As first-timers on a cruise we thought we should attend the briefing by the In Port Shopping Director and the On Shore Tourist Guide. We thought their presentations were interesting and would be useful but really they were just a ‘promo team’ for the cruiseline’s preferred shops and tours. We found it much more interesting to go off shore on our own and explore at our leisure.
At every port and indeed every town and village we have been in Alaska, Canada and the north of USE there have been flowers; beautiful spring and summer blooms in formal gardens, hanging baskets, window boxes and random pots anywhere and everywhere. They brighten the streets,lane and any vacant corners in all the paces we visited. Very pretty:)
At every port and indeed every town and village we have been in Alaska, Canada and the north of USE there have been flowers; beautiful spring and summer blooms in formal gardens, hanging baskets, window boxes and random pots anywhere and everywhere. They brighten the streets,lane and any vacant corners in all the paces we visited. Very pretty:)
KETCHIKAN was our first port of call on the cruise. It is a really pretty little town with cute houses nestled under the mountains that reach almost to the shore with about 15,000 permanent residents. Surprising when you find out that it in only accessible by sea or air. Fishing, timber and mining are what brought people here but now it’s mainly tourism that keeps it alive – hence the 1,001 souvenir and art & craft shops.
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| village of Ketchikan |
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| saw this outside a shop - so true! |
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| veiw of creek near Ketchikan Old Town |
We made our way out of the downtown area and headed to the Tongass Historical Museum to see the very tall totems. The Amerindian people are very proud of their heritage and they are keen for us to see and learn about their culture.
We then wandered along a boardwalk where all the buildings are built on stilts over the water (they ran out of land) – it is an ‘authentic old town’ area which features a brothel, banks, saloons, gold-assayers, etc.
JUNEAU is the capital of Alaska and was where we got our ‘formal’ tour through the Government House. Interesting! We learned that their State Seal features seals, fish, snow topped mountains, timber and ships representing the livelihood of Alaska. The building has some old and some newer additions and has no security system except for security guards when parliament is in session. The pubic gallery is smaller than Lismore Council’s and we got to see Sarah Palin’s office.
Our guide was a young girl, born and educated in Juneau. She encouraged us to spend money with the local family businesses and not the ship’s shops.
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| snow fed waterfall into Icy Strait |
TRACY ARM was our first view and experience with a glacier. A huge river of ice moving down through the mountains – the day was still and dry although a little cloudy. The ship got as close as it has ever been able to get to the glacier. The atmosphere on board was quite intense. As we glided towards the glacier people stopped talking to listen for the creaks and moans of the glacier – very moving. Just a sense that this thing was alive and moving and the colours were beautiful. Our photos are OK but the real thing was even more vibrant. We also saw seals lounging on big chunks of ice, floating along in the water. Cute…
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| different glacier at Tracy Arm |
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| Tracy Arm - frozen river of ice |
ICY STRAIT- Here we were tendered ashore to visit an old salmon cannery that has been turned into an educational centre and, of course, a tourist attraction. You can take a bus ($7.00) into town to walk the main street (yes, just one street) but we decided to make the most of the information centre.
I learned that the canned salmon we buy in Australia is no different to that anywhere else in the world. It is all canned and steamed the same way – developed many years ago in Alaska.
We chatted with some local Alaskan Indian people whose families have lived in this area forever. It was interesting to hear them talk about the changes over the years. One thing I found was that famous and ‘important’ people including many figureheads, politicians and movie stars have been coming to these remote villages for over a hundred years, looking to get away from the cities. It’s a long way to go to ‘get away from it all’.HOMER – We took the bus from the ship to the Spit. There were a lot of shops, galleries, and touristy stores. We had a look around – there were some appealing artwork and many Alaskan handicrafts – then we had a latte and went back to the ship. Others took the ‘other’ bus and went into town. They said it was really lovely and very interesting. We were sorry we didn’t go too.
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| cute shop front at Homer |
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| Salty Dawg - for our friend Boyd |
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| They spend time making the shop fronts look inviting |
KODIAK – It has been just lovely visiting at Kodiak in north, north Alaska - but we didn't see bears. Lots of lovely little craft shops and I bought a patchwork wall hanging in kit form so I can make it when I get really old and retire. It features the bald eagle, which has always intrigued Johno. There was also an undercover market and one very clever lady was making beautiful utility bags from old woolen coats. I have tried to take a pattern and maybe test it out at home. Really funky and I just love the ‘recycle’ concept.
It's seems like nowhere is too far away - here we are, a gzillion miles from anywhere - only boat or plane access - and there's 7,000 people living here and Subway & MacDonalds have prime sites and do good business - the greatest contradiction.
After leaving Kodiak we found ourselves at sea in thick, pea soup fog and the ship's fog horn sounding every 5 minutes.
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| Approaching Hubbard Glacier |
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| calving - on left |
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| the colours of Hubbard |
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| blue blue Hubbard |
SITKA – We walked up the main street of Sitka and looking up there was a great bald eagle sitting on the steeple of a church, which happened to divide the street and creating a very startling image. At first glance one cold have thought it was a fake but no, he was a magnificent bird, and just when we got used to that view another eagle came to sit with the first. It was fitting, we thought, that Sitka was where we had booked a tour of the local raptor centre.
The Alaska Raptor Centre cares for and wherever possible releases rehabilitated birds back into the wild. However, some never recover fully and are kept at the centre in outdoor displays. We enjoyed visiting and getting up close to some of the magnificent birds of prey.
On our way back to the ship at the wharf, a young boy of 10 years (Zac was his name) was singing “American Pie” in full voice and self-accompanied on the guitar. He was so good - entertaining, polished and sang with gusto. Of course, we popped some coins in his hat to help him buy a new guitar. I just love the randomness of this trip and the unexpected pleasures we experience.
ANCHORAGE – we tried so hard to meet up with my sister’s sister-in-law but things just didn’t work out. She works at Denali National Park and it would have been great to catch up. Anyway she gave us good advice about what to see so we took ourselves off to the Alaska Zoo. Again, it is a wildlife rehabilitation centre and there were plenty of native animals to see, especially the bears.
There was a polar bear who was particularly entertaining, playing with a floating ‘esky’ lid, and seemed to know that he had an audience – even went so far as to push his nose against the glass windows. We also saw black bear, elk, a tiger (from a distance), buffaloe, and more raptors.
Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and is very modern and progressive. There are shopping malls with all the name-brand outlets, all the food takeout chains, hotels, motels and business you would expect from a big city – about 280,000 people.
VICTORIA, BC was our only Canadian port of call during the cruise – very pretty, colonial buildings, lots of flowers everywhere.
We only had about ½ a day there but we lucky enough to arrive during the Buskers Festival. So after we had strolled around the waterfront we chilled (yes – it was very windy and quite cool) out watching and listening to the buskers and entertainers. Fun and funny!!
We also checked out the shopping mall just out of interest as there were lots more shops and labels (esprit, billabong, etc) more like Australia - I guess because we are all British Commonwealth – anyway only looking, Canada is very expensive compared to USA and Australia.
So this is our account of the ports. There is so much more we could add but some photos will probably suffice.
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