ALASKA - Second stop - Skagway

SKAGWAY

After leaving Vancouver we were 'out at sea' for a day and a half and then dropped in at Juneau.  Apart from the fact that Sarah Palin lived there for  the time she was Governor  (Juneau is the capital of Alaska) I was not that impressed with the little town.

I took this photo from the ship as we arrived,  of an old jetty just outside Juneau.

   

One main street in Juneau .. love the mountains as a backdrop

 

The large white house is the Governor's house in Juneau.

The following stop - Skagway,  was quite different.  The most delightful little town - Chocolate- box   pretty wooden buildings,  timber board-walk pavements and everything as neat as a pin.  We disembarked early and boarded the "White Pass & Yukon Route train that took us to the White Pass Summit.  The train climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles with gradients of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels, bridges and trestles.  "The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of it's kind when it was constructed in 1901"

It was great fun, and each coach had a little 'pot-belly' stove which provided warmth and cheer.

I spent most of the ride outside, between the swaying coaches trying to get good photos!  There was a lot of editing and I think I got some good pics.  It was very cold out there, the train was rocking and rolling and travelling at considerable speed.  The result was many blurred photos!

The 'brakeman' inspecting the train before our descent

The Flags at the summit

The landscape was exceptionally beautiful!

Back in Skagway, we did some shopping and below some of the pics of the day.

Cruise ships stop at Juneau and Skagway everyday during the season, resulting sometimes in up to 11,000 visitors a day!  I must say that I did admire their friendliness and patience

Mr R-I took this picture of Judy, Ozzie and me.  I love the combination of the huge cruiser berthed right next to the train!  Judy is sporting her new bag bought in Skagway!

My final post on Alaska will tell of our visit to Ketchikan and Glacier Bay.

CRUISING ANYONE?

Question: Have any of you been cruising?  

We hadn't and  I really wasn't sure what to expect!... It soon became very clear to me as we boarded that everything is ENORMOUS!!

Boarding this large ship along with 2000 of my closest friends was a process .. .very well managed I might add!  We moved and shuffled and were bemused by this new experience.  



Once on board,  we were delighted with our cabin which was at the extreme rear of the ship (the Stern) on the left corner.  We had a lovely deck and the stateroom was spacious.  We soon learnt that nothing happens quickly on-board ship! We had problems with the drainage in our bathroom - the basins emptied very slowly and I had managed to "lose" the key to the lock on my suitcase! It only took 4 hours for someone to come to my rescue!  The drainage was repaired the following day.  

The beds and bedding on this ship were superb... and we slept in such comfort.

Leaving Vancouver area

Meals and the booking of meals was a learning curve in itself.  There are two sittings for dinner at both Vista 1 and Vista 2 Restaurants!    The first sitting is at 5.30pm and the next at 7.30.  We opted for the second and booked mostly for 7.45pm.  I can only marvel at the vast quantities of food prepared on this ship daily.  The food was quite good and there were a couple of "select" restaurants where one could eat after paying $10.00 per person extra.  

The Lido is a vast Buffet style dining room where all meals are served daily as there were many, many people who preferred to eat self-served food, given that they could return to the buffet as often as their appetites would allow them to!!   

We had breakfast in the Lido and arrived early in order to find a table next to a window and avoid the crowds!  There was a fair selection of fruit, an excellent selection of bakery products and lots of different cooked breakfast options.  The coffee was undrinkable but luckily we discovered The Observation Cafe which was on Deck 10!!!  Needless to say,  we would walk the length of the ship and head up to the 10th floor for a decent cup of coffee... Did I say "cup"?... I meant paper cup!!

The library in the Observation Lounge

The Observation Cafe is housed in the Observation Lounge and library, on the 10th Deck at the Bow of the ship.  We loved this area as it was reasonably quiet,  and aesthetically pleasing.  Tan leather lounging chairs,  books, magazines and the smell of coffee...  There were doors from this area to the Observation Deck where photographic opportunities had to be scrounged for!  Our day in Glacier Bay was particularly difficult as everyone with a camera hugged the railings and one had to ask for a spot exchange in order to take a photo!!

There is a daily schedule of events posted in the 'post-box' of each stateroom.  Specials at the Spa,  live concerts,  art auctions,  card games,  bingo etc are just a few of activities one could participate in on board ship.  I did sometimes get the feeling that we were a captive audience,  and that a certain amount of "hard-sell"  was metered out!  For example,  a "Five minute make-over"  talk was nothing more than a ploy to get us to buy cosmetics!   There was Ross,  the tour director who made numerous announcements over the intercom system each day informing everyone of what entertainment was available!

I opted for sight-seeing mostly... and what sight-seeing there was.  In the next post,  I will talk about Alaska.

The beauty of the Inner Passage through Alaska

HELLO VANCOUVER!

As explained in a previous post, half of our planned trip to Canada and Alaska was cancelled due to ill health.   We missed the first two weeks of travel around parts of Canada which included Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper and others.   We joined the rest of the tour in Vancouver, the day before the proposed cruise into Alaska. 

A day in Vancouver gave us a mini-view of this pretty city.  Vancouver is  quite  'young' being established in 1886 and  I was impressed by some of the architecture, the cleanliness but perhaps a   bit disappointed in the apparent lack of pavement culture in the city.  I realise however,  that these observations were restricted to the immediate area near to our hotel.   The suburbs could of course prove be very different.   The coffee was also disappointing but friendliness and the 

excellent service, more than made  up for this! 

We visited The Nitobe Garden - a small Japanese garden opposite the University of British Columbia - a quiet hour spent in this lovely space was uplifting for our jet-lagged souls and below photos of this garden. 

Nitobe Memorial Garden

Below - a couple of photos of the  Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia a visit which proved to be fascinating

Ancient Totum Poles

The Nanai people of Siberia, Russia used fish as their primary food source.  They used fish skins to create traditional-style clothing as is the case with this salmon-skin coat below.  These coats were light, water repellent and durable.  The skins would have been dried, moistened and kneaded to make them soft before being sewn into a garment.  The aplique embroidery and fabric were also added for embellishment.




Circumpolar clothing was manufactured from skins of local fish and mammals, was functional and often carefully crafted using intricate embroidery and delicate needlework.

I thought this coat was magnificent and I'm sure designers like Ralph Lauren have drawn inspiration from these garments as well as garments worn by the early indigenous people of the USA.

Vancouver Art Gallery

These beautiful lights inside the Vancouver Art Gallery are manufactured from paper.

Street Art - some of it quite superb

We also strolled through Gastown on the evening before our cruise even though we were warned by our hotel that we should be careful as this area could be 'dangerous'?..  Gastown was the Vancouver's first downtown area and was named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman. 

Gastown is a mix of "hip" shopping, souvenir and home furnishing boutiques. The architecture is very attractive  as are the street lights,  trees and there is a trendy atmosphere. 

Gastown typical building style - note the street lamp

Steam clock in Gastown

As we leave Vancouver

Vancouver is overlooked by mountains

I will talk about Alaska in my next couple of posts.  I was very disappointed to have missed the Canadian component of the trip but as Vancouver is "only" a 14hr direct flight from Sydney,  we will definitely make a point of revisiting Canada.