We have been without internet access for some fve days, on account of the mountains blocking the signal. The same thing has applied to mobile phones, and there are a lot of frustrated people on this ship. It is now 22nd April, and the local time is 3pm, which equates to midnight in the UK.
Since the last report, we have visited the last three ports of call before our departure from the ship in Vancouver.
Skagway came first. It came to prominence in 1898, as the 'port of entry' for the 'stampeders'. These were people bitten by the gold fever, and were part of the Klondike gold rush. Now a sleepy little place, with a population in winter of around 900, it expands enormously in the summer, when as many as five cruise ships arrive in one day!. We, being the first of the season, had the place to ourselves.
This is our second visit to this part of the world, as we were here in 2001. We took it leisurely, and started with a stroll out to the 1898 cemetery and the iced up waterfall. They said it was about a mile, but later we found it was 2 miles each way! The waterfall was interesting, as it had frozen over, and was covered in snow, but one could hear the water running underneath.
Once back in the town, we investigated the local mini-brewery. It offered a 4oz sampler of each of its five beers. They ranged from a light amber to an almost black. We prefered the lighter coloured ones, but did not stop to drink any more, 'cos it was lunch time. We had fish and chips, and it was very good, if a little different to what is served in the UK. After a bit more town exploration, and some retail therapy, we took ourselves off to the Red Onion. This is an old fashioned western style saloon, and one time bordello. Tours can be done of that part of the establishment for five dollars a head. We stayed seated, and enjoyed our beer and the ambiance, before returning to the ship.
Next came Juneau, the state capital of Alaska. Not the most exciting place to visit, as it is full of monolithic office blocks. However, it does have its cable car up the mountain, which on our last visit was not working on account of the weather. This time it was, though when we arrived at the top, it was snowing. They had had a bit up there. The drifts were about 7 feet deep, and we have the photos to prove it. We came down again, indulged in some more retail therapy, and had a burger and chips, American Style, overlooking the harbour. After lunch, the weather had improved, so we went back up the mountain. It was glorious. We sat out on a terrace in the sun, and took in the view, whilst watching some of the local wild life. As the afternoon drew to a close, the wind got up, the sun went in, and it got decidedly chilly. We went back down the mountain to the ship. Mind you, the midday temperature forecast at sea level was only 4 degrees, and we had been 1800ft up the mountain!
Ketchikan is a pleasant little town, quite dependent on the tourist trade. It is nice place to stroll around, and has a good, well laid out and informative town trail. It was only a shortish stop by the ship, arriving at 8am, and leaving at 2pm. Fortunately, the weather was very kind again, being sunny. It was warm in the sun, but chilly in the shade, and bitter if you found the wind. It snowed as we arrived, but by the time we left the ship around 10am, that had all cleared.
So here we are, sailing through the Inside Passage. So called as it is between the islands and the mainland of North America, to Vancouver, where we are due to arrive at 7am on the 24th.
Our odyssey ends there.