A welcome opportunity to get out and stretch our legs after some 17 hours on the train. But now we’re getting close to Prince Rupert, so as we follow the river the last miles down to the sea let’s have a look and see what the guidebook tells us about the place. Here we are: “Prince Rupert is a thriving city of more than 17,000 people, an important fishing centre and a principle port for … mm … there are five major cold storage plants, seven canneries … seven canneries. It’s known as the ‘halibut capital of the world’… the harbour played a strategic role in the Second World War. Oh, that’s interesting!
Our first sight of the Pacific Ocean… And now we are crossing the bridge to Cayenne Island, on which Prince Rupert is situated.
Journey’s end –and it feels a bit like the end of the world –we’re practically within shouting distance of Alaska here.
It’s a Sunday today, which no doubt accounts for the emptiness of the streets. But could this place be as thriving as the guidebook says? It is a little hard to feel convinced.
Mmm … it’s interesting to see that quite a number of the inhabitants are Indians –about a quarter of the population, in fact.
More totem poles, probably illustrating the supposedly illustrious history of upper-class Indian families from one of the indigenous tribes. Totem poles, incidentally, were never worshipped, as is sometimes supposed. They do not seem to have existed before about 1785. Normally they only lasted about 50 years, and when they fell they ceased to have any meaning and were allowed to rot.
All together there is not a great deal to do in Prince Rupert, unless of course you happen to like Kung Fu.