Glacier Bay and Ketchikan

The sunshine and hot temperatures next day were perfect for our cruise up the 65 miles of fiord that was Glacier Bay. After passing numerous ice floes; one carrying a bald eagle and another with some seals, we found the reason for all the floating ice when we stopped to view the impressive Margerie Glacier and witnessed several instances of ice calving off the face.

The blurry areas are evidence of ice having just fallen off the glacier and splashed into the sea

Next day, Ketchikan turned out to be my favorite stop on our cruise, due largely to the sweltering heat it turned on for our last port call. At around 26 degrees C (78 degrees F)  it was so hot, the locals called it a heatwave. Not that they were complaining. In fact, most of the staff had smiles on their faces as if in a party mood.

Our excursion was a short drive out of town to Saxman Totem Park where our driver gave us a fascinating explanation on each of the totem poles standing in front of the tribal house. Following time set aside for us to walk around the area and check out the souvenir shop, we resumed our seats on the bus.

Saxman Tribal House

On the way back to town hubby and I chose to be dropped off at Creek Street, home to the historical red-light district. Due to area’s unsavory purpose, these structures were originally banned from being built on the land, so to overcome that problem, they were built over the river. Very ingenious!

Creek Street buildings

Most of the buildings now are occupied by a selection of other businesses including shops, but outside one, a lady in period costume invited us in. Hubby responded with a “Not today, thank you. I have my wife with me,” which made the rest of our group chuckle.

Later, we returned to the shops where we bought more souvenirs and gifts for family and friends, and finished the day with watching the movie “White Fang”.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t last, and our final day of cruising back to Vancouver was spent almost entirely in fog. Not that it mattered a lot because we had plenty to do with packing, checking out the last-minute specials at the shops, taking more on-board photos, and enjoying a special dinner at one of the classier restaurants.

Jena