Blogs from Inside Passage, Alaska, United States, North America - page 11

I'm so full I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to make it back to my room. Maybe if someone gives me a push I might be able to roll back, but otherwise things are looking a bit grim. Things like Princess Cruises are the reason why so many Americans are so 'healthy'. I haven't eaten so well or so much in my life. Food aside, there's not a whole lot else to do on the cruise, although morning trivia is always a riot..ahem. The only thing left to do now is join bingo, although I'm not sure we could withstand the horde of stampeding granny's should Yash and I manage to call bingo before one of them. Thankfully though, the scenery on the cruise more than makes up for it. Glacier Bay, the fjords, ... read more

Extremes. A word that describes my Alaskan experience better than any other is: Extremes. Alaska is a land of extremes: Extremely beautiful nature, extremely cold, extreme weather changes, extreme daylight changes, extreme tidal changes, extremely strange people, extreme amounts of fantastic wild life and so on. So, it was only natural that my journey through Alaska became one of extremes as well. From having the most beautiful moment of my life to feeling scared, lonely and frustrated, my Alaskan experience was one to remember. I think I hinted in my last blog entry at the fact that Alaska is still completely "shut down" which meant that getting around was extremely difficult. It also meant that in my three weeks in Alaska I only met two other tourists and believe you me, I did travel around a ... read more

An integral (integrated?)being knows without going,sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. Lao Tzu LINKS Name TRAVEL TIPS June 21, 2005, Wednesday. We were up early again. We though the idea of renting a motorboat and taking it out on Clover Passage seemed like a good idea. Well, with PFD in place, a young man, Colon, instructed Bob on how to operate the motor, however, he did not allow for a hands on lesson. Motor humming, Bob at the controls, we proceeded up onto the dock!? Whoops?! Wrong way! Given the angle at which we were hanging off the dock, I don’t know why we didn’t go into the “drink”. (Remember this water has been carved by glaciers, so it is about 1000 feet deep!) Colon to the rescue, this 15 year old, very calmly ... read more

I took the whole familay on a cruse though the Alaska inside passage ... read more

Sailing from Warm Springs Bay after a rustic night on Baranof Island, we enjoyed breakfast aboard Mañana II. The vessel headed up Stephens Passage past Admiralty Island to reach Holkam Bay. We sailed past numerous small islands, most of which were unnamed, said Captain Coon. Tracy Arm fjord leads off from Holkam Bay. Sailing up the fjord Mañana II now passed icebergs large and small. At the end of the fjord is Sawyer Glacier. The glacier divides into two flows. North Sawyer enters Tracy Arm while South Sawyer enters Endicott Arm fjord, the latter infrequently visited. The glacier extends like a river of ice down into the fjord. Mañana II was able to navigate right up to North Sawyer glacier, getting much closer to it than can modern cruise ships. From Holkam Bay, Mañana II continued ... read more