Woke up at 0700 which was really 0800 because the clocks went back again. Song mentioned we’re half way through the trip now, but it seems like ages ago that we were in Montreal, Kingston and Toronto. Getting ready, I looked out of the window and saw a whale – it was quite far away and small, but I saw the fin, water spout and tail. We’re booked into a whale watching tour today, so hopefully we’ll get closer.
The weather was very overcast, we were now off the coast of Alaska and the clouds covered the hills, very grey.
Went to breakfast, it was packed again, I had the fried one today as well as a pastry. It’s hard to resist when it’s all laid out and paid for.
Went for a walk around the deck again and up and down the stairs. Our room was still being tidied so we went back upstairs and sat in the lido area looking at the views, still 3 hours until we docked. According to the weather channel it was raining but the top temperature was supposed to be 24c.
We passed along the coast, scenery very similar to Canada, hills and mountains covered in trees and some snow, and some small waterfalls.
As we approached Juneau (which is the state capital of Alaska, and not Anchorage which a lot of ignorant people think, us included) there were already 3 other cruise ships in port, so I thought the town was going to be busy.
Got off the boat into the rain, and could either walk 1.6 km into the town or pay $3 USD each to get the bus. Since we’re not doing much exercise decided to walk, and it was fine.
Got into the town which was a reasonable size, and almost every shop in the main street was a jewellers. There were the inevitable souvenir shops as well. We went into a cafe mainly to use the internet and it was really stingy – a one time code that lasted for 15 minutes. I let Song use it, and we decided to get another drink later so I could use it as well. It felt like we were back in the 1990s when internet and sms messages were charged for. I had hoped to download Game of Thrones but that wasn’t going to happen. I resigned myself to being without the net for the next week. At least the coffee was nice.
We sat for a while, the sun came out and it warmed up enough for us to take our jackets off, but I didn’t think it would get to 24c.
Walked to the tour pick up spot, and headed off for whale watching and a glacier walk.
The glacier walk was a bit of a misnomer – we got dropped off at a bus stop and walked for 20 minutes to a beach where we could see the glacier where it met the lake and a waterfall right next to the beach. The glacier was much more impressive than the one we saw in Canada (Athabasca), we could see the blue ice, and the glacier climbed the mountain into the clouds. The waterfall fell directly onto the lake next to the beach, and a few brave people walked right up to it to take photos. We spent a few minutes there taking in the view and photos, then hiked back to the bus and onto the whale watching tour.
The weather was still cloudy, with the occasional burst of rain. The scenery from the boat was good – lots of small islands and the snow covered mountains, plus we could see the top of the glacier we visited earlier. We headed out along the coast and saw several bald eagles, and soon came across 2 hump back whales feeding next to the shore. We could see the fins, and when they blew water, but they were submerged for the most part. I asked where the harpoon was, I fancied a go, but this boat didn’t have one. We carried on and found another, and this one was a bit more active and could see more of it.
Pushed on a bit further to where a couple of other boats were and saw 4 killer whales swimming along, going under water and then popping up. It was difficult to take photos because we didn’t know where or when they would appear. After taking several, put the camera down and just watched them for a while. The guide said they only see the killer whales every few weeks, so we were lucky. Magnificent. There was one that was larger than the others, so I called him the Prince of Whales. Boom tish. We also saw a seal that popped up just next to the boat.
We then turned around and headed back, and I think the captain must have thought he’d left the gas on, because we were rocketing over the waves, bouncing up and down.
It was now 1900 and the cruise ship was leaving at 2130 so hopefully we’d be on board when it left. We were both excited to be going back to the boat – getting back to our room, into the warm, having dinner – it just felt really comfortable. It’s like a floating hotel, or to use a word I just invented, a floatel. I think we’re becoming fans of the cruise. Yes, it’s full of old people, and it’s not exactly cheap, but I think it’s actually good value.
Got back ok and went straight to dinner. We’d previously had dinner in the Lido, which was a buffet, this time we went to the dining room which was a proper restaurant with a nice menu and waiters – don’t know why we didn’t go before, it was much better and included in the package (ie free). However, booze was extra but despite this I decided to have a beer, an Alaskan Imperial red ale, brewed in the place where we were docked, and very nice it was too.
I had French onion soup to start, Song had a seafood platter. I had duck breast for main and Song had another starter, crab.
I had an Alaskan fudge sundae for dessert, Song had a passion fruit cheesecake. Phew.
Stuffed both from the food and the activity, went back to the room.
Tomorrow is a place called Skagway, where we hope to book a train trip if there are still places.
