Ketchikan

After our trudge back to the ship, we rested and got dressed up for our dinner at Tamarind. It was fabulous. The appetizers and deserts were great, but we especially enjoyed the entrees. Julie had lamb; Mary had chicken curry; Sue had shrimp stir fry; and Nick had DanDan noodles. Sue also enjoyed the sake selections which brought back memories of Rugby World Cup in Japan. Our Porter Yusuf had promised to open the barrier between our stateroom balconies, and we were anxious to check out this new arrangement. Unfortunately for some reason, he had not done this. It was too cold and windy to sit on the balcony anyway. There were some pink/golden clouds in the distance possibly marking a change in the balmy weather we have been experiencing. We turned in and looked forward to our day in Ketchikan, Alaska's very first city and closest to the lower 48.

We awoke Friday to cooler and cloudier temperatures. We had breakfast (omelettes to order and eggs Benedict for Julie) and planned to meet at noon to explore Ketchikan. The ship is docking at a pier that is supposed to be centrally located. Fingers crossed! 

We did indeed dock right across the street from some tourist shops and set off to explore. We saw many jewelry and t-shirt stores and some cute restaurants and art galleries. We took a self-guided walking tour and visited the small Whale Park and saw a few totem poles. We caught a glimpse of a picturesque creek and saw a boat marina. We followed signs to a salmon ladder and walked on a boardwalk along the creek. Helpful signs along the way directed us and provided information. We had lunch at a take-away stand called Alaska Crepes and stopped back at the ship. 

At 2 pm we boarded our tour bus with tour guide Orange from Utah. He was quite personable and started with a tour of Ketchikan. He pointed to where the highest peak in town was shrouded by clouds and said the town has a saying: “If you can’t see Deer Peak, it’s probably raining. If you can see Deer Peak, it’s probably about to rain.” He said it rains an average of 229 days and up to 12 feet per year. 

There are 8500 people living in Ketchikan, which is built on an island. There are several “Stair streets” (flights of wooden steps) which are legal roads. It is known as Salmon capital of Alaska. Commercial fishing is the number 2 industry, and tourism is number 1. We saw several Bald eagles. We entered Tongass National Forest; at 17,000,000 acres it is twice the size of the state of Maryland. It is the largest rainforest in North America and 2nd largest in the world behind the Amazon. 

Orange told us about the Alaska marine highway system. We saw the original ferry from the system that has been converted to apartments, and Orange has his employee housing there. He related a kayak incident where he and his buddy heard a loud sneezing noise, and saw a large seal behind them. We agreed that confronting a 350 - 500 lb creature while in a small boat can be unnerving. 

We saw Mud Bight - a small inlet that completely empties at low tide and fills at high tide (as opposed to a bay that always contains water). Then we turned into Totem Bight Park and disembarked into a light mist. The Park was a CCC project employing native people and was full of tall lush trees and plants. The soil is very thin so the trees spread their roots widely. Some even grow in the trunks of dead trees called nursery trees. The problem is that the dead trees continue to rot, leaving the roots of the new tree very spindly and susceptible to blowing over in the wind. 

The stars of the Park are the totem poles made by the 3 native tribes in the area. We saw around 12 different examples and learned many interesting facts, including that the poles are carved from Red cedar which rots from the inside out. Most of the poles in the park were carved in the 1930s; some were restored in the 1990s. We went inside the clan house, and saw the 4 poles there. Orange told us the story of a lazy boy who ends up exercising in secret and defeating the seal that had killed the chief. This story was depicted in the clan house totems. 

The totems are carved with a hatchet-type tool called an adze. It takes up to two weeks to carve and paint a one-foot section. Totems carved by master carvers sell for $5,000 - $10,000 per foot. Outside we saw the beautifully painted front of the clan house and 3 more totem poles, and Orange told the story of Eagle Boy who shared his salmon with the eagles and also about how Raven stole the sun. We saw a tall totem that was over 60 feet high. 

Orange explained how upside down figures represent death and how faces represent power. He pointed out figures such as bear, eagle, raven, thunderbird, and orca. He explained how the original paints were formed of chewed up salmon eggs plus minerals for the red, turquoise, black and white traditional colors. Now they just use oil based paint. 

At the end of our walking tour we had 20 minutes to explore further on our own and visit the extensive gift shop. We boarded the bus and Orange told us two more native stories on the way back to town. One was the reason it rains so much in Ketchikan and the other was the origin of the salmon run. He had an engaging style and we enjoyed his commentary. He gave a final 10-minute tour around Ketchikan (including the salmon ladder we had visited on our walking tour) and dropped us at our ship. It was a very enjoyable day even though the weather was not as nice as we’ve been experiencing. Tonight we dine at Morimoto and sail toward Vancouver.