forget "Nearly Normal Norman" the local character and general scrap & fix-it man, our Wharfinger Sally Isaakson - who is a real treat. Our trip through the old town, finding ourselves in the court house and then in jail was a real hoot. Every vacant building has a story screaming to be told. I bought the book "The Rain People" about the history of Ocean Falls, it's a great read and so meaningful after you've actually visited.

Shearwater and Bella Bella

After that exciting afternoon of whale entertainment, we made our way up Lama Passage and docked at the Shearwater Marina. This night it was Halibut and Chips at the Pub on the dock -- after four loads of laundry!


We fueled up at the Tribal Fuel Dock at Bella Bella


We also refueled up our provisions at the Band Store

On our way now, we're off to Ocean Falls -- and blue sky and sunshine up the channel all the way.


A picture of the Dam at Ocean Falls


The Ghost town of Ocean Falls -- Once a thriving Mill Community owned by Crown Zellerbach - now about 40 people live here permanently. We took a walk up into the town, mindful to watch out for the bear reported to us by the Wharfinger. Many abandoned homes that were once well-loved. A ferry boat still comes in to Ocean Falls weekly and the Power Company has a few employees at the Dam. The Marina is great - great water, power and internet! More later on our stay at Ocean Falls!

A Whale of a Tail.....

Next day, we make our way up Fitz Hugh Sound to Lama Passage, heading for Bella Bella and Shearwater.
It's slightly overcast but not in the least Dull! We found ourselves amidst a pod of humpback whales who decided to cruise with us. One of the whales got pretty aggressive and rose straight up in front of Bernie's boat. It was certainly a little nerve wracking for Bernie but Pat managed to get a picture -- see the side bar!

The Humpback follows A cappella

Closer...

Going, Going .....

Gone -- and a whale of a tale!