It’s Sunday the 23rd and Ketchikan is our first port. My excursion had me meeting at the pier at 7:45 so I got up early and had a small breakfast as part of my excursion was a crab feast. Had some indication of what was to come when I opened the curtains and saw the weather was overcast and foggy with a mist in the air. But, I got ready and was one of the first people off the ship. Got to the meeting point and, as I feared, the weather was too bad for a plane trip. Instead, they offered a bus ride out to the lake where the crab meal was to take place but the crab meal was not the reason I got the excursion so I turned it down. As they cancelled the excursion I now have that cost back in my account to do something else with.
At that point is was just a light drizzle so I walked about this quaint little town. Of course, one thing I discovered today was that I always forget something and that was my umbrella. So, I ducked in and out of awnings with a cover over my camera until I got to one trading post. Everything was on sale as this is the end of the season for Alaska. I now own yet another umbrella that cost all of $3.00. 🙂
Since it was Sunday, many things were closed so after about an hour I went back to the ship. Around lunch time the drips stopped; the sky was still overcast and it was still misty but that was OK and I walked a further circle around the city. They love their art here. Everywhere you look there is something to see. A pier post might have a ceramic octopus on it. There are a number of totem poles. And, the density of trees and other growth is amazing.
Most of the shops cater to the women by selling jewelry. There were several selling furs. Some of the fur displays were interesting to see (heads stacked upon heads) but I was told in no uncertain terms that taking photos in the fur shops was not allowed. So, sorry, those photos I don’t have. I do, however, have some nice shots from a display at a taxidermy shop.
Got back to the ship after a couple more hours out. We had an all aboard call for 3:30pm and along with the Star Princess which left San Pedro with us, was also in port, we left for Juneau about 4:00pm. It’s night as I write this and we are in the Inland Passage in an area where whales are supposed to feed but, of course, the sun has set and clouds still cover much of the sky so if they are in the area we may hear the blows but I doubt we’ll see anything. Same for any display of the Northern Lights. Clouds will prevent us from seeing any that might be active. But, for that at least, we still have a couple of weeks far enough north to maybe catch a display.
Onward further North!