We left Vancouver and proceeded toward Ketchikan aboard our floating food barge. For those of you who have cruised before, you understand that the primary goal of any cruise is to add at least ten pounds to each passenger.
I have also uncovered a heinous cruise ship plot to add revenue to their bottom line. They give you lots of food but make it difficult to get something to drink. They have 15 food lines in each venue but only one crowded line for beverages. This then brings us to the wait staff that walk around with small trays offering you alcoholic beverages that you must add to your room account. If you ask for water or tea they will smile, say yes sir, I'll be right back with that. You will never see that individual again. You may see his twin Indonesian brother or cousin, but never him.
The cruise to Ketchikan was beautiful, but only if you got up at 5 a.m. Since my body was still on Miami time it was really 9 a.m. so I had already been up for over an hour. The sunrise was beautiful as we passed through Johnstone straight. A humpback whale rolled and flipped his tail right next to the ship not knowing that I had my camera. I managed a few nice shots before he disappeared in our wake. All other such sightings occurred when I was walking without my camera. Pods of orca and white sided porpoise all escaped becoming famous on the World Wide Web.
The weather was just like Miami. Sunny and a bit warm. The pool was crowded with very white people trying to get red. Several yelled ureka or something like that when it became apparent that they had succeeded in obtaining the proper shade of crimson.
We arrived in Ketchikan and the weather had changed just a bit. We had fog. The town was clear but our water based shore excursion to see eagles, a totem display and a lighthouse was thoroughly engulfed in fog. I got some moody shots of eagles in the fog. We never saw the lighthouse but were told it was just on the other side of the wall of white fog on our starboard side. We could see something that might have been a totem pole but could just as well have been a dead tree or a giraffe. The captain of our boat, Rob, was a cut up. He announced that, in an attempt to spot a whale, he would use his whale call. He left the wheelhouse and began playing a moody solo on a bright red trombone. The whales were apparently not amused and remained wherever whales go to avoid red trombone music.
We returned to town and had time to wander around and meet all 16 of the locals. We stopped at an Irish pub called O'Brian's, what else. The owner had an authentic Irish look about him in his Irish wool cap and he had a lilt to his speech. I asked him where he was from and he mentioned an Irish town I hadn't hear of before, Detroit.
Salmon fishing is an important cog in the local economy. The have Coho, Sockeye, Chum, Pink, Steelhead and Chinook. Apparently they don't have my favorite which is Smoked. At O'Brian's Pub I had a salad topped with salmon. This was all washed down with a pint of Guinness. Ok, it was two Guinnesses.
We had an early sailing out of Ketchikan, leaving at 3 p.m. We were on our way to Juneau. After three days of sailing I began to notice a pattern in that the most beautiful scenery, described as "don't miss", is passed by the cruise ships at night.
We arrived this morning in Juneau. Now the weather was finally cooperating and was what we were expecting. Cold with a light rain. Now I feel we are in Alaska where men are men and the women are...., well you know, "rugged".
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