North to Alaska…. First stop Ketchikan.

Alaska had been on these retirees’ Bucket List for quite a while and the timing of this trip coincided with that of their friends, Ms M and Mr K. It was agreed that the four travellers would sail juto the northern frontier.

Their cruise company generously provided drinks and food, before embarkation, in private rooms for all guests at the nearby Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver. To say they were generous is an understatement! What a great start to the trip.

Ketchikan provided the first port of call as well as a great welcome to Alaska for us all. The downtown village reminded Mr X and Ms X of the Norway town of Bergen, with its buildings on stilts along Creek Street.

Totem poles, misty fjords, salmon, bears, more salmon and lush rain forests filled the surrounds.

Creek Street was full of interesting shops, historic buildings and salmon! One could guess what ‘the married man’s trail led to in the olden days… Dolly’s House is still standing at the end (and they didn’t sell dolls!)

Our tour guide, Lauren took us to places out of town to find some bears. She drove, she spotted trails, she stopped, we got out and inspected the terrain with her until we got back into the van before we repeated the cycle.

UNTIL!!!!

We found one. A black bear. Under a bridge. Picking up a salmon with its paws and then disappearing with its lunch. We were so in the moment that this was the best shot we got out of the four of us.

The abundance of salmon (bottom right) the otters, the seals and the starfish all appeared to say hello.

Our time was also spent learning about, and admiring the craftsmanship of the indigenous Totems that are part of Alaska.

Time to eat our gifted snacks of, you guessed it, salmon or venison jerky at the Ketchikan beach. You can guess who ate what. No salmon in this water = no bears.

Ms X felt we were getting closer to one of her favourite tv series, Northern Exposure. It definitely felt like and sounded like it.