Day 5 and 6

Skagway was great; it’s just as beautiful and interesting as Ketchikan.  It is a tiny town of 800 people, which just explodes during the tourist season.  It has been mostly reconstructed to its original look and design during the Klondike gold rush.  Skagway was known as the gateway to the gold rush, since it’s the furthest one can sail the inside passage before having to travel the White Pass up the mountains and into the Yukon.  It’s also only about 100 miles from Whitehorse, and there are lots of signs pointing the way there.  So close, yet so far!

I’m so glad we had the entire day to explore that tiny town and I wish it had been the same for our two previous ports.  I spent the morning exploring, taking pictures and shopping, of course.  I had lunch with a couple friends at the Red Onion Saloon, which was interesting to say the least!  During the gold rush, the Red Onion was the local drinking hole, with the convenience of a 10 woman brothel upstairs.  You can still tour the upstairs area, but I ran out of time.  All the waitresses were in period dress and in character, complete with dirty puns! 

After lunch I had the chance to take the train up White Pass and into B.C.  It continues up into the Yukon, but we didn’t get that far.  The train was really cool and the view was amazing – HUGE plunging depths with class 6 rapids down below.  The railway was built in the late 1800’s to make travel to the Yukon a lot easier.  Before that, the trip was made by foot and many didn’t survive.  Some of the trip was a bit nerve wracking – it’s kind of hard to feel safe when the valley below the rails is full of rotting cut timber and piles of rusted and twisted metal.  The whole trip lasted about 3 hours, but it definitely wasn’t boring! 

The weather was pretty cold, and we had some rain during the train ride.  I still consider us lucky though, considering some cruises end up with rain all week long.  We stayed in port until after dark, and I got to watch a performance by one of the locals – he was really good. 

Today we’re at sea, and we will be until we reach Vancouver in a couple days.  No more ports…  We’ve run into some swells, so the ship is rocking quite a bit again – hopefully not for long though.  Our captain is reporting an outside temperature of about 12C, which has pretty much been the average for the week.  He says the temperature in Vancouver when we dock will be 27C – I can’t even imagine that kind of heat; I’ve really gotten used to the colder weather here. 

So… that’s it.  I probably wont get the chance to post anymore until I get home.  I’ve pretty much used up all my Internet minutes and it should be quiet until we dock anyways.  See you all soon!

Day 4

I hate to admit it, but Juneau (the city itself) didn’t really thrill me.  As the state capitol it was a bit too busy for my liking.  We also had to be on board the ship by 12:45, so I didn’t actually get to explore the town itself.  Most of my viewing was done on a bus.  The mountains and glaciers behind it were spectacular though – looking above the buildings at them left me speechless.  Absolutely gorgeous. 

Like Ketchikan, Juneau can only be accessed by water or air, so the docks were packed with residents’ boats.  They have a bunch of streets and a highway that abruptly come to a dead end outside of town – they literally have roads to nowhere!  The highlight was definitely my shore excursion though – whale watching in a catamaran.  We boarded the catamaran very early in the morning and it was freezing and foggy.  But the cold was totally worth it.  We spotted two humpback whales (mom and baby), and the baby decided to roll, flippers waving, and breach, which is when they jump up in the air and splash back down into the water.  Apparently this is unusual behaviour in Alaska.  Here, the whales eat a lot before they go south for the winter.  As they eat, they typically come up, blow plumes of water spray, and without really coming above water, they go back under with just their tails (flukes) flapping.  We got quite the rare show!  We also stopped at a tiny island and watched a huge group of sea lions play on the beach.  They make a lot of noise!  I loved the whole experience, and I would definitely do it again.  I may not have seen much of the city, but the wildlife tour more than made up for it. 

So now we’re heading onwards to Skagway, our last port.  In an hour or so we will be passing through some glaciers, which I can’t wait to see…

Update: Glaciers are beautiful, and very very blue…

Day 3

Today has been absolutely amazing.  We docked in Ketchikan really early, and the view literally had me ‘wowing’ out loud.  The town is beautiful and very rustic.  Some of the buildings and the road are actually built on stilts over the water.  The rest of the town clings to the rocky face of the mountainous island.  Because the island is made of solid rock, their sewer system is almost non-existent, instead relying on rain water collected in a tank at each house.  And they get a lot of rain – 14 feet a year!  We got lucky though - today was sunny with a light breeze.  Very comfortable.  I went on two shore excursions today – the lumberjack show and a tour of the Totem Bight rain-forest/park.  The lumberjack show was hilarious – US vs Canadian lumberjacks in a skills competition.  It was cheesy, but very fun.  And one of the Canadian lumberjacks was cute! 

Afterwards, I boarded the tour bus for the totem tour.  Our guide was amazing.  On the way there he gave us an in-depth history of the island, which is apparently mostly uninhabited.  And, unless you have a boat or a plane, you’re pretty much stuck there!  Their largest industry is salmon fishing, and they’re known as the salmon and totem pole capital of Alaska.  Interesting stuff! 

The park itself was amazing.  It’s a chunk of rain-forest devoted to preserving Native works of art, like a traditional clan house and a stunning display of totem poles.  According to our guide, the totem poles do not have religious significance, but instead are used to tell legends and stories and pass them on to future generations.  They are made of cedar, which is very rot resistant and are painted with a mixture of minerals and chewed salmon eggs, which makes a paint more durable than our modern alternatives.  I loved every minute of it. 

I capped off the morning with a visit to their yarn store for some local hand dyed sock yarn and headed back to the ship.  It was an insanely busy morning, I’m exhausted and we are now leaving Ketchikan behind.  Time to rest up for tomorrow – Juneau!

Day 2

Today was great, very laid back and relaxing.  We’ve been at sea the whole day, but it definitely hasn’t been boring!  I woke up late, to the very noticeable rocking of the ship.  We were on the open sea, and it can get kind of rough.  The intense swaying pretty much meant I was clinging to the wall railings as I walked.  Trying to walk without the support usually resulted in weaving like I had an early morning drink or four.  Everyone seemed to tolerate it well – I heard lots of drunk jokes from the other guests!  Considering my usual motion sickness during long car rides, I was really surprised that I tolerated it so well.  I was more irritated by the hindrance than sick! 

The swaying died down by mid afternoon, as we left the open sea and began cruising the inside passage to Alaska.  The view outside now is incredible.  The inside passage can be quite narrow in places; sometimes the mountains and trees on both sides seem close enough to touch!  I took a tonne of pictures, but I don’t think that they really convey the immense scope of the scenery crowding us on either side.  There have also been a few whales (orcas) swimming alongside the ship, which is incredible to see.  I saw two from my seat during dinner.  Didn’t get any pictures, but I’m sure I’ll see more. 

Because of our speed (and the open sea), the wind has been pretty brutal.  But that hasn’t really stopped anyone.  Lots of people were sunbathing on the pool deck, although the pool itself was half drained and closed.  It took me about 5 seconds to figure out why, when the swaying of the ship caused the pool water to build huge waves that almost hit the sunbathers.  It was really neat to see – I took some video of it.  Even with the wind, my favorite observation deck was nice and shielded – I got to knit for about an hour. 

I didn’t spend all my time laying about though – I met up with this nice couple my age (whom I met on the airport shuttle), and we went to a shopping seminar aimed at giving passengers advice on great deals in each port.  And we played Bingo!  I’ve quickly learned how to spot the free activities that usually result in free stuff/gifts at the end.  (Yeah, I’m cheap!)  I got this really nice art print from an art gallery tour yesterday and today the shopping seminar resulted in coupons for diamond charm bracelets and a charm at every port.  Nice!  You can really make a killing in free stuff if you hit the right events… 

We had dinner in one of the nicer restaurants (no more buffet for me!) and now I am ready to crash.  We dock in Ketchikan, Alaska early tomorrow morning and we have to turn our clocks back 1 more hour tonight.  Time to adjust to another time change!

Day 1

I think that I’m definitely the cruising type.  I love it here.  The ship itself is massive – 2000 guests and it looks like a fancy resort.  Most of the time it’s easy to forget that we’re actually floating in water, because of the immense size.  And then we’ll turn and suddenly you can feel the movement of the boat.  Weird.  I can also feel the engine rumble under my feet. 

Most of the events today were aimed at getting to know the ship – tours and stuff.  I explored on my own though – there are tonnes of random little spots to sit and watch the sea go by.  You could really waste a couple hours that way!  I think I’ve found my favorite spot – the topmost outside observation deck, right at the front of the ship.  I’m sure it has a real name, but hey, I’m a noob and not down with the boat lingo just yet!  Anyway, the deck is full of loungers and the kids avoid it, which makes it nice and quiet.  I got some primo knitting time on that deck! 

The service here is also amazing.  They really go out of their way to help you out.  During the buffet lunch, right after boarding, I was having a hard time juggling my carry-on bag and my plates of food.  Our rooms weren’t ready yet, so I was kind of stuck.  But then, this lovely server swooped in, took my plates and prepared my drink, and then found me a table with a great view.  So nice! 

Right before leaving Vancouver, we had a safety drill.  We had to grab our life jackets and meet at designated life boats.  The people on land thought we looked hilarious!  It’s was actually kinda fun…

So now it’s 4am and we are at sea.  My internal clock is still stuck on EST, so I’m wide awake.  It’s nice though – the only people around are the night staff so I can actually access the elevators without fighting a crowd.  I may have to explore this place at night more often…   

More tomorrow – Internet by satellite is slow!