3. Across the North Pacific

[You can double click on photos to enlarge them]

Fri, Sep 19, 2008 College Fjord, Alaska

We have sailed on several hundred miles, across the top of the Gulf of Alaska in open water, to the semi-sheltered waters of beautiful Prince William Sound. It is hard to believe that in 1989,

the Exxon Valdez ran around here, and 11 million gallons of oil discharged into the water. The evidence of that disaster was no longer visible to us as tourists, but certainly would be to those more familiar to the area. In mid-afternoon, we entered one of the many inlets off the Sound and headed into College Fjord. Back in 1899, College Fjord was just a small inlet which ended at the so-called Barry Glacier, but a railway magnate, on vacation in a chartered steamship, saw an unmapped opening beyond the snout of the Glacier and ventured into uncharted waters. It was another stunning wilderness area, pristine as far as could be seen, and hiding several more major glaciers coming right down to the water (so-called tidewater glaciers, very rare in the world). Over the next few years, these were explored and named for 7 Ivy League colleges. Because of global warming, all of them have retreated miles today from their locations when they were first observed, but they were glorious shrouded in the mist.

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Sat, Sep 20, 2008 Whittier, Alaska

After sailing on a few hours, we arrived just after midnight, at the end of the line for the Alaska portion of our trip: the tiny town of Whittier. Surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it is the gateway port for the major city of Anchorage, 65 miles away. Although bustling as a staging area in WW2, Whittier now has a population of 290 –- all of whom are implicated in the fishing industry or the seasonal cruise ships. There is one big apartment building and evidently most folks in the town live there. It also houses the Post Office (closed), a tuck shop, and a 2 room faith-based Seaman’s Mission, where – amazingly enough – there was free high speed internet! After 5 days of no internet access on the ship, due to various reported reasons, the place was packed. We brought in and reviewed hundreds of real & junk messages, and finally sent out the 2nd posting of the blog. The Mission volunteers drove from Anchorage (1 hr) and Seward (90 min) to be here today, and one even gave us a free ride back to the ship, a mile+ away.

Overall, Whittier has a ruggedly beautiful setting, but offers no imaginable enticement for us to ever revisit. Meanwhile, during the day, 1300 passengers departed the Diamond Princess, cabin attendants cleaned and readied 650 rooms, and 1300 new guests boarded (and started eating…).

[Tackle, Ammo, Ice, Bait... seeing this, Colleen asked why she was here!]



Sun, Sep 21, 2008 Kodiak, Alaska

Mid-morning, we docked 450 miles away at Kodiak Island, famous for the gigantic Kodiak brown bear – the world’s biggest – and for being one of the top 3 largest commercial fishing ports in the US. Russian merchants had settled the island in the late 1700’s, but with the US purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, the US military established a garrison. By WW2, the troop strength had reached 25,000. Industries related to fishing, hunting and sport boating now dot the harbour area of the main settlement, population 2,500.

Again, this part of the world has towering peaks, dramatic landscapes, wide water vistas, and a lot of tranquility. And, what’s more, the sun began to shine through the clinging mist!

Like pilgrims, we trotted off the ship in search of our Mecca: the internet. A mile long walk from the ship, past some canneries and loading docks, brought us into the town center. Killing time while we waited for the public library to open, we wandered the town, visiting briefly a tiny Russian Orthodox church, and then stumbling upon the wonderful Wildlife Refuge museum built by the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Department. It housed, among other displays, the skeleton of a 40’ gray whale which had washed up on one of Kodiak’s very few roads about 10 years previously. The state conservation official responsible for finding the animal and making the project happen was there, and we chatted with her.

The library naturally had a long line for internet use, but we located free wireless in the coffee shop of at a nearby motel.

Back on board, we dined with former cruise mates from Aug 2006, Peter and Stephanie from Toronto. More details later on dining aboard.


Mon, Sep 22-27 At sea

Last night, we passed down the appropriate sea lanes and back out into the open ocean towards Asia, 5 sailing days away. For a day or two, we followed the trajectory of the Aleutian Islands, which extend a good 800 miles out into the North Pacific, and separate us from the Bering Sea and other points north. The seas were still fairly calm, but it was cold outside. In mid-morning, the Captain announced that we would detour to the southwest and increase speed to minimize impact with a major low pressure area. Gradually, by mid-afternoon Tuesday, the seas grew rougher and the overcast heavier. Calm seas turned to 2 meter swells as the day progressed, but we are on a 17 storey floating hotel, 116,000 tons, and while our walking may have zig-zagged a bit, (perhaps too much wine?), life aboard remained enjoyable.

In any event, Diamond Princess is huge – not as large as Emerald Princess we took from Fort Lauderdale to Istanbul and Venice 5 months ago - but still massive. Built in Japan and delivered on Feb 26, 2004, the ship is 950 feet long by 164 feet at her widest (the bridge). In the water, she requires a depth of 28 feet of water, and soars above the waterline 177 feet, in 17 decks. In that volume are housed passengers, crew, supplies of every conceivable type, fuel for the engines that can propel this behemoth at up to 22 nautical miles per hour, and even a 15 ton anchor.

Back to eating. What is there to have? Virtually, anything you want. There are many venues and opportunities for grazers and serious diners. Five concurrently operating dining rooms (themed for decoration but with the same vast menu, which changes every evening), and 2 specialty ones (Italian and Steak, where the menu doesn’t alter), a large buffet area, open 24 hours a day, and constantly changing offerings. Of course, what self-respecting cruise passenger would pass up the pizza station, the hamburger/hot dog grill, or the milk shake bar? Not to mention 14 more wine and liquor bars and a cappucino/latte bar with pastries… a lot of selection. Part of one meal’s menu is shown.

There are lots of interesting things that happen at sea, other than seeing glaciers and marine life, and eating. For example, on Tues evening around 9:30 pm, we passed westward over the International Date Line (IDL). Suddenly, instead of being 7 times zones behind Ottawa and Toronto, we were now 17 times zones ahead, and had 2 ½ hours left in the Wed that Ottawa/Toronto had barely begun to experience!

The IDL is an imaginary line opposite the Prime Meridian of longitude which passes through Greenwich, England, and is the boundary between +12 time zones and -12 time zones from Greenwich. The IDL offsets the date by one day when travelling east to west or west to east across it.

This disappearance, and reappearance of a day when crossing the IDL was the surprise twist in the Jules Verne classic Around the World in 80 Days, which had first been confronted when the survivors of the Magellan circumnavigation expedition (1519-1522) returned home one day differently than their careful records indicated.

2. Alaska & the Inside Passage

Fri, Sep 12 Ottawa

Promptly at 11:30 am, brother in law Alan picked up us and our 3 months’ tonnage of luggage. Last minute things prevented us from leaving until 20 minutes later than we planned. Then, half way to the airport, we encountered a total road blockage from an accident on Hunt Club Road. We hastily took a long detour, and it paid off. We skidded into the airport with just 35 minutes to flight time! A cooperative Air Canada agent - and the benefit of Elite status baggage check-in - had us at the gate as the final two people aboard, and we were on our way!

Our Calgary friend, Nina Chernichen - who often just happens to turn up where we are! - picked us up at the Vancouver airport and took us to the Pan Pacific Hotel downtown, where we met up with her son, had a fun dinner, and got caught up.

[Double click on any image to enlarge it]

Sat, Sep 13 Vancouver

Our ship, Diamond Princess, was berthed dockside adjacent to our hotel when we woke up, on a stunning Vancouver day. We spent the morning in nearby Stanley Park, on a rented bike and jogging, then met Vancouver friend Bruce McLeod for lunch on the sunny Pan Pacific terrace. At 2:30, we and our mountain of luggage headed the 150 yds to the Diamond boarding area. Documents in order? Check. Security? Check. US Immigration? Check. Boarding Pass and room key? Check. We finally embarked on the Diamond 13 months and a few days after making the reservation.

At 6:00 pm, we slipped our berth, gathered speed across Coal Harbour, passed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, and in the evening light, headed past the dreamy mountain ranges off Horseshoe Bay and glided north to Alaska.

One of the treats of cruise ships is that you meet wonderful, like-minded, people from all over the globe. And then you sometimes get the pleasure of cruising with them again. Such was the case for Las Vegas friends, Curt and Cindy Cornell, whom we met in Oct 06 on the Grand Princess transatlantic crossing, and visited in Feb 07 in their Nevada home. Because they had been on this ship already for the two preceding weeks, they had a lovely table in the dining room selected for our group of 8 who include other past cruise friends of theirs. They know all the dining staff, and we are certainly receiving the utmost attention and service because of them.

Sun, Sep 14 The Inside Passage

The ship is beautiful and luxurious, with lovely public spaces and gracious lines. We are carrying 2600 passengers and 1100 crew, and ours is a stateroom with twin beds and a balcony, and the room surprisingly holds all of our luggage quite comfortably. Today is a full day at sea, but the weather has turned to the usual coastal fog and mist for this time of the year, so we cannot see a lot. The Inside Passage is a water highway from Vancouver to Alaska that is protected from the open Pacific Ocean by many islands, the largest, of course, being Vancouver Island. The shore is quite close at times as we head up the Georgia Strait, and past the Seymour Narrows into the Johnstone Strait. This is killer whale (orca) and humpback whale territory, and the overcast conditions are ideal for sightings, but we haven’t spotted any yet. Porpoises, yes, and the occasional fishing boat, but no whales. Other than that, only hemlock, spruce and pine trees by the millions.

During the day, the waterway widens, and we head into Queen Charlotte Sound, then past the Queen Charlotte Islands themselves, and the broad and open, glass-like, Hecate Strait. To be sure, the sea conditions are not always this tranquil, but so far it has been grand,. As evening falls, the air cools and the fog closes in densely. Our periodic (and loud) fog horn interrupts the stillness every 3 minutes. It is very ethereal.


Mon, Sep 15 Ketchikan, Alaska

It is uncanny how a 109,000 ton vessel - in the dark of night - can negotiate the coastal islands, and safely come alongside a city dock to drop anchor and tie up without us hearing or feeling it. In any event, we have retuned to rainy Ketchikan, and it is no different than it was on our last trip in 2002. This is the southern part of Alaska that drops down from Alaska proper, and is squeezed between BC and the Pacific. It is a “temperate rainforest”, easily qualifying with 240 inches of rain per year. All the way north along this coast are soaring mountains, and pressed up against them sporadically are towns, villages, and native settlements, all clinging for protection against the sometimes stormy – but not now – north Pacific Ocean.

Ketchikan was the first provisioning stop in Alaska for the Gold Rush pioneers back in 1898. It is not an impressive place, especially in the mist. T-shirt shops and cheap souvenir traps fill the main street, and scraps of paper and cigarette butts litter the sidewalks and curbs. The idea of city zoning is an unknown concept here. and – were it not for the omnipresent Caribbean jewelry stores - there is a sense that this really is the frontier of civilization.

The main town attraction is the Creek Street area, comprised of restored 1890’s Gold Rush era stores and bordellos. One visit per lifetime is really enough for Creek Street, but we went back and were lucky enough to see, in the creek itself, dozens of mature pink salmon doing their spawning dance. Others had recently spawned and were in their death throes, and, as the tide receded, carcasses lay about on the shore, waiting to return their nutrients to the habitat and nurture the succeeding generation.

Other than that, we walked around town, poking our heads in the odd store, and then returned to the ship well before sailaway in this short port stop.

Tues, Sep 16 Juneau, Alaska

Juneau is the capital of Alaska - and home of Vice-Presidential Republican hopeful Sarah Palin - and a reasonably bustling port city of 30,000. It hosts 1 million cruise passengers per year, and 3 other ships were in with us, disgorging some 8 or 9 thousand consumers onto the streets. We took a local tour bus out to Mendenhall Glacier to see it again. Glaciers are rivers of ice that crawl down mountain passes to the ocean from the main icefields above. The 140 feet of snow that accumulate each winter in the high mountains compresses the residual snow below into ice, and gravity slides the entire mass slowly down the slopes. Mendenhall is some 85 miles long and contains ice that could be thousand years old. At the ice face, sheets of the ice tongue calve off and thunder into the ocean, and float off as translucent blue icebergs in the bay. The daytime temperatures along this coast are a reliable (rain or shine) 55 degrees at this time of the year, so it is not too long before the pure water blue colour is oxidized to the usual less-than-pure-water white that we associate with icebergs and snow.

In a 5 minute window before boarding our bus to the glacier, Colleen - ever the opportunist - spied a set of lonely (and lovely) birthstone amethyst earrings, and soon they had changed owners.

Back on the ship, we attended a fabulous presentation by 1985 Iditarod champion Libby Riddell, the first woman to win this grueling 1,050 mile dogsled event. Now Colleen is seeking a local tour to learn more about these fascinating dogs and owners who train here year round on glaciers, and in forests. As impressive as this woman’s presentation was, I think Colleen’s motivation is to see these wild and daring dogs that so closely bond with their trainer/owners.


Wed, Sep 17 Skagway, Alaska

We are now 940 nautical miles from Vancouver, and find ourselves at the end of a long inland fjord called Lynn Canal, in the village of Skagway (pop.1000). Internet service is down again, this time for geographical reasons. The forecast is for 80% chance of rain, but to everyone’s surprise, the sun starts beaming around noon, and we hustle off the ship and trot the 200 yards to the train station to board the famous White Pass & Yukon Railroad, bound for Fraser, BC (!), 28 miles inland over the coastal mountains and just over the Canadian border. This is a very popular attraction, and probably two thousand people pay the $103 to make the trip to the summit (or beyond, like us) during the different daily departures. The track follows the trail used by the original stampeders of ’98 to get past the mountains and into gold country. In the 5 years following the initial rush, the United States mint took in more than $10M in bullion, the largest gold rush in the world. From Fraser, BC, we transferred to a coach bus for the return trip. Spectacular countryside and views of hemlocks, spruce and – in their gorgeous fall deciduous colours – the yellows and fading greens of cottontails and alders.


Thurs, Sep 18, 2008 Glacier Bay, Alaska

About 100 nautical miles further up the coast, we enter the truly spectacular Glacier National Park. The ship has taken on board 2 Park Rangers to provide commentary as we cruise through this majestic wilderness. When Captain George Vancouver first explored this territory in 1794, he said it was “a sheet of ice as far as the eye could see”. There was no Glacier Bay and its multiple fjords. The mighty glacier itself came right to the ocean’s edge. Today, despite 150 feet of snow falling in the upper reaches of the Fairweather Mountain range, the river of ice 200 feet thick has retreated some 65 miles inland leaving behind a spectacular set of narrow channels, islands, and open water. Only a few ships a week are allowed entrance to this area, so it is silent and still. The water is 1000 feet deep in places, and like a mirror as we glided past the forested land. We spotted the odd humpback whale and a few sea otters, and eventually, a few hours later, reached the first of the 4 glaciers we would see. The sun came out for the first time in 4 weeks, according to the Ranger, and we were ¼ mile from the massive ice face of Marjerie Glacier when a major chunk the size of a house suddenly calved off, right in front of us! This was the only major calving the Rangers reported all season! OK by us. This will be the highlight of our Alaska trip. Back we went the 65 miles to the Bay entrance, then headed out of the Inside Passage, and off northwesterly into the somewhat rough Gulf of Alaska.

1. Ottawa

Sun, Sep 7, 2008

Five more nights before departure on this gigantic trip, and so much still to do! We've checked off about 800 items on the to-do list, but not packing or house cleaning. And, a new cat wandered into our lives yesterday... as usual. This is the 3rd major trip where a homeless beast has arrived when we had zero time to deal with the situation.

The newcomer is all white - a wonderful complement to our all black Ebony. So, of course, we've named her Ivory!

Meeka is delighted, but Eb is naturally out of sorts. But things work out. We'll see.







Thurs, Sep 11

Ivory has a home, it turns out. The cat stayed with us overnight yesterday, and has nicely settled in, sleeping on the dining room table and in a bathroom basin. Lovely animal. A visit to the vet was squeezed in, and a scan there revealed a microchip with the information that he lived 2 blocks away. The (negligent?) owner didn’t even know the ravenous cat had been missing, but she came over and was reunited. Back to packing. One night left.