Day 2 – 4 October 2026 –
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Today our port was Vancouver,
British Columbia. Our ship seems to have
several legs of travel, and passengers seem to come and go at various
ports. The first leg was Seattle to
Vancouver. Really, there were quite a
number of people on a one-day 
cruise!
Some were older people celebrating a birthday, others were large groups
of young people also celebrating birthdays, and there was at least one wedding!
I sat next to an IT guy last night who worked Saturday, boarded the
cruise for the one day, enjoyed a lobster dinner, and will take a bus back to
Seattle and go back to work on Tuesday.
Not the way Richard and I travel, but hey, it takes all kinds and keeps
the world interesting. (Someone later
told me that she heard something like 1400 people disembarked from 
our ship at
Vancouver!)
We didn’t have a very long day in Vancouver; our ship was leaving at 3 PM, so back on board time was 2:30 PM. With long lines at the cruise terminal since new people were joining the cruise, I planned to just enjoy this little corner of Vancouver. The cruise ships dock at Canada Place, a lovely building designed to look like a multi-masted schooner or something, sails unfurled. Really gorgeous against the blue blue sky!
I went for a walk through
Canada Place, and found three intricate totem poles. The indigenous people of this region are all
part of the Coastal Salish community, with numerous separate nations. The two smaller totem poles were carved by
Wah Yooksgm Hayda (also named Art Sterrit) of the Gitxsan Nation. He carved both totem poles in 1972 at the
Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at Ksan Village in Hazelton,
British Columbia.
The information sign
explained: “Carved from red cedar, these
were the 
first poles created by the master carver. He has now made nearly 40.
“The pole on the right honors his ladx xsgiik (eagle clan) and represents the Gitxsan and Tsimshian crests of the ts’imilix (beaver), ganaw (frog), and k’aat (shark).
“The pole on the left”
[second set of poles in the photos] “embodies the gispudwada (blackfish clan)
of his wife, Sim Medeegm aks. It also
represents the crests of the hats’ elda (octopus) 
and the Sigidim haanak (matriarchs). In Gitxsan culture, our lineage, clans, and
crests flow through our mother’s line.
“Adaawx (Gitxsan oral histories) are ingrained in our totem poles and must be told with permission under Gitxsan ayook (law). Even though these were his first, Wa Yooksgm Hayda is proud of the integrity of this work and in particular how much he stayed true to the traditional Gitxsan style.
“He is the son of hereditary
chief Will Gaak, Neil Sterrit 
Sr.”
This was written my Angela Sterritt, and the poles are on loan from the Museum of Vancouver’s permanent collection.
I find totem poles
fascinating, because they tell stories in sculpture. Some tell the story of an individual, such as
these two poles tracing a person’s lineage through their family clans. Other poles tell creation stories, or the
story of heroes. Or perhaps a story of
dramatic events in the history of the clan or 
nation. Just endlessly fascinating! And don’t you just love the octopus in the
totem pole?
I should add that most First
Nation and Native American people have two names – one name is in the language
of their nation, and the other is in the name that would be used in the
English-speaking part of North America.
Just like Jewish children have their English name, but also a Hebrew
name that is somehow related to a family member, either alive or deceased,
depending on the family tradition. Most 
North Americans of minority cultures carry on cultural traditions, and having
two names in two different languages is just part that. So while many of our readers might think it’s
different, well, for many of us this is just part of our lives.
Continuing on, the extra tall
totem post also had an information sign.
This pole is known as the Sisaxolas Pole, and was carved
by Kwagu’l/Kwikwasutinux.
His name in English is Carlie James (Yakuglas), and he carved the pole
for Chief Sisaxolas, Alex Morgan, Head Chief of the Gwawa’enuxw
people at Hegam’s, also known as 
Drury Inlet or Hopetown.
Yes, in this language, certain English letters are underlined. And the l in Kwagu’l should have a small slash in it for a specific sound, but I can’t make my computer type this.
The information
continues: “The carvings represent the
legendary figures that form the origin story of the family from which Chief Sisaxolas
derives his position. 
Figures include
the Sea-Bear, Sea Otter, and Whale. The
pole originally stood in the village of Hegam’s, and was moved to the village
of Alert Bay when Chief Sisaxolas moved there in the early 1900s. In the 1920s, the pole was acquired by the
Art, Historical, and Scientific Society – which became 
the Museum of
Vancouver. Through the 1930s to the
1970s, the pole stood in Stanley Park, west of Lumberman’s Arch, then at
Brockton Point, and since 1987 has stood indoors at the Vancouver Convention
Centre.
“Written by Lou-ann Neel”
After wandering through the
large front area of Canada Place, or the convention centre portion of it, I
thought I’d head outside and see if there was a Murchie’s Tea place
nearby. There wasn’t, but 
there was a
guitar duo out front who was rocking out the neighborhood. Really, they were so good! Classic hard rock hits of the 1970s, but
somehow there was an undertone of traditional Spanish guitar in their
music. The man was playing lead guitar,
and the woman (with black kitty ears on her headband!) was on the bass
guitar. They played and played and
played – it was wonderful!
Most people walked up, paused
briefly, and walked on. I stood for most
of one song, and decided fine, Fate and these fabulous 
musicians were providing
me with a free concert, who was I to not accept? So I sat down and rocked out with them for
about half an hour. I applauded after
each piece, and most of the time I was the only person clapping – sometimes the
only person listening! I told the woman
I felt silly being the only one 
applauding, but at the same time their music
was so wonderful I felt they deserved the applause!
It was a chilly morning, so
eventually I had to move on, but not before putting some money in their
donation jar. The woman thanked me, and
said she loved my pink hair and my 
energy.
No one has ever complimented me on my energy, I tend to be pretty mellow
90% of the time! But maybe that’s the
energy I exude, happy and cheerful and going with whatever the Universe sends
my way.
I found a coffee shop inside, and bought a cup of tea to warm up. Plus a scone, because this was Canada and somehow it just felt right. Scone and tea for my elevenses.
Even though my tea was meant to warm me up, the shop was small, so I opted to sit outside again. On a sunny day, downtown Vancouver was lovely. I enjoyed the autumn sunshine, the floral plantings, and the metal and glass modern architecture.
Wandering around, I found
some more public art scattered around the huge Canada Place complex. I took photos of the fabulous mural on the
side of the convention centre, but I’m confused if Ocean Hyland is the artist’s
name, or the title of the mural. The
info placard posts the following words, and either a website or account or something:
so you can check @dropletfromthesalishsea for more information. (Note: I'm ever curious, so I looked it up. Ocean Hyland is an artist living in North Vancouver; she's a 
member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.)
The artist’s statement reads:
“The winds and the waters will always call us home, 2022.
“This piece uses Coast 
Salish
elements to depict changing tides with orcas that can be seen dancing in the
current above. In front is the being who
is connected to the sea with hair that are lined with herrings.
“Pacific herring are a staple
food source for many inhabitants of the Salish Sea, including
orcas and
people. It is important to maintain a
balance among the many species that live in the ocean. The environment has looked after them, and
although it remains generous, our relationship with it must be reciprocal. As much as they take, they must also give
back.
“Above the water line, droplets of the Salish Sea are absorbed by the sky they can transform and make their way down as rain. Trigons represent the space where the water is called up to the sky and sent back down to water the plants, trees, and streams where the salmon are called to return.
“The moon sits high in the sky, and the Coast Salish eye mimics the sun and oversees the work done in their world. All life is connected: as the moon travels the sky, the tides flow, the wind blows, rain falls, the orcas are fed, and the people are happy. This reciprocal relationship ensures the well-being of them all.”
Okay, I can see that in the image – happy orcas, herring hair, water going up into the sky on the right, returning as rain on the left. Makes perfect sense.
By now, it was close to time to reboard our ship. We had a 3:00 PM sailaway time, which meant all passengers needed to be back on the ship by 2:30 PM. The terminal was huge, and I could see that long lines were forming. All those one-day cruisers had left, and were being replaced by longer-term cruisers. It made sense to go through the re-boarding process. And since we were leaving Canada and heading back to the US, we were going through US Customs and Immigration!
Eventually I was back on the ship. We set sail promptly at 3:00, and turned around. Our route seemed to be heading southwest to cruise around the southern portion of Vancouver Island, then along the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula (and various islands whose names I never quite get right), and then out into the Pacific Ocean.
This route took us past Bellingham Bay, but it’s such a huge bay you really can’t see the town of Bellingham from that distance. However, we had great views of Mount Baker, and you can see how it truly dominates the landscape. Baker is volcanic, and periodically gives a little puff of steam. It also is just over 10,000 feet above sea level. That’s why it looks like a benevolent scoop of ice cream keeping watch over this portion of the Salish Sea.
I can absolutely understand the indigenous people attributing special powers to the mountain, or seeing it as being inhabited by deities or an ancestral home. Baker and I kept watch on each other as we sailed off into the sunset, before we headed south for another winter in a warmer clime.
