Today we woke up to dark cloudy skies, rain, and lots of wind. The spray coming off of the waves came all the way to our veranda which is on deck six. Invigorating, but probably stormy enough to cancel this port of Ketchikan again. We shall think positive that we will make it.
During breakfast, we heard what we thought might be the Captain with docking news about Ketchikan. Except it was another medical alert call for someone on our deck. There have been a number of these medical calls since we joined the ship. Many of guests had to be taken to hospitals along the way. We usually see a lot of that on the longer cruises.
The closer we got to Ketchikan, the better the conditions looked. As the ship entered the Tongass narrows, we saw the Carnival Spirit, Seabourn Quest, and the Coral Princess at their usual docking spots. Obviously, they were not turned away like last week. There was room for us, and the Captain had us alongside by 10:30am and the ship was cleared by 11am.
As usual, we stayed on the ship until the majority of guests went off….mostly the tour people. There was a "man overboard" crew drill at 11:30am, so that was a good time to leave. The gangway was really steep due to high tide, but another one was added on deck A later in the day.
In case we have not mentioned this before, Ketchikan is mostly on Revillagigedo Island or Revilla for short. It happens to be the 11th largest island in the US. Why a Spanish name we asked? Captain George Vancouver visited this area on his exploration voyage here in 1793, naming it after the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico. In a nutshell, salmon made Ketchikan with Tongass Packing Co. opening one of the first canneries in the 1890's. Then Ketchikan earned the name of "First City" since it was the first place to stop for everyone who traveled further north. This city in the rainforest thrived with the discovery of ore, some gold, lumber mills and several canneries. And along with that, came the ladies of the night and Creek Street. Fast forward to today, and the history that remains is fascinating to say the least. Today's "gold" has to be the over one million tourists that come here every year. And that is strictly cruise ship passengers.
No doubt it was a chilly 57 degrees, and we were not sure if it would rain here today. Knowing that as much as 202 inches of rain can fall a year (1949), we knew to take umbrellas. We walked under the Ketchikan welcome sign and past all of the shops offering a variety of fur items, high end jewelry, and souvenirs galore. These stores are on every block in town and really busy with four ships in port. We strolled through the small Whale Park, noticing that the Chief Kyan totem pole had been sawed off. Who would do that? The one that was here was a replica having been added in 1993. Kind of hard to hide such a treasure if you lived here.
Continuing past the Federal Building, we crossed over Ketchikan Creek on the Stedman Street Bridge, taking note that the creek had swollen due to the recent storm that hit here. The water coming under this bridge was deep and turbulent. Crossing over to Creek Street, the old red-light district, the creek and overflowed the banks and was very dark. The rapids had washed away most all of the dead salmon that littered the creek bed and banks. Unlike a few weeks ago, the area was full of folks watching the creek for live fish and the ever-present harbor seals. We did see the seals, but the water was so turbulent and deep, most folks never saw the fish or the seals. The shops were full of customers too. Good for business this late in the season.
We reached the newer tiled salmon monument, then started the series of stairs uphill. One of us counted 51 stairs by the time we reached the top. We have never seen the rapids moving so fast and strong. The fish ladder was being used by some of the smaller salmon. Reaching Park Avenue, we made our way along the creek which was much wider and deeper. By the time we got to the area where there is a rocky bank, we noticed that it was totally under water this time. Further up Park Avenue, we did see the calmer spot on the left bank where the fish tend to line up - side by side, head to tail, and linger before moving along. Since we knew where to look, we did get some pictures.
Crossing the road, we made our way past the old hatchery and into the City Park with holding ponds, which date back to the early 1900's. Looking at the creek up here, it had also grown dangerously deep and turbulent. The creek was too deep to see anything except the tips of the rocks and boulders. According to a sportfishing calendar we came across, the types of salmon we were seeing could be either silver, chum, and pink. The King salmon run is at its peak more in May through July. Other varieties of fish are the halibut which peak from May to September, and four types of trout – steelhead, cutthroat, rainbow, and Dolly Varden.
It was time to turn back, since our all-aboard time had been moved up to 5pm. And that was when the sky opened up and we had to whip out our umbrellas. The rain came down hard and fast but turned into a drizzle by the time we reached downtown. It was time for lunch, so we went to the Alaskan King Crab Company once again. Wanting to try different draft beer, we chose the 49th State Solstice IPA. Then we added a small salad and a burger with fries to share. A slice of carrot cake finished our meal. All good, but the offer of their free shot glasses fell through since they admitted to running out of them.
We made one last stop for kettle corn and got two large bags again for room snacks. There were close-out sales in every store, but we did not need anything. We were back onboard by 3:30pm, using the lower and less steep gangway.
Captain Smit gave his talk around 5pm, telling us that yesterday winds exceeded 72 knots on the way to Ketchikan last night. That is 90 mph or hurricane force we believe. Lucky for us, those winds subsided and we were able to dock today. You just never know what the weather may do in this part of the world. The Zaandam left by 5:30pm, following on the heels of the Seabourn Quest. Tonight at 9:30pm, we will pick up two pilots to take us through the Inside Passage and back to Vancouver. Cannot believe the three weeks are almost over.
Dinner was "dressy" night, although being in port, most everyone came more casual. Not that it mattered that much. We both had Caesar salads and the shrimp cocktail, followed by mains of chicken and tortellini. No dessert. Our waiters were surprised to see us arrive, and somehow they knew we had been invited to dine with some of the officers on deck four. We did not tell them that we had declined since one of us has a cold. We were just glad they had not given our table on the railing away to someone else. We missed the show which was the singers and dancers with Curtain Up, from the dazzling lights of Broadway to theaters of London's West End. As we passed by the bars and lounges, we noticed they were full of guests listening to the bands and enjoying their drink packages. Good for them.
A day at sea tomorrow will be most appreciated, even with the clocks being turned forward tonight.
Bill & Mary Ann
