Back in time in Skagway!

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Writing this while in the Glacier Smoothie and Espresso Cafe in Skagway. Kids have each got a 20oz smoothie and reading comics while mum and dad have a cup of coffee. Caitlin has gone for a thing called the Zinger which has strawberries, raspberries and lemonade and is very tasty. Reuben opted for a thing called the Cabin Fever which contains peanut butter, chocolate and banana. Sounds interesting, tastes disgusting, but obviously not to a 10 year olds less than selective pallet.

Now retrospectively, awoke at 7am and quietly lifted the curtain whilst sleeping beauty slumbered on. Found myself eye to eye with a concrete piling and our porthole (is it a porthole when its square and doesn't open) at the top staring out over the wharf. We had docked at Skagway. Needed to wait for an hour for the kids to wake up and then started to hurry the kids and Sandy as it was getting on and didn't want to waste the day. Then realised I was looking at the wrong clock and I had actually lifted the curtain at 6am not 7am so we were well ahead of schedule.

Had a good breakfast and checked the temperature on deck so as to determine the fashion ensemble for the day. Style versus functionality and environment a major concern to Sandy and Caitlin. Me and Reubs, not so much.

Weather was slightly inclement. That is to say, low fog shrouds our every side and it is difficult to gauge where is what or what is where. Decided that halfway between polar explorer and beachwear was the go for the day - which again is pretty much my entire wardrobe. Commenced the long trek into town, decided to save the $8 on the shuttle, and were in the heart of the central business district 10 minutes later. We'll try that 'imagine' thing again and would describe Skagway as a more authentic version of Arrowtown - without cruise ships which is something of a geographical challenge.

All the shop fronts are original or close to store fronts from the goldrush era here in late 1800's. Quirky is a word that could be rendered here. There are five main streets running roughly south to north, Alaska Street, Main Street, State Street, Broadway Street and Spring Street. Running east to west are nine streets, conveniently called First Avenue through to Ninth Avenue. Blocks appear to be almost all exactly the same size, like a giant chequers board (which coincidentally is the table surface I am typing this on - fascinating!)

There is a gap in the clouds at the moment and there is a mountain peak right there, almost seems like right outside the window. Hoping the cloud burns off during the day as Skagway is set in a bowl at the top of a thing which is kind of resemblant of a fjord but I am too scared to actually say it is a fjord. The town is apparently surrounded by mountain peaks which seems to be something of a prerequisite for Alaskan towns. May have made an error not organising something here but thought we would just have a day to wander as have events lined up next two days. Seems Skagway is considerably smaller than the guide books had inferred. Or perhaps we didn't read them carefully enough.

Regardless, we are in Alaska in a small town so its all something of an adventure. Picking the other cruise passengers will have bought their 1/2 lb of authentic frontier fudge, t-shirt depicting a wolf howling at the moon and a copy of the Sarah Palin autobiography and be queued up back at the buffet by midday. We'll see. This is the last cruise through for this season so everywhere is selling off everything at 75% and 50% off and there may well be some really tacky t-shirts and souvenirs coming home with us also to take up space in a wardrobe before being relegated to a cabinet at the back of the garage in due course. Parted ways with the family and went to the local internet cafe where I joined half the crew using the wi-fi, and them the Western Union remitting money back to various parts of the globe. Uploaded the blogs for Sitka and Hubbard Glacier and checked emails. Only two of any real import, firstly Shelly Park 'White' won again, 26-22 so tight game again...next week Wolfpack (the only team we have not yet beaten) and secondly young Camo is having a blast at the kennels and happy as can be.

Found the family waiting for me 'down on Main Street', (was that Bob Seager?) now laden with t-shirts, caps and stuffed Alaskan relevant toys. For a variation in our culinary dining experience went to a local bar / restaurant for crab cakes, clam chowder, giant shrimps and fish and chips which we all shared. Had the fish just for the halibut (right there, thats funny, I don't care who you are...) all of which was really, really good. Up around these parts somewhere is where they film 'the deadliest catch' and the sea food reflects that. Crab cakes were amazing. Returned to the ship around 4pm. Strange thing here is the official graffiti on the side of the rock face at the dock. All the logos of the different ships and lines are painted there amongst the trees. A little bit different, wouldn't work everywhere.

The clouds have lifted much higher and now we can see the wider area much better. Skagway sits at the top of a sound (maybe a more appropriate term than fjord) and is surrounded by mountains. Beautiful setting but hard to work out how this place survives in its isolation.

Well worth a visit but we didn't sail until after dark and that is a shame as a few less hours here could have been swapped for a few hours moving down the sound in daylight and sunset. Minor point for the suggestion box. We were some of the last back on board and have noted an air of disenchantment amongst our more mature companions about how little they enjoyed Skagway.

Will now sail through the night and wake up in Juneau.

**up loaded this in the Heritage Coffee Cafe in Juneau - lonely planet says best coffee in Juneau - I have discovered a coffee called a Breve here in Alaska. Coffee is good, wi-fi is slow as and I have had to limit it two photos or will be here for ever. Sorry!

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Photos

Lunch!
Great meal here...awesome crab cakes and clam chowder...

Famous bar and brothel...
...dates back to Gold Rush days and like much of the street, really the only street in Skagway, has been restored and maintained. Kind of an old western feel to it all...

Plaque on the Main Street...
...looked pretty cool.

A family of totems...
...no idea what they mean or why they are here, but looked interesting. Mum, Dad and the kids in carved logs!

An impressive berth...
...one of the most picturesque docks of the whole cruise. A almost surreal setting for cruise ships!

The Main Street of Skagway...
...and it's actually called Main Street! Go figure!

Some iconic steam train...
...looked very authentic in this setting! Disappointed didn't have a face painted on it...from years of Thomas the Tank Engine, I thought they all did!

Cruise ship 'tagging'...
...kind of the equivalent of cruise ships carving their initials on a tree. Was quite interesting in its originality....

A tree and some berries...
...nothing special, just looked cool. Lots of these in the forest slopes on the walk into the town from the ship.

Comments

[Michelle]

Amazing
Far out looks fantastic - told Ian we need to do this!!! It looks so cool!! Glad you are having a great time!!!