Having departed the very wet Sitka, we headed towards (the equally wet) Ketchikan.  The gale had not eased as we entered Sitka Sound, the wind whistling around the superstructure and the window wipers working overtime.  We had 6 hours of it, turning onto a south-east course and paralleling the coastline of Baranof Island, making for the relative calm of Cape Decision.  This is a ½-mile gap in the rocky coastline, which took us into the Sumner Strait.

Once ‘inside’ the seas were considerable calmer, however the winds would continue to batter us through Snow pass and Clarence Strait.  It was only as we slow-steamed in the Tongass Narrows, the narrow waterway on which Ketchikan lies, that there was an abatement.  This was merely because the high mountains on either side offered us some shelter.  As we neared the airport, an executive jet appeared out of the low cloud on final approach, the flight crew no doubt on ILS, no way could they do that visually.

In Ketchikan, which boasts that it is the wettest city in the U.S., it was trying to live up to the fact.  The creek which runs through the city was boiling, no salmon to be seen in the maelstrom, however 2 seals were ‘fishing’ in it, so they must have been there.

The weather, or the rain, prevented me from taking the camera unfortunately.  I’ve tried everything, from a plastic bag to a dedicated camera waterproof cover, however the designers of that obviously didn’t allow for the fact that one might actually want to take photographs;  I couldn’t access any of the camera adjustments with it on. 😕

Off towards Victoria, the rain slowly easing as we made our way south, only to be replaced by fog.  Whistle sounding we headed through it until, on Friday morning, the sun popped out and the fog slowly dissipated.

Victoria lies on the south end of Vancouver Island.  In a word, it is ‘gorgeous’, I love its ‘Britishness’, the people are marvelously friendly and there’s plenty to do and see.

Karen and I went ashore, the first time I have done so for some time.  First stop was somewhere to eat and she chose a pub, (I was not complaining)  🙂   We sat down and ate some delicious ‘pub grub’, our surroundings making me slightly homesick.

Our pub, behind us were some customers wearing crowns, possibly a quaint ‘Victorian’ custom?

Amongst others, the centre of attraction in Victoria is the harbour front.  Surrounded by stately buildings, the area is full of stalls, buskers and eateries.  As it wasn’t raining, (it was in fact a beautiful evening), I had my camera with me.

The legislative building is lit at night.

Stalls

…and Karen unable to resist looking.

Venetian masks in Canada? What next?

The Empress Hotel,

 As the light faded, a gorgeous sunset presented some opportunities

 Then it was time to get a taxi back to the  Amsterdam.  While Karen was buying up the last of the Cadbury’s chocolate in the store adjacent to the gate, one last photo.