Saturday, September 12, 2009

End of cruise



Two sea days to end our cruise. One day of rollercoaster waves and gale-force winds with most time spent up in the observation room taking sneak peaks of the swells. The next morning we woke up to big swells just as we crossed the last open water before hugging Vancouver Island. The sky was clear, the swells left over from the previous day's storm. Then it was smooth sailing - and a beautiful trip for the remainder of the day travelling the inside passage. We both finished our second book, talked to people we had met over the week and relaxed! The last big supper was a five-course dinner with the traditional Baked Alaska dessert. The waiters no longer bring them in flaming - their fire insurance must have gone up - no flames but the same delicious, calorie-laden dessert and a few more notches let out on the belt.
We woke up to the TV monitor view of the Vancouver port and the Convention Centre and sunny skies - glad to be home.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Hurricane force winds means no Ketchikan

We woke to whitecaps and rain as we were heading into Ketchikan. The captain came on to inform us that the wind was at 50 knots and increasing to 60 (hurricane force) and that our day in Ketchikan was cancelled. Travelling up the inlet and even more-so the docking would be too tricky so the decision was to drop the Ketchikan pilot off and just head slowly back home. So we have two “sea days” instead of one. The staff got busy and produced a new program for the day with extra drinking sessions, games, and classes to fill our time. Bill and I hunkered down in large, comfortable chairs in the Observation Lounge and got our books out. The waves are huge, the swells also big, and the wind is howling but we are safe and comfortable inside. All decks are closed with signs and yellow warning tape except one protected one at the back of the boat. Little white bags have appeared here and there but Bill and I have both managed to feel fine. I don’t look out as much as Bill who is mesmerized by the towering swells. They look small from the Observation Lounge on the tenth floor but down on the main deck they are huge!! We have made it past one open section and will cross Queen Charlotte Sound tonight – then we’re in the inside passage so protected from the worst.

Amazing sights – glaciers calving, whales spouting, a sea otter rolling







So this is why we came. Glacier Bay – “one of the wildest and most dynamic landscapes on earth”. Access is limited – boats of any size are only allowed in these waters after September first when the harbour seal pups, born on the icebergs away from dangers of wolves and orca whales, are old enough to be on their own. Weather is also a big factor – 100 feet of snow falls here annually (hence the glaciers) – the rest of the time it is rain – thus clouds or fog make viewing the glaciers rare. The day started out with low clouds and rain but by the time we arrived at the entrance to the bay, the clouds lifted and we had a calm, clear day.

We picked up a couple of rangers stationed at a remote outpost at the mouth of the Bay as well as a Tlingit Elder who spent the day with us. They climbed up a rope ladder to come on board. Grey whales surfaced and blew all around us as we slowly entered the bay. We were able to slowly sail right up to the glacier – its face as tall as our ship. We found a good spot on the bow of the ship and watched huge parts of the front of the glacier “calve off” with sounds like rifle cracks and thunder booms accompanying them. As we approached the glacier, we realized that the hundreds of black dots on the ice bits in the water were harbour seals. On our return out of the bay, I spotted a sea otter in a kelp bed rolling on his back to have a snack. We also passed a female Alaskan Brown Bear and her two yearling cubs - (they are called this because they are considered to be a different group from mainland grizzly bears because they feed on salmon and end up with huge bellies at the end of the summer (kind of like cruisers!).

National Historic Town and Narrow-gauge Railroad







We checked the TV monitor in our room early Tuesday morning to see the dock in Skagway. The ship had left Juneau at 10:00 pm the night before and sailed all night to Skagway – arriving in the dark this am. After breakfast we walked about a block from the dock to the Visitor Information Centre on the main drag of Broadway and Second Avenue. Looking back, the four ships in dock towered over the tiny town. We learned about Skagway’s part in the Klondike gold rush before taking a four-hour trip on a narrow-gauge railroad that was built to replace the path thousands of prospectors followed on foot in their attempt to make it to the Yukon. The narrow worn path skirting the steep mountain side can still be seen in places.

The town of Skagway is a National Heritage Site and the buildings have been maintained and restored – many originating in the days of the gold rush. There has been no attempt to have them resemble that time in any other way, unless you consider the rush for cheap jewelry and souvenirs by thousands of Cruise Ship passengers a similar kind of activity. The shops all close down at the end of the month until the season starts up again in June and the population drops from thousands (1900 on our ship alone) to 600! A woman in one shop told us that most of the locals have two jobs during the Cruise ship season and work part-time the rest of the year.

We returned to the ship for another four-course dinner then went to another show. Another musical review – different songs but same talented twelve or so singers and dancers and same lights flashing and sounds blasting. We were sitting close to the stage and it felt at times like being hit against the side of the head with a frying pan with the ringing going on long after the initial blast!! It made me cringe but I’m trying to like it, honestly!

Get your trips here, get your diamonds there…





Juneau is the capital – a town that hugs the shore below steep mountains. Tuesday there were four huge cruise ships in dock. When we disembarked, we were met with a line of kiosks with barkers leaning out of them, calling us to try their tours, sign up for their adventures, come look at their special trips. We moved past them and bought a bus ride on the much cheaper “Blue Bus” and headed off to the Mendenhall Glacier.
The trip was about 10 miles out of town and our bus driver pointed out the relevant tourist highlights: “On your right you’ll see our new Walmart. We also now have two international food chains in town: MacDonalds and a Starbucks.” As we passed the governor’s house his comment was: “At least now the governor lives in it, Sarah spent all her time on her boat.” He apologized for the sound of the brakes which howled for half a block each time we had to stop. He said that while Alaska has been a state for 50 years, the bus is much older.
We piled off the bus at the Mendenhall Glacier and joined tour buses and hundreds of other people looking over to the Glacier –a massive turquoise and dust-covered body of ice moving its way down the valley. After a quick look in the crowded information centre, Bill and I hiked for an hour up a forest trail to get a closer look at the Glacier and leave the crowds behind. The trail took us through wonderful coastal rainforest with trees and rocks dripping with thick green moss and pathways decorated with dinner plate-sized, caramel-coloured mushrooms. The glacier kept appearing as we rounded corners but the forest was as much an attraction as the view.

We returned by bus and wandered around downtown Juneau. The streets were crowded with hundreds of people and the store fronts screamed “Season Closing Sale!” Four out of five stores on the main street sell jewelry – mostly diamonds and tanzanite (northern lights-coloured!). The remainder of stores feature Alaska souvenirs including fur of all descriptions, and carved bone and antlers. The majority of items for sale, of course, are made in China. We didn’t last long before coming back on board for relatively quiet evening. Bill went to magic show, Eileen decided to give it a miss.