Day 5: Thursday, September 4

St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka

Fellowship founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and his wife, Joelle, and fellow passengers departed Holland America Line's Westerdam cruise ship in 40-passenger shuttle boats (known as tenders) to pass by breathtaking island-studded harbors with snow-capped mountains and dark green spruce forests to spend much of the overcast day visiting Sitka, once the cultural and political capital of Russian Alaska and now widely considered Alaska's most beautiful seaside town.

Arriving on Sitka's docks, populated with picturesque fishing boats, cruise participants wandered off in various directions for a morning and afternoon of relaxation, shopping or optional excursions, but few missed photographing St. Michael's Cathedral, originally built in the 1840s but destroyed by fire in 1966 and replicated with support from contributions from throughout the U.S. Inside, volunteers told the miraculous story of how the church's icons and religious artwork dating back to the late 15th century were saved during the fire that destroyed one-third of downtown Sitka.

Other excursion options included watching the New Archangel Dancers perform dances from the original provinces of Russia, mountain biking, fishing for halibut and salmon, snorkeling, or touring the Alaska Raptor Center, a pioneering wildlife project dedicated to rehabilitating or releasing recovered bald eagles, owls, hawks and other birds of prey.

Fishing boats near Sitka docks

Friday, the Westerdam will dock in Ketchikan, the salmon capital of the world and the epitome of the rough-and-tumble image of frontier Alaska. Ketchikan is located in the heart of Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest forest with 17 million acres. Prior to dinner, friends of The Fellowship will hear Rabbi Eckstein explain the significance of the Jewish Sabbath, which will begin at sundown.