We arrived in the dark of the morning to a very rainy Ketchikan. Our time here would be short, since all aboard was 12:30pm. Too bad not everyone got that message loud and clear (a story we will tell you later).
Ketchikan has been called the salmon capital of the world. It has a population of 8050 people and gets 156 to 162 inches of rain a year. They call it liquid sunshine. We call it wet and cold. By the time we left the ship around 8:30am, the rain had stopped and it looked like the sun might actually peek out.
Anyway, this area keeps the folks busy with fishing, canning, mineral exploration, tourism, logging, and cold storage operations. Summer tourism has to be lucrative, since there can be several ships in port every day of the week. Today we had the Nieuw Amsterdam as well as the Seabourn Sojourn. You could identify the Seabourn folks, because most of them wore the gifted turquoise jackets with the ship’s name plastered all over them. Good advertising we think.
Tours here include plane or boat rides to Misty Fjords, or adventure excursions that include zip lining, kayaking, zodiac rides, snorkeling?, and fishing. An easy and entertaining activity is attending the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show in downtown for a mere $40. For sight- seeing, there is a bus ride to Totem Bight State Historical Park, where there are restored totems and a colorful community house. Or you can visit the Totem Heritage Center to learn about the three cultures of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes. The tours cost from $30 to $390 if purchased on the ship. Or less if you them on your own.
Since our time was limited, we took a hike through the red-light district up Ketchikan Creek to see the seals at the mouth of the river. The last of the salmon run was in progress, and the evidence of the numbers must have been impressive. The banks were lined with carcasses with gulls dining on them. Nothing goes to waste here. We have been told that bears will come into this area to feed on the dead fish during the night.
Many shops and businesses have replaced the houses of ill repute from the old days. Built on stilts up the hillside, the area has been preserved for all to appreciate. And also spend a little money on souvenirs.
We made our way to the fish hatchery, which used to be open to the public. Every time we have come here in recent years, it has been closed. There is a public park here, where in the old days, salmon were kept for easy fishing. There are also public restroom facilities in this park. Getting many photos of the salmon, we crossed the creek to the Totem Heritage Center. It is here where you can learn about the native cultures and their totem stories. The tall cedar logs depicted eagles, ravens, wolves, bears, whales, among other figures of men and women.
Going back down the creek, we took in the gardens of the home owners with the last of the summer flowers. The nice part of living here is being able to smell the trees of hemlocks, spruce, and cedar, especially when they are burning in their fireplaces. As nice as it is today, we cannot imagine what it is like living here in the winter months.
Back in town, we walked through Whale Park, a very small park where the Knox Brothers clock resides. It is no longer working. Close by is St. John’s Episcopal Church built in 1903. The clergy was responsible for educating the children and bringing hospital services to these native people.
There are a ton of shops here, and of course, with the end of the season, comes the sales. At this time of the morning, nothing was overly crowded. Nothing like the shops in Juneau, however. Yes, there were bargains to be had, but not discounted as deeply as Juneau. Perhaps the shopping ambassadors, Kristin and Brendan, had better luck escorting a group of passengers to shop for high end jewelry.
Even though it was only 10:30am, we figured we had time for a brunch, because we had left the ship without breakfast. Dwyer’s Restaurant, located on the third floor above Fish Pirate’s Gift Shop was the place to go. Although they push the seafood, they also have a killer burger. We shared a Jack Daniels burger with fries. Adding a side salad was perfect. It was not crowded at all, as most of the tourists were on excursions, we assume. We lingered over a shared strawberry cheesecake dessert before we left by noontime.
On the way back, we strolled in and out of shops, buying two things. A Lazy One sleep T, and a bag of kettle corn found their way into our bag. The line to embark the ship was long, but we were in no big hurry to board. The sun had come out by now, and it sure felt good. Lucky for the passengers on the New Amsterdam and the Sojourn, as we believe they were headed for Vancouver, and not Seattle like us. They would stay much later in port.
So we would have gone to the sail away, but there was no organized one on the aft deck. By 1pm, the Captain came on the speakers with his daily talk. Seems that some people were missing, and we were not leaving yet. Watching from our veranda, the gangways were pulled in, while an announcement was made for two passengers. We could see them attempting to run up a side street towards the ship, towing large packages. Guess they assumed the ship would leave at 1pm. Guess they were wrong. Talking with who we assume was the port agent, the ship slowly pulled away from the pier, and left them standing there. That will cost them dearly, we are afraid. We have seen it happen before on other trips, but the Captain has no choice, as it costs the company a lot of money to go beyond their time slot.
Sail away was perfectly viewed from our veranda. We could hear the voices from dozens of balconies as most folks were doing the same thing. By 2pm, the pilot was dropped off, and we were making good speed towards our port of Victoria, Canada, tomorrow evening.
We had received an invite to a “hands on” cooking class with America’s Test Kitchen’s hostess, but we declined it because we didn’t want to miss leaving Ketchikan. Last year, we did have a small class with six other guests, and we made peach pie and peach tarts. On the Amsterdam’s world cruise, we were told that there were no more cooking classes where we would be permitted to work with the food. Even though we did not participate, we asked if we would really be making pastries here, and the answer was “yes”. Go figure…..
The remainder of the afternoon was spent working on the computer (offline), and dining in our room with a late lunch. Speaking of computers, we sent emails this morning by the front desk, and it went quickly. Obviously better in port, than out at sea.
Dinner was gala once again. Not too hungry, we chose an appetizer, a salad, and rack of veal. It was OK, but not the best we have had. We were finished by 9pm, with desserts of an orange cake and a plate of sliced fruit. We also had a visitor……one of the waiters we know from the Amsterdam stopped by to say hi. We had run into him while in town today, and he asked what table we had in the upper dining room. As he works in the Lido, we have not seen him yet.
Since we had finished our meal, we took a walk around deck three, coming back to the aft elevators to go home. We noticed that a group of chefs were gathering to go on a stroll through the dining room, as they often do on the final gala night. This was odd to us, because tomorrow night is the final dinner. However, we were told that the upper dining room will be closed tomorrow night, and we would have to eat downstairs. That was news to us. One of the head waiters asked if could reserve a table for two downstairs, and we said yes, thanks. If that doesn’t work out, we can always try for another meal in the Pinnacle Grill. So the reason for the change is the fact that many people will be going onshore in Victoria, missing dinner altogether.
The last reminder was to set our clocks ahead one hour before retiring.
Bill & Mary Ann
