We arrived in typical U.K. cloudy and cool weather this morning at around 7 o’clock. But, the dreariness “kind- of” added to the bleak beauty of what, most of the time is a very remote and far-away settlement at the foot of a most scenic and spectacular part cloud obscured backdrop. Perhaps my pictures will illustrate better what I am trying to portray.
The first two pictures show the position of the Queen Elizabeth after docking at Ketchikan. The remainder are images captured from my cabin. Ketchikan has almost perpetual rainfall which the people and local environment rely on. Dry periods can soon have a marked impact on the welfare of the surrounding rain forest, which, according to our excellent guide, is second I in size, only to the Amazon. We travelled by bus for around 10 miles to a location where we were met by two guides who took equal sized guests into the rail forest. Our guide was knowledgeable and a superb communicator whose expertise gave us a very comprehensive account of almost everything we were seeing during a one mile stroll along a well prepared down-hill path. We did see eagles and my modest camera capabilities were most impressive capturing from a great distance, bald eagles, camouflaged in far away trees. We were later shown a huge totem pole under construction and then, were brought up close to fowel in the process of rehabilitation from predatory injury. The totem pole park was merely glanced at as time was running out. I’m sure we shall see plenty more on this most fascinating journey. Below, a handful of pictures taken this morning. Look carefully at the tree trunk with three parallel marks at intervals in the bark. These are the claw marks of young black bears escaping the clutches of predators.
After the tour, I walked around what during the day when the cruise ships are in, is a thriving community, with lovely wooden architecture, reminiscent of a less complicated era. But underneath all this, I perceive the still waters run deeper than one might think initially.
Now to walk back to the ship. Today, Ketchikan played host to Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth and the Disney Wonder. This is a quieter day for Alaska’s most southerly port.
Thanks for reading,
David.
David's Cruise 