Gulf of Alaska & Inside Passage 20-27 July 2014

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This is a very long blog but covers our entire Cruise from Seward to Vancouver and all our ports of call.





We left Seward behind and boarded our cruise boat which was an Holland America Line ship, the MS Statendam. It was not a huge ship but still had 1500 passengers however we were to see lot of ships twice this size on our journey.





We have never been on a large cruise boat before and were a little concerned that we would not like it. However our friends Bob and Elaine had done a similar cruise in Alaska and enjoyed it so we hoped we would to. The main reason we decided to take the cruise was that it was one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get into Canada from the States, our next destination and at the same time visit otherwise difficult-to-access regions in South East Alaska.





Paul said he was going to write this next blog and it would just say, ‘we slept, we ate and we drank whilst on board a cruise boat in Alaska’! I said, probably not as that was just a little too short and we would not be able to look back on this adventure in future years and remember what we actually did do on the cruise and it was quite a lot!!!!





We were amongst some of the first to board the boat being so near by and we got ourselves orientated on the various decks of this ‘floating hotel’. There was a two storey theatre, a cinema room, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops (lots of jewellery shops), reception, tour desk, library, lecture room, games and basket ball courts. These we were expecting but we were surprised to see that a huge area was dominated by a casino which you had to pass through to get to one of the restaurants! Outside there was plenty of deck space and two swimming pools, one with a roof that could be open or closed depending on the weather. If you walked around the main deck four times you would complete one mile - we saw a few people power walking, jogging prohibited, around this each morning. There was plenty of seating and sun beds so hopefully we would find some peaceful spots on board as well. When we walked around the ‘bow’ area we were the only ones there and it was so huge I thought that this would never get filled with people and actually it never did - sometimes it was a bit blowy though!



We had a small cabin with twin beds, our own bathroom, we even had a window and although we could not open this it did give us a good view and made the cabin feel less claustrophobic.



Once everyone was on board a ‘drill’ was announced and we were told to proceed to our lifeboat muster station. I must say we were surprised with the number of people now milling around and a lot of them of the ‘older generation’. Probably that should be expected, it was a cruise after all. It was really slow going to get to our ‘muster station’ because so many people were all trying to get to the same place at the same time - but we finally made it! If you did not turn up for this drill then you would be thrown off the boat…………. We stood outside on deck for a while and the crew pointed out our lifeboat (we were number 6) and went through the drill procedure. I must say I was surprised as they said that if the alarm bell went to stay in one’s cabin until the next alarm call! After the disastrous sinking of a ship recently with the loss of lives, because some of the passengers did remain in their cabins, I was rather concerned.



Early evening we pulled away from Seward and set sail. Our first night and day was a ‘day at sea’. In the morning the sun shone through our cabin window and what a lovely warm and peaceful day this was as the ship glided across glass smooth blue seas as we crossed the Gulf of Alaska with its stunning mountain backdrop. I had heard reports that this part could be really rough so we were indeed very lucky. We found some sun beds on deck and just chilled and as Paul would say, ‘slept, ate and drank’.



The problem with cruise ships is the food and by that I mean too much of it. We were really impressed with the quality and variety on board. The hygiene on the boat, was first class and for the first two days at sea all meals were served up entirely by staff, even the help yourself buffet. This was to stop any passenger’s ‘germy’ fingers contaminating the food for others………. Buffets have been proven to be an easy way to pass on a variety of nasty viruses. At all the entrances to the restaurants there were strategically placed hand sanitisers and even waiters stood by with their own bottles to squirt on any one passing by … … … Lots of measures were being taken to try and keep everyone on board healthy - we did watch a few of our fellow passengers though ignoring these requests!



All your meals on board were included with the ticket price but there were also a couple of small restaurants that you could visit at an additional cost - not sure why one would want to do this though! There were two main restaurants, one waiter service and the other a buffet restaurant. Passengers could choose or mix and match either of these or indeed spend extra to go to one of the paying ones. We selected to have the waiter service for our evening meal as the portion sizes were small and this ensured that we did not over eat! Although we did ‘pig out’ a bit at lunch when we used the buffet option. I must say that all the food we had on board was excellent and the staff who were mainly Indonesian were helpful and thoughtful at all times.



Two out of the seven nights we were on board the dinners were ‘formal’. As Paul did not have a jacket and/or tie we could not attend these without the right attire - however the staff provided him with a jacket to wear just for these two nights. I had one dress with me so this was fine - lots of other ladies had at least seven for the seven night voyage!!



There were lots of things to do on board with nightly entertainment, the casino (we didn’t) as well as many talks and lectures on a variety of different subjects. I attended a couple on digital cameras overviews which were useful and I did get some benefit from these. We also watched films and videos about the towns we were stopping at which gave us an insight on what to expect at each port of call.



We met some delightful people on board, mainly from America, Canada, Australian and New Zealand, we did not meet any other people from the UK. We met a friendly man called Clifton and his wife from Texas they were great to chat to and we spent a lovely evening with them singing around the piano in one of the bars. We met a couple from New Zealand and they had been to England a couple of time and really like to visit our many Stone Circles and historic places. The chaps grandfather had emigrated to NZ hoping to set up a pottery (he had been a potter in the UK) but this did not work out for him as there was no need for his skills at that time, but he stayed as he loved the place so much. Another American said he had persuaded his wife to come on board as she did not really like sailing - she ended up spending all her time in the casino so he said they would not be repeating their holiday as it cost him twice as much!



We loved to sit, relax and just people watch - there was one lady who would walk around the decks in a fur coat, she would walk around and around in this coat whether it was warm or cold………. and we even saw her inside with it on……… Going up in the lift one day, (we usually walked but there were 14 decks), this lady said to us, ‘I do so love Holland American as I always know what day of the week it is, this does not happen on any of my other cruise ships’. She was referring to the mat on the floor in the lift which was changed each day with the day clearly printed in capital letters…………….





GLACIER BAY



Early on our second morning we arrived at Glacier Bay, having stayed here a few weeks ago we knew what to expect but were hopeful that we were going to get some better weather. The sound that greeted us as we awoke was not a good omen as we could clearly hear the fog-horns of various fishing boats close by. However within 30 minutes the fog lifted and we had lovely views of the bay, we passed Gustavus Dock where we had cycled and waived off some people from our inn on the new ferry boat a few weeks ago.



As we neared Bartlett Cove we were boarded by four rangers from Glacier Bay National Park who clambered on board from their own boat - they would be joining the cruise boat to guide us into the park.



We were fortunate this time as the weather turned out to be warm bright and sunny for most of the day. It was a shame that the cruise boat could not get so close to the shoreline as our previous boat but due to its size and height we had excellent views of the cliffs and the glaciers.



I will not go into detail of what we saw as it really was a repeat of our first trip as outlined in our blog - Alaska 1 earlier this month. However the weather really did give us a different perspective and as we approached both the Grand Pacific Glacier and the awesome Margerie Glacier they were just magnificent. Again we witnessed the spectacular scene of a calving glacier, where ancient fragments break away with a thunderous crack and then plummet into the bay below. All on board waited patiently for the next crack you could hear a pin drop as people waited in anticipation. As the boat turned slowly around to give everyone on board a good view I looked across the outdoor swimming pool and could still see the glacier towering above the passengers on the other side, everyone was dwarfed in its shadow - what a mighty glacier this was.



Our cruise boat then sailed up the John Hopkins Inlet towards the John Hopkins Glacier, we had not visited this glacier on our last trip. The area was surrounded by other glaciers including the Reid and Lamplugh Glaciers. But our first view of the John Hopkins Glacier neatly tucked up at the end of the small fjord was a sight to behold.



It was in this area a year before our voyage that our ship responded to a distress call from the Baranof Wind which had mechanical troubles and loss of power in the ice near John Hopkins Glacier. The Statendam lowered two tenders, and picked up 102 tourists and one National Park Ranger returning them safely to Bartlett Cove before continuing its own journey. We were glad we were not on board the Baranof as we know what its like to be stranded at sea from our experiences on the Outer Barrier Reef in Australia …. … ….



Cruising back along the bay we saw more wildlife including a couple of female bears with their cubs wandering along the shoreline, a few mountain goats high up on the cliff faces, a giant humpback breaching right out of the sea, some little sea otters and seals sliding off odd bits of floating ice and birds everywhere including the delightful puffins. The scene everywhere is one of ‘wild and wonderful’ - Alaska as everyone imagines and just as we had hoped.



As we cruised back towards open waters we were glad that we were lucky enough to be able to see Glacier Bay again you really could visit the waterways here many times and never get bored. The Park Rangers left the ship as they had arrived climbing down a rope ladder and jumping on to their own boat as both vessels kept up the same speed along the bay. All rangers finally safely on board they waved farewell to us passengers on deck and sailed back to Bartlett Cove to await tomorrow’s cruise ship .. … … what a lovely life they had spending so much time in these scenic waters - but the season was so short though.





HAINES

Our next port of call was Haines with a population of 2,500 it was the kind of laid back place you picture when you think of a typical Alaskan town and it turned out to be our favourite. A small, historic fishing town along the inside passage, the town is located on the shores of the Lynn Canal, the state's longest fjord, and surrounded by glacier covered mountains and some amazing rolling hills.



The Port of Haines was simply the most beautiful port on the Inside Passage that we had seen. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was how it seemed to blend into the countryside with the sea rightfully dominating its landscape and we thought that the setting of this small town was probably unique. The dock facility was really small and could only cope with one boat at a time but we easily moored against the wooden dockside.





Only Holland American cruise boats stop in Haines - there has been some controversy with regard to cruise ships docking in the recent past which locals do not seem to want to mention even when asked! However they only have one cruise boat coming in once a week. We were the lucky ones as being the only boat in dock we were able to experience Haines all to ourselves which was really great it was such an unhurried, relaxed Alaskan town.



Haines is blessed with surrounding natural areas and wildlife in what is known as the ‘Valley of the Eagles.’ The area is a magnet for bald eagles and is known for the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world drawn by the warm open water and abundant supply of salmon with more than 3,500 birds visiting the area from October to February. We were out of season but still managed to see quite a few flying around the coastline.



The Port Chilkoot Dock where we disembarked from our boat was located directly in front of the historical Fort William H. Seward and less than a half mile from ‘downtown' Haines but we wanted to do a hike before we went into town so enquired at a small kiosk of any hikes that we could do without missing out boat!!!! We spoke with a local chap and he gave us directions for a shoreline walk which was only supposed to be 1.2 miles each way but what he forgot to tell us was that we had to hike 2 miles to get to the trailhead.





We finally arrived at the trailhead the first part of which headed gradually downhill through the woods and had a partially new gravel surface for about a quarter mile but after that recent rains had caused so much damage that the trail had been diverted and it continued to wind around and over many tree roots getting a little steep in some places as we headed downhill crossing two creek beds - although there was not much water in them thank goodness. The hiking was quite slow and you had to hold on to tree branches in some places where we needed a bit of stability as there were some very slippery areas as the heavily forested trail continued down to a small beach.



The beach was fringed with some pretty wild flowers, blue harebells and giant blue lupines and we sat and watched a small boat manoeuvre down the rough waters, the wind was really strong. We walked along the beach for a while but could not locate a path any further just thick forest, bush, marshy grass or steep rocks so decided to walk back the way we had come. On the return we managed to clamber over all the debris but were disappointed that we did not see much wildlife in the thick forest. We did spot a couple of strange looking green frogs (sorry if you are a frog lover but some of them are really ugly but I suppose thats a personal opinion). In the end we probably walked about 8 miles so were pretty tired by the time we arrived back at the Port.



We still had plenty of time before we sailed and wanted to visit the town - luckily there was a shuttle bus ideally waiting at the dock. The driver of the bus was a very lovely young lady. She was very informative about the area and even though she was not a local had lived here for a number of years and loved Haines with a passion. She drove the free shuttle bus once a week when the only cruise boat came in. When she was not driving the bus she drove the local Ambulance and if she was not doing that she was out fishing which was her other passion. She said she used to work at the local radio station which she said was quite amusing as it really conflicted with her job driving the ambulance - on reporting on the news as opposed to keeping a client’s confidentiality - a bit of a conflict of interest. She said the local reporter actually followed her in the ambulance and wanted to know if ‘so and so had died’ - which she said she could not tell him! She lived in a little ‘shack’ on the shoreline which did not have running water but that did not matter as she spent all her fee time out fishing……..For someone so young she was really entertaining. She dropped us off in town and said she would pick us up at one of her various stops or to just wave her down if she was passing.



In town were several museums and one that caught our eye was the Hammer Museum which is the first museum in the world dedicated to hammers - mankind's first tool. You really could not miss this museum as outside is one 20 foot gigantic claw foot hammer - we did not go in as time was short but could only think that it was full of hammers. The outside was pretty interesting so I expect the inside may well have been also, maybe next time where else would one get the chance to visit such a museum in the world. In the Haines guidebook it says that people in Haines pursue their passions, even if it may seem a bit quirky - like collecting hammers - 8700 of them but there are only 1700 on display, hopefully they will find room for many more in the future!



We did pay a quick visit to the Sheldon Museum & Cultural Centre which was opposite the Hammer Museum. Outside the building which was in an ideal location overlooking the Lynn Canal fjord were a couple of guys carving a giant Totem Pole. They detailed the significance of the various parts they were carving which even included a carved ‘tourist’ in the centre.



Inside the museum we were greeted by a friendly volunteer who wanted to know everything about us and then chatted about his life in the valley. The museum was mainly dedicated to preserving the history of the town including the native and non-native settlement of Haines and the Chilkat Valley area. A large display concentrated on Tlingit Native culture and included some highly prized Chilkat Valley treasures. We particularly liked the Chilkat Blankets displayed on the walls, the fine Spruce Root Baskets and some really exquisite Beadwork. We liked the fact that they showed samples of artist’s work and then gave a detailed narrative about them. It was a shame it was such a quick visit we may need to come back one day to see more……..



We must have missed the local shuttle bus so ended up walking back from town to our boat, passing an old cemetery which over looked the sea with its headstones telling stories of earlier people. We stopped at the Fort William Seward, a military post that was officially deactivated in 1946. Its buildings remaining but now have other uses, one housed the community arts centre whilst others were private residences or small businesses. These striking white buildings were situated in a rectangle around a large green looking out over the ocean and our cruise boat in the dock below - a lovely setting.



Walking back to the ship we passed several local boutique shops and art galleries as well as a large smoking house. You could see the smoke rising from the building and the shop inside sold seasonal custom products like, smoked sockeye salmon, halibut, black cod, and even salmon caviar and jerky.



As were arrived back at our dock the lady on the shuttle bus had just pulled in with some other passengers. She waived and smiled at us - it was as though we were long lost friends - Haines really is the place where you can mingle with locals and they are really friendly folk … … …



Back on board we literally ‘put our feet up’ as we had done so much walking and were really exhausted but we had the most memorable day in Haines and would take those memories with us forever.



JUNEAU

When we awoke we were pulling into the dock of Juneau, the capital of Alaska which we had flown out of earlier in the month. We had only seen the airport that time so we were looking forward to seeing a little bit more of the area. Juneau became the capital of Alaska when it became a State in 1959. With just over 32,000 residents it is quite a small capital and what makes it different from most is that it has more hiking trails (262 miles) than it has roads (only 41 miles)!



Our cruise boat organises various activities and sightseeing trips at all the places it docks but these were quite expensive and not really what we wanted to do. So we opted to do our own thing at each each port. Getting off the boat was really easy you just showed your boat pass which was scanned and when you returned you were scanned back on board with any bags going through a small scanner - just like at any airport. We were really impressed with the speed of their system as we had expected to have long queues getting on and off the boat. Being docked helped though as we did not have to get on board smaller boats to reach the shore - we had seen this happen at many places around the world. Dubrovnik comes to mind when we saw so many people queuing for ages just to get off the boat and then only having a short time on shore before having to repeat the procedure to get back on board. Luckily all the stops here are directly on the dockside itself and not out in the harbour. Although it depends on the tides as to what deck level you get off from.



We had the whole day in Juneau and could cover quite a lot whilst we were here. Once off the boat we noticed lots of stalls along side the dock selling all sorts of tickets to a variety of nearby attractions. We bought a joint bus ticket and pass to the Mendenhall Glacier and the Tramway which goes up the Mount Roberts Mountain which towers nearly 4000 feet above the city.



The bus driver was very informative and on the way he pointed out places of interest. Before we even left the city we saw several Bald Eagles perching alongside the waterways and even sitting on top of the telegraph poles as we headed towards the glacier.



We had only seen Mendenhall Glacier from the air and we were glad that we could get so close to this mighty meandering river of compressed blue ice. It is ranked as the largest glacier accessible by road in Southeast Alaska and is a half mile wide, hundreds of feet deep and fed by the mighty 1500 square mile Juneau icefield. We hiked about a mile to nearby Nugget Falls, it was amazing to be standing listening to the roar of the falls right in front of you and just to your left the mighty glacier. You could walk right up to the falls but you had to watch the spray on your glasses and camera lens - however what a truly sensory experience just to stand there with these two mighty forces.



On the way back to the bus stop we just missed a Black Bear and her cub which had crossed over the road by our bus stop and disappeared into the forest - bad timing……..



Back in Juneau we got back on board and had lunch before heading off to the Tramway. It was easy to find we just followed the wires that were coming down the mountainside along the dock. The Mount Roberts Tramway took just six minutes to get us from the cruise ship docks to a height of 1,800 feet, making it one of the most vertical tramways in the world. Helping everyone on board was a local chap who was proud of his heritage and his city.



Once at the top there was a visitor centre with a small theatre in which they were showing short films about the Tlingit people as well as the flora and fauna in the area. Nearby a rescued Bald Eagle that could not fly was being used to educate people about these magnificent birds. It was great to get up close to a bird we had been seeing for a while now but we had not appreciated how big they actually are. Adults weigh up to 12 lbs and have a wing span of up to 7 foot with the females being slightly larger than the males. They can fly up to 30 mile per hour and dive through the air up to 100 miles per hour. They can spot a fish up to one mile away. Another interesting fact we found out was that it is illegal to possess a bald eagle feather unless you are a Native American.



At the top of the tramway we hiked the Alpine Loop Trail taking us higher up the mountain, walking through some lush forests and sub-alpine meadows scattered with wild flowers and clumps of Salmonberries. Salmonberries were a popular plant among First Nations people. An infusion of the roots was used to stimulate the appetite and promote weight gain. As a food source, Salmonberry was equally important. In spring, the sprouts were peeled and eaten raw with salmon meat or dried salmon spawn – hence the name. The berries were eaten fresh, as they were too juicy to dry into cakes for winter use. We continued our walk and came across a female Grouse with three youngsters - we think it was a grouse but it could have been a Ptarmigan which are common around here (SC you might be able to help us out here!).



We continued on and saw several Hoary Marmot including a mother living under one of the wooden viewing platforms feeding her youngster. These marmots are a species that inhabit the mountains living near the tree line on grassy slopes with rocky areas where they can dive for cover when prey arrive. They did not seem to bothered with us watching them though. The word ‘hoary’ refers to the silver grey fur on their shoulders and upper back, the remainder of the upper parts have reddish brown fur.



As we walked along there were awesome views of the Juneau city way below us as well as Douglas and Admiralty Island, the Gastineau Channel and even the Inside Passage itself. At one of the viewpoints was a huge cross which had been erected by Roman Catholic Father Brown in the early 1900s. It stood so tall looking down on the city below and although it was just a wooden cross it looked a little bit like the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.



The tram got us back in town as quickly as it had got us up the mountain. We wandered along the main shopping areas and passed lots of ‘touristy’ shops, mostly selling jewellery and there were even more of these the nearer you got to the cruise ship docks! We were not the only ship in the dock that day there were several more much larger than ours. When you have several huge ships in these ports the towns are transformed and inundated by thousands of people. Having a huge influx of potential customers in a small area causes a lot of competition and some of this is probably not good for the town or the genuine local shopkeepers. There was talk on the boat that the cruise ships have some sort of affiliation with some of these jewellery shops but thats not for me to comment on as I do not know the facts - perhaps the situation in Haines had something to do with this…..…



We saw many shops in Juneau as we did in other ports with signs saying privately owned many of these shops were a little further into the town itself away from the cruise docks. If people are looking for genuine Alaskan made goods they would be much better served if they looked a little further than just around the dock area, we saw some really unique locally made products in many of the town we visited. As to buying jewellery I could not understand why people would would want to buy fine jewellery from a shop they did not know - if I was going to spend that sort of money I would personally buy from someone nearer to home.



Away from all the ‘tat’ we headed up the hill of the main street to find St. Nicholas Church, an onion domed, blue-trimmed octagonal wooden building overlooking downtown Juneau. This Russian Orthodox Church was established in 1894 even though there was no Russians living in Juneau at that time. The catalyst being the native Tlingit people who together with Slavic gold miners built the church and then filled it with items sent from Russia, including chalices, icons, and candle stands that are still in use or on display in the church. It is a historic landmark in the area and still serves a weekly congregation with services sung in English, Tlingit and Slavic. It was a shame that it was under repair and we could not get to go inside.

We headed back to our boat stopping at The Red Dog Saloon Bar, just to say we had been there really as it was founded during Juneau's mining era and has been in operation for the decades since - now recognized for its longevity as the oldest man-made tourist attraction in Juneau - I just had to walk through those swing doors!

We had really enjoyed our day in Juneau but it was time to return to the ship and we boarded just before the cut off time for return. On looking out of our window a little later we noticed that the ship’s gangway was still down. We saw a senior officer pacing up and down and a little while later a late passenger arrived and was given a stern look. We noticed that the officer was still waiting and that he had several passports in his hands. About 10 minutes later three crew arrived and were marched off with the officer!!! Crew have to hand in their passports before disembarking and these three were obviously very late - hope they do not make them walk the gangplank.





KETCHIKAN

In the small theatre on board we watched a video on the people of Ketchikan and on their main livelihood - fishing. We never realised there were so many different ways of fishing and boats particularly equipped to cater for the various types. We were impressed that they monitored the fishing channels and even employed someone to fly over counting fish and when sufficient fish had found their creek to sprawn they would tell the fisherman they could go out and fish. One elderly fisherman said that in the past they used to have really good years and really bad years but now due to the monitoring all years were the same.



As our boat approached the dock we could see that many of the Ketchikan homes and businesses had their own small boats and/or seaplanes tied up to their ‘backyard’. Many buildings were built on pylons that supported the streets above over the water. There is a really large tide here at upwards of 25 feet - hence the reason why the piers, the streets and waterfront businesses are built on these pylons over the water itself. We had to get off the ship from the lowest deck as the tide was so low and when we got back on it was from a different deck level - our cabin that had been below the dock level when we disembarked was above it when we got back on board!



As our ship pulled up at the downtown pier we were able to walk straight off the ship onto the streets of Ketchikan. The rain was coming down in a fine mist as we arrived with dark clouds hovering - not looking to good for our visit.



With about 8,000 residents Ketchikan is renowned for its rainfall, averaging more than 150 inches every year and some years approaching 200 - I think that might be this years average.



We set off in the rain to walk into town with our map and ‘umbrella’ heading for Creek Street passing under Nob Hill Tunnel (at least it was dry here). Creek Street is located along the shores of Ketchikan Creek, built over the water because it was simply too difficult to blast away the rocky hills surrounding the creek.



We stopped on the Stedman Bridge a picturesque red painted trestle bridge to watch a group of fishermen who were dangling their hooks in the water below hoping to catch a fish. And, my goodness as we watched they were bringing up one large salmon after another - about one per minute was being hauled on to the bridge even in the pouring rain.



We crossed the road and entered historic Creek Street walking across its antique boardwalk on wooden pilings over the creek - very picturesque. A sign told us we had arrived at our destination - ‘where fish and fishermen go up the creek to spawn’. Today the small, colourful houses, built on stilts over the creek waters, have been restored as trendy shops located within quaint historical buildings but they were once ‘houses of ill repute’ when Creek Street was a red light district where the ‘ladies’ entertained miners, fishermen and other zestful frontiersmen.



In the mid 1920s there were over 30 bawdy houses on Creek Street alone - in fact, Creek Street was once home to Ketchikan top industry - prostitution. Nowadays times have changed the area for ever even though it is still ‘well visited’! During the prohibition, Creek Street was the place to go for a drink as bootleggers would smuggle in Canadian whiskey to supply the houses of prostitution as well as the numerous back room saloons. As the street is built over the water the bootleggers would simply wait until high tide and row their boats up the stream to deliver their goods in the cloak of darkness. Most of the houses had hidden trap doors underneath the house just to receive a quick delivery - a little bit like the Cornish smugglers in England!



We were expecting crowds as this is one of the main attractions in Ketchikan but the rain had kept them away and we were nearly the only ‘tourists’ braving the weather as we came to Dolly’s House Museum. Formerly owned by the inimitable Dolly Arthur, this steep-roofed scenic home once housed Creek Street's most famous brothel. Being bequeathed by Dolly herself the house was exactly as it was in her day complete with its original furniture and the ‘married men's escape stairs’ leading out of the back of the house enabling them a ‘quick escape’. The house has been preserved, complete with furnishings, beds, and a short history of the life and times of Ketchikan's best-known madam.



We continued walking along the street with the rain now lashing down and the overhang of many of the houses meant that we kept getting soaked from above. At the end of the street we stopped at a lookout over the creek and watched this very clever sea lion snacking on the incoming fish. He was just floating on his back (a bit like a Sea Otter) with a very full tummy - he had all these Salmon coming up the creek all around him and all he had to do was turn his head for a meal. The area is a good salmon viewing area with impressive runs of coho, king, pink, and chum salmon, along with smaller numbers of steelhead and rainbow trout heading upstream to spawn. As we watched them heading up stream we felt sorry for the Salmon, not only did they have to run the gauntlet of the fishermen on Stedman Bridge they then had to pass this sea lion to get to their ‘nesting spot’ to spawn and then to just die.



At the top of the creek was a metal sculpture of a Salmon pointing up stream leading the way and a little further on we walked up some steps and came to a sign that said ‘Married Mans Trail’, and we wondered what this was - should Paul go on alone! Apparently it was once just a muddy path by the side of the creek that men would use to discreetly visit the ‘working houses’ along Creek Street instead of being caught walking in through their front doors!



Ketchikan is reputed to be the ‘salmon capitol of the world’, having the ‘largest collection of standing totem poles in the world’, having the most rainfall in Alaska and steep Streets as San Francisco. It has changed dramatically from its notorious past and even from the logging and fishing industries into a cruise ship tourist industry and even though you can still get a glimpse of the rugged frontier spirit that once permeated this cannery town it was quite hard to find. Notwithstanding this we had a full dramatic day with some awesome, yet hard to photograph scenery and left with a host of memories.



DAY AT SEA



The next day was another day at sea and we awoke to more cloudy skies with lots of rain so the visibility was still poor. However as we continued to sail along the Inside Passage the clouds started to scatter and the sea became vivid blue and within an hour looked like a glass mirror. As we ate breakfast looking out over the dotted islands we spotted what we really wanted to see - an Orca - or rather several of them swimming down the channel, they were quite some way off - but we had seen one and to us this was really special.



After breakfast the sun came out and we stood on the bow watching the most amazing scenery all around us - and again we saw more Orca swimming with their slick black and white bodies gliding through the mirror blue sea. Around them we watched lots of small fish jumping, probably salmon trying to avoid the Orca’s giant mouths.



VANCOUVER CANADA



And so we come to the end of this stage of our journey as the boat cruises into Vancouver Harbour - we had silently passed into Canada from the USA without realising it.



The service on the ship was impeccable from our room steward to the staff in the restaurants as well as those on entertainment etc they were all extremely thoughtful and helpful during the whole voyage and it was sad to walk down the gang plank for the last time and leave them all behind.



We were also leaving America behind which had been such a wonderful journey for us and as we walked on Canadian soil for the first time we look back with very pleasant memories of our time in the United States of America.



We would like to make a special mention here to all our American blog follows thank you so much for your comments and useful advise during our journey.



Our Holland America cruise ship MS Statendam was also leaving America behind as it was being sold to P&O and would be heading for Australian waters in 2015 where it would continue to offer it services to us tourists. As to Holland America they were building another ship for Alaska, bigger (another 1000 passengers) and better! As to us well we must say we were pleasantly surprised and we did really enjoy this journey - although probably will not be repeating it for a while……



We were given a ticket (ours was blue) for the time we should depart the ship. These were called out over the ships tannoy at intervals so as not to swamp the dock, so we just waited in the library with our feet up to be called forward. We were expecting to pass through the usual passport control checks but we just walked off the ship. There was a young lady in immigration who was interested in what we were going to do in the country for 3 months and then just said, ‘that sounds awesome, have a lovely time’, no passport stamping, no putting our luggage through any scanning checks, no customs channels we just arrived! In the reception area our luggage was waiting on the floor in neat rows according to our ticket colour - and so we just walked off the ship and we had set foot at last in Canada - see you there

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Comments

[Home and Away]

At the end of summer the Alaskan ships are repositioned to the South Pacific...
we sailed from Honolulu to Sydney via a bunch of islands. 90% of the passengers were Aussies and the rest Kiwis. I think we were the only Americans. I thought you might be going that way, but am pleased you will be spending a lot of time in Canada.

[D MJ Binkley]

Alaska
Now that is the life.