With the arrival time of 11am, it sure was nice to have the morning to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and some internet time. However, the internet was not working as it had been. Nothing was going out and nothing was coming in. According to an announcement from Captain Friso, the ship had server problems and the entire system had to be shut down during the night for it to cool down. That explains why we were having problems on our end. Funny thing, however, upon calling the front desk and reporting it, they advised us to shut the computer down, and re-boot. No, nothing would help, since it was non-operational, but they never want to tell you that. Since we had to turn in our customs form, we went down to deck one to see what we could find out. Melissa, Henk's assistant, came over to help us and did say there was a major problem, and the IT fellow was up all night working on it. Today he left the ship, and a new man came onboard. Hope it gets resolved soon.
We arrived to the Tongass Narrows by 10am in the worst weather yet. It was foggy and raining steadily, with little wind. It had warmed up quite a bit from yesterday as we are further south now. The Zuiderdam docked at the number 2 slip, right in the center of town. The Ponant L'Austral was already tied up at dock 4. There were no other ships here today. It appeared that there was no end to the waves of showers, and no promise of it clearing today. Sure wish we could send some of this rain to California. Ketchikan gets about 156 inches of rain a year, which is massive. If possible, they might be happy to share some of it with us.
So about noontime, we bundled up, packed the umbrellas, and headed off for a hike….rain or not. Heading towards Creek Street found us dodging deep puddles and wet streets. On the plus side, there were few people out and about. Normally it is crowded going up the famous bawdy street, but not today. The creek was running the fastest we have ever seen, but with the extra deep water, we could not see the salmon. Even the color of the water was brown from the forest runoff. Guess this was nature's way of cleansing the creek of the fish carcasses. We read somewhere that the wettest time for Ketchikan happens to be in the month of October. They can expect 19.2 inches of rain that month, which is right around the corner.
Once up at the top of Creek Street, we crossed over the road to view the upper creek. Where there were exposed rocks with many gulls last week, the water had to be a foot deeper with only one gull. In fact, further up the creek, we saw a small group of Canada geese. First time we saw them here. There is one spot where you can access the creek and a small rocky shore of gravel. Today, it was mostly under water, and only those with waterproof boots could go there. From there, we hiked up the road where viewing the salmon is best. They were still there, perhaps not as thick as last week, but still fighting that current to go upcreek. Without the sun, it was difficult to see the masses.
Further up, we had City Park all to ourselves, although we did see the "Duck" bus pass by full of tourists. Doubt they disembarked to look into the creek as it was still raining. With a quick walk around the totem museum, we headed back down via Creek Street. Carefully, because this trail was muddy and slippery. It was a good time for lunch, so off we went to the Alaskan Brewing Company once again. There were about three customers dining there, which compared to last week, was a surprise. We had to wait for a table last week…today we had our choice of sitting anywhere we wished. Our waiter said that the rain makes a big difference, and there were only two ships here today. The staff has one more week here, and they will close for the season. The last ship they will see will come next week. And the only cruise line that will still make the Alaska runs for the month of October is NCL. We bet most of the shops and eateries will be closed by then.
We ordered what we had last week…..chicken tenders and fries with three dips. Alaskan Amber beers went well with the meal. And finally, a slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting was shared. On the way back, we ducked in and out of several souvenir shops, finding very few items for sale. No more huge clearances like we used to see. Probably a sign of the times.
Got back to the ship around 4pm, where we dried off, and tried to make the internet work again. It was a little better, but not fixed totally. When we went to wash our hands in our bathroom, we discovered we had no cold water again. It was back to scalding. We had a quick response from the plumber, who admitted fixing the plumbing next door to us. Whatever he did, it went back to normal. Now we wonder what will break next?
Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill, with our usual tasty salads, fresh warm rolls, and one halibut, and one 7 ounce filet. Dessert was a small souffle and a bit of coffee/chocolate ice cream. We passed on the petit fours, and coffee. We never leave there disappointed. By the way, the restaurant was full of guests, even at 8pm. That was seldom the case while sailing on the Amsterdam's world cruise. Perhaps the grand voyages have more guests that dine earlier these days.
A day at sea tomorrow will be much appreciated. The only downside is the fact the clocks went forward this evening, losing that extra hour.
Bill & Mary Ann
