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Days 11-12 Ocean Falls to Shearwater & Bella Bella

Airship Goes to Alaska – Days 11-12

We left Ocean Falls on Wednesday morning and headed for Shearwater, about 20nm away.

Passing through Gunboat Passage:

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Most mornings it starts out gray and misty and then is sunny by early afternoon. This day was no different.

Arriving at Shearwater:

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Our new spot on the dock:

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Shearwater marina:

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Kevin and I headed up to Fishermen's Pub to have some lunch and do some work. We put in two loads of laundry across the way, and also did a bit of grocery shopping in the middle of all that. It was a productive afternoon. The group met for dinner at the pub and it was another fun evening of conversation and laughing. It's a good group!

Lobby of the pub:

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After dinner, some of us grabbed our chairs and sat on the dock for sunset and another glass of wine:

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This morning a group of us took the water taxi over to Bella Bella.

Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is the home of the Heiltsuk (indigenous people of the Central Coast region of British Columbia) , and is an unincorporated community and Indian Reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of  Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia. More about Bella Bella here.

Our water taxi:

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We wandered around the village for a bit and met a few locals. The grocery store (Band Store) in Bella Bella is a bit better than the one in Shearwater…more produce, more selection. They even had wasabi seaweed snacks!

The community center and school:

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Exterior of the school and community center:

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Totem:

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Inside the Elder's Hall, these portraits were painted by Paul Ygartua.

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Back at Shearwater:

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We had another lovely potluck on the dock tonight. The marina delivered a grill to our dock, and everyone brought things to grill and side dishes. We made crab enchiladas (because…4 large Dungeness crabs!) All of the food was great, as usual. And the weather did not suck at all.

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Tomorrow we're headed for Rescue Bay.