May 28 - Glacier Bay

The Volendam sailed into Glacier Bay early on the morning of the fifth day of our cruise. The first thing I noticed as we moved further into the bay was that the ship’s engines had slowed down and the water became calmer. Then as Shirley and I strolled around the promenade deck, she pointed out chunks of ice floating in the water. Gradually, the Volendam drew closer to the shore and finally as we reached the end of the fjord I could see and hear the glacier. The Margerie Glacier was calving.

The foot of the glacier appeared as a tall, wide sheet of ice and snow.  While this was spectacular in itself, for me, it was the sound that really caught my attention. Every so often there would be a resounding crack and chunks of ice would fall away from the main sheet. Sometimes these would rumble down from nearer the top and at other times the ice would separate into smaller boulders and tumble into the water of the bay. I was surprised at how close the ship was able to come to the shore but the captain announced that we were still in 600 feet of water. Although I didn’t see any wildlife, others commented that they could see sea otters and an occasional bear.

I have attached three pictures with this post. They show the glacier from different angles.  In the third picture, I am standing in the foreground. I am wearing a winter jacket and a toque. It was the only time during our cruise that I felt the necessity for both. It was definitely chilly! 

The Margerie Glacier angle 1

The Margerie Glacier angle 2

The Margerie Glacier angle with Sue in the foreground

May 23 - Skagway

Skagway was the second stop of our cruise and we loved it! In days gone by, Skagway was the beginning point of the long arduous trek over the mountain pass for many of the Klondikers on their way to Whitehorse and Dawson in their quest for gold. Nowadays, tourism is the main industry and many of the excursions that are offered revolve around the town’s historical beginnings.

Skagway is an odd mix of the old and the new. Many of the old buildings remain and have been converted into museums. Others have been completely renovated rather than converted. For instance, the State Park Visitor Centre is situated in an older building, but has a comfortable modern theatre where you can see a documentary film of the town’s early history. Good washrooms here too.

The cruise ships dock about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the town centre.  Although the town sidewalks feature boardwalks, the path from the ship to the town is level and paved. When I was in Skagway many, many years ago, things were a little more rustic than they appear to be today.

The most popular excursion seems to be the narrow gage railway that used to connect Skagway with Whitehorse. Today, there are a number of rail excursions but the train no longer does the full-length trip between the Yukon and Alaska. I feel fortunate that I did this trip when I was there before. From the train, passengers do get a good view of the mountains and the valleys, and there is a good commentary as well. This time, Lyle and I had decided not to take the train but we heard varying comments about it, ranging from excellent to a little boring.

Our own day consisted of a trip to the Visitor Centre in the morning and in the afternoon, a live show at one of the smaller theater buildings. The show was great, presenting Skagway history in drama, song and dance. At the end of this post there is a picture of Lyle and I standing with three of the young women from the show. The performers are dressed in their can can costumes.

Although Lyle and I didn’t dash around taking in any other tours, we both enjoyed just walking around the town. Spring was in the air and in spite of cooler temperatures, the flowers were in bloom. There is a second picture with this post showing my friend Shirley and I standing in front of a tree in full blossom. Actually this one was taken in Juneau but in both towns, Juneau and Skagway, spring came earlier than it did in our home town in Alberta. I gather that although summer up north is short, the growing season is quite intense.

If it wasn’t for the distance, I would go back to Skagway in a flash. I think that accommodation would be relatively easy to find but probably booking ahead is a good idea. There were a number of hotels and bed and breakfast homes. There was also a campground close to the water where the ferry pulls in. I think that one could easily spend a week in Skagway and not be bored. Maybe one day we will go back and do just that.  

Sue and Lyle with performers in Skagway

 

Sue and Shirley in front of tree in full blossom in Juneau

May 21 - Sightseeing in Alaska

I smiled as I wrote the title for today’s post. Sightseeing! Well, even though I have partial sight, sightseeing is still an appropriate word for me to use. I think that it might even apply if one had no sight at all. There is always a lot to experience with other senses. At least, that is what my friend who is completely blind told me. I take his word on that.

Now for our stops in Alaska. Our first stop was Juneau. What a surprise it was to see this quaint rustic city nestled at the foot of the mountains.  Before our trip, I knew that Juneau was the capital city of the state and so I had expected to see some tall, fairly modern state buildings. This was absolutely not the case. There is really not much there and it took only ten or fifteen minutes to walk around almost everything.

There are always on shore excursions offered with a cruise and at Juneau we opted to do the Mt. Roberts Tramway. We waited until the day we arrived to book this thinking that it would not be worth the dollars if the weather was inclement. However, the day was cool but reasonably clear so up we went.

There was a visitor centre at the top with several walking trails leading still further upwards. Because we were so early in the season, the trails were blocked with snow and ice so we weren’t able to enjoy them. My favourite part at the summit was the free documentary film shown in the visitor centre. The film gave an excellent overview of the relationship of the original people with their land.

The guides on the tram were also informative. Our guide pointed out several sights of interest – and we also learned about five different kinds of salmon by opening our hand. Starting with the thumb, there was the chum salmon, the point finger was sockeye, the tall middle finger was king, the ring finger was silver, and of course, the pinkie finger was just that – pink.

The pictures with this post show two views looking down from the tramway. The first is of two cruise ships and the second is of the town itself. 

Two cruise ships from tramway in Juneau

Looking at Juneau from tramway

May 19 - North to Alaska

Lyle and I have just returned from a seven day cruise to Alaska and it was wonderful. This was the first time that we had been on a cruise of any kind and the experience didn’t disappoint. We had booked at the last minute on a deal and were thrilled at also getting a last minute upgrade on our cabin.

Let me tell you about that first. The upgrade was a balcony which was nice, but for me, the best part was that the room was at the very end of a hallway at the back of the ship. I could find our room on my own without having to count doorways. The deck level was announced on the elevator and I simply walked down the hall until I reached the end. Of course, this might sound a simple matter to those of you who can see the numbers on the doors, but for me it was a huge stride in independence. I did have a bit of trouble on the elevators. I wasn’t able to see which floor number to press. I solved this by pressing them all and then just waiting until our level was announced. Until I reached this solution, I did do a bit of riding up and down and experimenting.

While the location of our cabin was made easy, now let me tell you about the most difficult part for me. The breakfast and lunch buffet line was a nightmare. The line seemed to go from each end of a long counter of foods extraordinaire but the throng of people crowding around often carrying full dinner plates and cups of hot and cold liquids was very confusing. I was afraid that I might bump into someone at every step I took. Not only that, it was almost impossible to manage my own selection in one hand with my cane in the other. I ended up just sitting at a table at letting Lyle wait on me. With the long lines at the food counters, this wasn’t his favourite thing to do either.

So, those are the two practical issues. Other than that, we both really enjoyed life on board the ship and the different and in many cases, spectacular scenery. Our ship left from Vancouver and stopped at Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, with a short cruise into Glacier Bay before returning again to Vancouver. I will tell you more of each spot once Lyle has had a chance to sort through our photos.

In the meantime, here is a picture of our ship. We travelled on the Volendam with Holland America. It was definitely a good first cruise experience. 

Sue in front of the Volendam