The last 2 days have been very busy so I have not had time to update the blog. Following breakfast we had our, now customary, brisk mile on Promenade Deck 7 and were lucky enough to see dolphins or porpoises cavorting near the boat. On the approach to Juneau we were, as usual, keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife on shore or in the water but … No bears! No whales! Docking was a complicated process with much rope-pulling but finally all was safe for disembarkation for our respective excursions. That involved a lengthy stand in line for our Princess cards to be scanned and then a lengthy stand in line for our bus to the Mendenhall Glacier. We were very impressed by the glacier and its calves (icebergs in the lake). The beautiful scene was added to by the Nugget Falls. In the Visitor Centre we had a brief look at the displays but decided to take advantage of the hour we had to do a 45 minute walk to Nugget Falls and back. We hoped to see mountain goats and even a bear but …No mountain goats! No bears!
Next stop was Glacier Gardens set in the largest temperate rainforest in North America. It is famous for its upside down tree flower gardens - photos later - and a hairy ride up Thunder Mountain to a viewpoint from which to view Juneau and our cruise ship below! I was ssscared stiffff and pleased to be wedged into a cart (so they called it) between Jim and an oriental gentleman. This visit was followed by a visit to a rather boring salmon hatchery - one can’t be enthusiastic all of the time!
Friday evening - dinner, Motown Show (which had a rather clever rendition of Superstition with ghosts and skeletons etc.), a music quiz, a country and western hoedown (with line dancing classes!) and bed.
On Saturday I woke to beautiful scenery around 4.30am and we had our earliest breakfast at 5.30 as we watched the approach into Skagway. Again the docking procedure which we didn’t bother watching having seen it once. Again long standing in line for disembarkation and even longer standing in line for boarding the train for The White Pass Scenic Train. This was a spectacular journey on the railroad that had been blasted through coastal mountains during the Klondike Gold Rush. It was difficult to get photos because things were far away, the route was tree-lined except for a few spaces and the train was moving. En route we saw a black bear but got a very poor photo. On the return trip we saw a mountain goat high up on the rocks. I’m glad I’m not a goat! Water was supplied on the train but Jim and I had neglected to pack some supplies so were very hungry when the 4 hour journey was over!
Skagway is located at the northern tip of Alaska’s Inside Passage. It got its name from the native Tlingit name “Skagua” which originally translated as “the place where the north wind blows” Modern translations read “a windy place with white caps on the water”. It certainly was windy! However, there was no rain so it was grand for exploring the town. Skagway, like Juneau, has more than its fair share of jewellery shops and prices are far from cheap - we didn’t bother to go in.
Evening entertainment included a 70s music quiz, Kevin Hughes the comedian, and scenery watching from our balcony. Jim saw a humpback whale during dinner but I missed it!
Today we are cruising Glacier Bay and already there are signs of glaciers all around us. There should be some good photo opportunities and, of course, we will be watching out for wildlife.
Having forgotten the palaver involved the first morning, we decided to have breakfast in the restaurant this morning. Our waiter from Mexico did a great job of making me feel like a bold child. First I asked for a bran and fruit muffin to be told I already had one. Then when he brought me my tropical fruit delight, I was digging in and he told me to wait till my yogurt arrived. When I asked for a fresh pot of tea, he opened the teapot to see if there was any of the first pot left as if to say I had no right to order more tea until I had finished the first pot - never mind that the tea was cold to start with. He didn't look the slightest bit pleased when I exited the dining room, muffin in hand for later consumption. I had to double my medication to recover from the experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment