Alaska

It is by far the most scenic place I have ever been, especially Glacier Bay is something to remember. Sailing to some 50 meters of the Glaciers itself is unforgettable. I cannot imagine this will stay for much longer, as less ships will be allowed in and so close I think in the (near) future.

The people I met in the ports were, although rather American, also very real and sometimes rough on the edges, something to go with the territory I think.

Going by ship is extremely comfortable traveling, but I also miss going places by car I was not able to go by ship.

• What did I like most? Especially the diversity of the landscape, especially Glacier Bay.
• What did I dislike most? Not much, actually nothing this time.
• Which city was best? I loved Ketchikan, the mix of a port and old houses and not too small and in an extremely nice scenic environment.
• What activity was best? The Eagle Preserve floating boat tour.
  Best overall day? Glacier Bay.

Overall score, a 9 out of 10, the perfect 10 I will reserve for Antarctica :-).

I met most of my ladies again today and exchanged e-mail addresses. It was an relaxed day, a bit too relaxed, most people were tired from the days before.

During the day I gave some gratuities to some of the people I “used” most, the coffee guy and the bartender.

The cruise itself was rough again, although the wind was coming from the front. Not a lot of people were outside, several decks were closed, but it gave nice pictures with waves from 2 to 6 meters high.

The last dinner I gave copies with some personal messages to my table ladies, strange ending …

End of the evening was with the last show, partly done by guests. One last drink and that’s it. Tomorrow at 7 AM debarkation and off to the airport. Flying at 1 PM, first to Calgary, returning Thursday in Amsterdam.

Will update the entry with some pictures later (Internet is slow and I am out of minutes) and will add an epilogue later.

My excursion today will start at 12.30 so I will have some time to explore Ketchikan as we will dock most probably before eleven. A lot of people go of the boat just to visit the town; their enjoyment is different than mine. I will take the Misty Fjord excursion that will hopefully give me some new options to encounter Whales, Orca’s, Seals and Eagles again.

A very fast catamaran again, almost fully booked at high speed to Misty Fjord. Again an almost perfect day, sunny, dry and with a non polluted air to breath in, great way to spend your day.

We saw several Bald Eagles again, still trying to make the perfect picture. But I have several now, although a bit artificial as there was one in Ketchikan very close to my camera, nevertheless a perfect shot ….

Today was a typical scenic nature day again, just what I need after yesterday. The Mystic Fjord itself and the way in and out are beautiful, although we had some rain and mist in the fjords itself, what’s in a name :-).

Tomorrow I hope to see some whales on the way back; in Canada there are more sightings. I only missed the bears and the moose, well most I will se in the future as I will go back to this part of the world, will it be British Columbia, Yukon Territory or Alaska more North and West.

When leaving Amsterdam the weather forecast was bas, seven days rain. Until now, no rain at all, well yesterday afternoon a bit, but that was during cruising.

Today again it seems to be a very bad day, but the guides were telling, the worse the weather, the more animals you will see, and guess what … No rain though just very cloudy, the perfect day to spot Bald Eagles. And what it day it was, we saw I think close to a hundred younger and older Bold Eagles. They have very distinguished white heads, but until they become thee years of age they are rather brown.

We started with going out by a catamaran ferry from Skagway to Haines, about half an hour by boat. After that we met the extremely engaging guide Tom Lang, who was not only able to talk about our upcoming trip but also about the local customs and specialties.

Actually I did not even know what we were actually planning to do, I only knew we were going to the Eagle Preserve and do a floating boat tour. So we took the bus to go upstream for 20 miles or so and got a lesson in how to board and stay in a raft. Normally that needs some technique, especially when going ion a white water river, this one was rather easy as sometime the water was only a few centimeters high, a great float though.

Going we stopped once and already experienced a lot of birds, several Bald Eagles. It was just a teaser ….

At the rafting platform we got instructions and went down the river with eight persons per boat, we had all together four rafts.

Almost every corner gave some opportunities to see Eagles, most too far away to make good pictures. But I made many new friends as lot’s of Americans came up to me after the trip to give me their e-mails as I was the only one, making some “perfect” pictures. To my opinion by far not perfect, but I have to say, I am getting better and better.

I now met many people and they all want to see my pictures, great feeling that is. At the same time I am collecting many new addresses to stay for in the future. Added Texas, California and Oregon to the list, next to Australia and Malta. Not bad for a first cruise :-).

The rest of the morning we strolled along the glaciers of Glacier Bay, I have to say it's the best scenic experience I have ever had. Pictures will do the talking.

The rest of the morning it was great weather, bit gold, but also sunny. I met a  person I spoke to before from Malta and had a long talk about illegal people coming into our countries. You hear about the problems in Spain and Italy, at Malta though the problems are even worse, the percentage is much higher.

At half past one we were in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, the former residence of Sarah Palin. She quit some time ago and the new one also has initials S and P, so that is rather cheap, linen does not have to be exchanged.

Getting of the boat with all people together did not really lead to a jam, all were rather fast of the boat and at the pier it was perfectly arranged, so it was easy where to get to.

Regretfully we heard half of the Photo Safari on Land and Sea was canceled. Obviously it was the Sea part, as the waves were to high to go out safe. Ok, half the money back, but the fun part not on.

We were with a bigger group, which was split near the Mendenhall Glacier. We went with Lizz, a good photographer who taught me a lot about how to use my camera. It is not in what to shoot, as I think I already know what to shoot and even how to get it in the scene itself, but especially about using shutter, field of depth, different ISO’s etc.

The Mendenhall Glacier is retracting fast, but over 60 feet per year. Last year it was rather warm and it melted much more.  We were able to take many pictures with different perspectives. A pity we did not see any bears, although we saw many marks they made the night before.  Wild Salmon and Harbour Seals were photographed. Ending up in Juneau again, where many outlets try to sell you clothes and especially gold, as Juneau started out as Gold Town.

At cocktail time I engaged with a couple from Washington, state that is. Again a political and financial talk about all problems, they think the US started.

Dinner was again perfect, “my ladies” are getting more frank with the minute. Ending again the evening with a humerous show. We’re now leaving again and will arrive tomorrow ate Glacier Bay, one of the best parts of the trip.

After half an hour had alight breakfast with lots of fruit, most are enjoying the English/American breakfast again.

Early in the morning many people were just walking one of the top desks as their morning exercise. It was a great morning, Sunrise was perfect. Today we will be cruising part of the Inside Passage, on the way back we will be much closer to the shore.

At nine I visited my first nature presentation, all about volcanoes and glaciers, presented by a very engaged naturalist.

Lunch some hours later Mexican style, followed by another presentation on the Alaskan Wildlife, hope to see many of the ones shown. Possibly seals, whales, hopefully an occasional bear or wolf.  Needed some hours sleep, missed a lot already. Sea is a bit rough; waves are now some meters high.

Later that evening met my bunch of females again for an engaging dinner, although one of them needed to go due to an allergic reaction on eating Lobster. It could also have been on the rough see, as the scene reminded me of the Titanic going down … Just having dinner, some music and suddenly ….

Ending the evening with a Jazz Hot show. Although I am not really into Jazz it was a nice ending of day three. Tomorrow after another halve day of cruising we will dock in the first port and to start my first excursion, the “Photo Safari by Land and Sea”.