We were treated to a clear dry day when we docked at Ketchikan on day six having cruised over 240 miles from Juneau. Once again the cruise ship dock is adjacent to the town therefore allowing easy access to and from the ship.

Ketchikan is situated in the southern portion of the panhandle that is South East Alaska on Revillagigedo Island. Once again it is a city that can only be accessed by air or sea and is Alaska’s southern most major settlement. It is actually closer to Seattle in Washington state than to Anchorage. It has a strategic position at the southern end of the Inside Passage connecting the Gulf of Alaska to the Puget Sound. The Tlingit clans were the original occupants of Ketchikan.

It is a city with history, once again well preserved, and in my view far prettier and more interesting than Juneau. The downtown is a National Historic Landmark District. It is known as “the Salmon Capital of the World” given the multitide of salmon that return to the harbour and the Ketchikan Creek each year to spawn. The creek served as a summer fish camp for the Tlingit natives long before the town was established.

A ten minute walk up the hill from the harbour and dock is Creek Street, a historical area of building that now comprise various shops but which in the first half of the 1900’s was infamous as a red light district.

It is possible to walk along the route of the creek up through the town. The sight of thousands of salmon waiting in pools in the creek to muster the energy that will allow then to make their way up stream to spawn and watching those trying to jump the small rapids will be one of the defining images for me from our trip.

Ketchikan is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. The terrain is steep and forested and the climate is mild maritime meaning that it receives plenty of rainfall year round. We were fortunate to avoid that.

One of the main attractions at Ketchikan is the Misty Fjords National Monument. With so much of Alaska only accessible by air we were keen to do some flight seeing. Until this last day in Ketchikan the weather just wasn’t clear enough. Fortunately we were able to get two seats aboard the Lady Ester flown by the famous Michelle of Island Wings Air Service. Michelle has been flying from Ketchikan for more than 30 years. It was a spectacular trip the pictures and video for which speak for themselves.