It was about a 37 hour sail from Bellingham to Ketchikan. We saw lots of whales and eagles and had bouts of sunshine and beautiful weather. There was the occasional rain shower but it quickly turned to blue skies again. We arrived in the Alaska Ferry port, just north of Ketchikan by a few miles, in the early morning with some overcast skies. Docking went very smoothly and we had about 7 hours in port. Welcome to Ketchikan, The Salmon Capital of the World!!
We decided to just walk to town. Yes there were taxis and buses available but we really needed to get out and walk after being on the ferry for so long. It was an easy walk and we got to see the houses with interesting architecture, lots of steps, and houses built up on trestles.
On the way into town and in town we saw a variety of trams, buses, trolley, and even ducks!
The main part of old town is at the cruise ship terminals. There were LOTS of cruisists (cruise ship tourists) meandering around. There were actually throngs and throngs of them lining up for tours, in shops, etc. We managed to fight the crowds and enjoy some of the local sites.
The town, of course, is jam packed full of jewelry stores and souvenir stores, and shows and tours. It was crazy touristy!!
There were a variety of restaurants around but not as many as you would think as most of the cruise ship people are probably eating on ship. Alava’s is a famous fish-n-chips truck that is located closer to the Alaska Ferry Terminal. It was closed when we were there so we did not get to try it. It was on our list.
There were two big cruise ships in port while we were there and they obviously had just unloaded. The Celebrity Edge has its famous orange “Magic Carpet” on the side of the ship which is used both to aid in embarkation and disembarkation along with additional seating and dining while under way.
Creek St is an old historic boardwalk street built on stilts and was famous for being the red light district. It runs along the creek and the north end entrance is called “Married Man’s Trail” as it was the more discrete entrance. It is now full of shops and tourist traps.
The City of Ketchikan has a port in between the cruise ship terminals and the Alaska Ferry terminal. We saw a few eagles prominently on top of their buildings.
After a few hours in town we walked back to the ferry terminal and boarded and prepared to depart.
The Ketchikan airport is actually on an island across from town and those who fly need to take a ferry to the airport as there is no bridge. As we departed we passed the airport and a few other tourists taking part in boating activities.
Next stop is Wrangell, Alaska!
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