We spent our entire day exploring the community and surrounding ecosystems in Petersburg. With its proud Norwegian heritage, Petersburg is a commercial fishing town with a year-round population of just over 3,000, and it offered us a true taste of daily life in Alaska. Norwegian flags hung outside many of the houses, and detailed rosemaling decorative art adorned shutters and eaves. Fishing boats and skiffs moved in and out of the harbor around National Geographic Venture at dock, bringing in loads of wild Alaskan salmon for processing at the canneries.
We rode bikes, hiked, and meandered around the town and forests. Some of us explored the muskegs, a type of peat bog, and the amazing plant life that has adapted to the acidic and nutrient-poor habitat. Other guests rode bikes or walked through town, visiting the local hardware stores that sell just about everything you could possibly need as a fisherman in Alaska. The weather cooperated with another day of moody clouds but no rain, and we were even graced with patches of blue sky and sun.
