Ketchikan and Totems

We woke EARLY to find ourselves in Ketchikan, Alaska. It looked like what it once was - a small fishing town. The weather was pretty cool with overcast skies. We had a continental breakfast (brought to us by our … ahem….butler). Then we went onto the pier and met the tour to Saxman Native Village, about 3 miles away (by tour bus). The tour was ok - we saw a video about the Natives, then went to their meeting house for an authentic demonstration of their dancing/singing. When they asked for volunteers I joined a few others on stage. They put a cape on each of us and we just had to bend out knees, put both hands in front of us and sway. Afterward we were given a little tour of the totem poles. The young tour guide was very nice but a bit long winded and boring. Gerry did really well although he got bored and so walked to the store when I went to the Carving Shed. It was interesting to hear about making the totem poles. When the talk was over I went to the store with the thought of getting a totem pole - but OW! They were a little more than I wanted to spend. Truthfully, they WERE affordable but more than I cared to spend (because they were carved by hand). The poles for under $20 were made in China… nope, I wasn’t interested in those either.

When we got back to the ship we dropped our things in the room and went back into town (just across the street).
We did a little touristy shopping and then returned to the ship as Gerry was very tired. We went to the buffet for lunch but they were still serving breakfast so that’s what I had. It was good to return to the room and sit on the veranda for a bit. My cell phone was working so I made a few calls before my appointment for… a bit of “pampering.” I had booked a package that included: 30 minutes in the aroma steam room; back, neck and shoulder massage; spa re-hydrating aroma facial treatment; scalp massage with hair conditioning treatment; “tantalizing” foot and ankle massage full body application with skin nourishing milk lotion; and a “gift.” The gift would have been a moisturizer, but I opted to purchase a Cactus bristle skin brush to “detox, cleanse and improve texture and tone of the skin” and Celutox body solution, for which they give a discount on your package. It was SOOOO restful - just what I needed!

Beautiful snow capped mountains are going by outside our glass doors. We have now left Ketchikan and are sailing north to Juneau, the capitol of Alaska.