Day 50 Ketchikan and Farewell

At 10.00 am this morning the Diamond Princess docked alongside the pier in Ketchikan for our final stop in Alaska. The sun was shining, and we took wallets ashore to spend our final American dollars before we leave for Canada.

Ketchikan is a traditional Alaskan town full of wooden buildings and local handicrafts which celebrate the ethnic heritage of the region.  A funicular railway ascends the steep hillside, and waterfalls and walkways are landscaped into the slopes.

 The harbour and dockside are set against a background of snow capped peaks and tiny sea planes.

Sorry, no photos today...the ship's internet is being difficult! I'll add them later.

 This last port of call coincides with the final and 50th post of my charity challenge, ’50 Bloggin’ Days’.  To those of you who have regularly clicked on these pages, I say thank you. The blog has now received over 9000 hits and will hopefully reach 10,000 by the time we return home.

If you have already donated to my justgiving charity page, or are intending to do so, I send you my sincere gratitude on behalf of the growing number of people worldwide who benefit from continuing research in improving the treatment of Diabetes. This chronic condition did not prevent Chris from enjoying an amazing trip, though we did experience a few near catastrophes along the way!

When we return to England, I will write at least one final post with links to more photos and an index of pages. Feel free to contact me through the blog comments section or another site if you have any questions about the ship, our ports of call, or travelling with Diabetes.

Please donate by clicking on www.justgiving.com/ClaireBaldry

Day 49 Watching the Whales

Juneau is the capital of Alaska. Like many Alaskan towns it is only accessible by plane or ferry. If you drive out of town for 7 miles, you will reach a barrier and a sign which reads ‘End of the Road’.

 The town is famous for the Birdman of Alcatraz, the Red Dog Saloon, and, of course, Sarah Pallin. Our ship docked close to town, and we would happily have spent a few hours wandering around the many tourist shops and attractions.

But we had booked what appeared to be an exorbitantly overpriced Princess trip to watch the whales.

On average it rains for 220 days in Juneau. Being so early in the season, we were fortunate indeed to climb onto a coach in sunshine. The coach took us the 5 miles to our ‘whale watching’ vessel. I had expected to embark a chilly and exposed water craft overcrowded with camera yielding passengers. The reality was far better. We found ourselves on a 2 storey, spacious, glass protected catamaran. There were only about 50 of us onboard a vessel designed to hold 250. With free tea and coffee and generous use off binoculars, we set off comfortably into Auk Bay.

The opitical zoom on my medium priced Fuji camera reaches a maximum of 18x. This was barely sufficient for the next 3 hours, but, thanks to my cheap portable bendy mini tripod (which I would recommend as a purchase), I did manage to focus a few photos on the experience which followed.

A Bald Eagle

Sea Lions

And now for the whales....

Hump Back Whales are longer in size  than a coach. The ones we saw spend their winters in Hawaii giving birth to young, then head off to Alaskan feeding grounds for the summer. 

The first indication of their presence is a misty spout, as the whales exhale air and water in their approach to the surface. The boat then goes silent and we wait. A whale can dive for over 10 minutes and we have no idea where it will resurface.

Someone points to movement.

A dark shape appears on the surface of the water. We snap our cameras and hope we have caught the scene.

The shape turns into a fin.

The fin turns into a tail.

The whale descends into the depths and the cycle starts again.

Conservation rules prevent us from watching the same whale for too long, so we move on every 30 minutes. The time passes extremely quickly.

Unmissable!

    

Day 48 Close Up with a Glacier

If you have not yet put Alaska on your ‘must do’ list, fetch a pen and update that list now.

This is the reason.

 We entered Yakatak Bay at 12.30 pm today and sailed slowly into the bay until we reached the Hubbard Glacier. The rain had cleared, and sunlight reflected on the glassy seas. It was chilly...gloves, hat, leggings under trousers, 2 pairs of socks....And I stood outside in the icy Alaskan sunshine all afternoon mesmerised by the views. The Captain had manoeuvred the ship as close as possible to the Hubbard Glacier.

Pieces of ice crackled on the surface like a bowl of Rice Krispies.

We felt so close to the cloudy mountain tips, I wanted to reach out and touch them.  

Save up your pennies and visit Alaska. You will not be disappointed.

Day 47 A Taste of Alaska

In 1964 a massive earthquake rocked the east coast of Alaska. The consequent Tsunami destroyed half the houses in Seward killing 75 people. Despite this tragedy, a community of just over 2000 residents has thrived in the little Alaskan town of Seward.

 

It was here that we docked yesterday, surrounded by snow capped mountains and clear reflective waters.

his was the first cruise ship visit of the season, and our arrival temporarily doubled the population the town. Traditional wooden churches and veranda fronted shops filled the main street in downtown  Seward. We wandered happily buying souvenirs and gifts which will probably look a lot less attractive when we return to Sussex. I asked the seller in the bookshop if they were pleased to see so many visitors.  “It’s sure been a long dull winter” she replied. “We’re pleased to our little ‘ole town wake up”.

As we sailed out in the early evening, the scenery grew in stature.

Daylight continued until after 9pm and several whale spouts were visible in the distance as we ate our dinner.
For a first ever taste of Alaska, this visit was compelling

Day 46 Snow

It snowed all night. Small, persistent flakes showered the ship. We awoke to find an inch or more on our balcony. At breakfast a crew team were busy clearing the snow from the open decks. It is hard to rationalise during 4 weeks the difference between temperatures over 35 deg in Bangkok and the -2 deg, we are currently feeling. We have experienced a world of weather.

It is currently 2 pm ship’s time, midnight in the UK. The snow has started to fall again and looks set to continue. We are already planning our layers of clothing for Seward tomorrow. The sea is very calm, with excellent visibility despite the snow. Every so often I grab my coat and camera and set foot outside. Land has now disappeared but my whale count has risen to 3 spouts, 1 fin, and a large tail ( all separate sightings).  We expect to be passing the Alaskan Island of Kodiak shortly before entering Resurrection Bay very early tomorrow morning.

Our longitude is 56 deg North and the daylight hours are extended.  Sunrise will be at   5.19 am. The clocks go forward another hour tonight. I am undecided whether or not to set the alarm!

Day 45 Peaks and Spouts

After 4  full days at sea in very calm water without sight of land, we began to empathise with the Ancient Mariner. There are only so many Trivia Quizzes, a person can tolerate.

Then at 11 am this morning, the officer of the watch announced a whale sighting on the port side. I grabbed my camera and rushed downstairs to the outside promenade deck in the freezing cold with no coat. There they were....3 water spouts bursting from the ocean at a considerable distance. No photo was possible, but I have technically seen my first whale.

Within minutes, land appeared on the horizon, numerous snow capped peaks which have emerged in the view from our balcony....these are the Aleution Islands. Wow!

We are currently sailing due East just North of the islands ready to enter the Unimak Passage which links the Pacific Ocean to The Bering Sea. The temperature is barely above freezing, but I am now prepared. My camera is charged up, and my coat and hat and gloves are lying in wait by the balcony door in case Mr Whale pays a second call.  

Day 44 Cruise Food

Everyone knows that the food on cruise ships is generous and of high quality. Diamond Princess is no exception, though it appeals more to me than to Chris, in so far as there is a particularly good selection of fish and oriental food.

At lunchtime there is a choice of restaurant service, burger or pizza bar, extensive cooked and cold buffet, and daily speciality buffet on sea days.

We did not try the ‘pay extra’ dining options, but In the evening, those guests on flexible dining have a choice of 4 included restaurants. Each venue has the same basic menu, a daily a la carte range, and one restaurant speciality.  For example, the ‘Pacific Moon’ speciality is scallops and noodles. The full menus can be downloaded from the Princess website, but here are a couple of tasters.

A smoked salmon starter with potato pancakes

Citrus souffle