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Hey!!!
So once the wonderful beautiful amazing bestest overnight bus of 22 hours was done (please do sense the tone) we arrived in coffee capital- Seattle where we were to catch our cruise. The cruise of Alaska was one of the best but one of the worst things we have ever done!
Now please understand that whilst we've been away when it's been a choice between really cool activities or eating loads of cool food we've opted for both really.. But as money is wearing thin we've opted for the activities so recently meal time hasn't been the usual excitement as it arrives for example plain basic pasta every day! So to hop onto this ship and have every craving answered at whatever time we want was truly madly deeply a blessing! Breakfast consisted of full English, American, Asian, cereals, fruits, yoghurts, pancakes etc etc. It answered everyone's needs and wants and as for lunch, it just got better filling us up with Mexican, Italian, salad, fruit, Indian, paninis, soup... The list goes on. Unfortunately we did learn the hard way and after eating our body weight in food the first couple of days decided to tone it down.
The
cruise included two formal nights, tons of entertainment such as dancing shows, west end like shows, impressionists and hypnotists and not forgetting the wildlife spotting.
Our first stop was Ketchikan, Alaska! It was a small city near the border and here we went on a sea plane flight over the misty fjords. We saw mountain goats where the pilot circled them so we could get a really good view which was incredible and we stopped off on a pontoon in the middle of the fjords. The view was outstanding allowing us to see bear footprints in the snow, and take off and land on water. An unforgettable experience and the landing was much better than most land landings! The surroundings were unreal and a perfect way to see true Alaska!
We, along with most the ship got up super early on the third morning to welcome the introduction of the magnificent Tracy arm fjords! This place will always and forever hold a special memory in our travels. Here is where we saw humpback whales swim by the ship and go diving (we got photos of ripples in the sea to prove it). It was something we really did want to
see. Bears were also around, we didn't see them but we also saw thousands of dolls porpoise. Tracy arm fjords is where thousands of glaciers meet the sea. However along with glaciers come ice breaks and to dodge tons and thousands of icebergs in what felt like a mile long ship takes some skill so hats off to the captain for not making a second film! This was worryingly on everyone's mind- a joke made my many!
Second stop was Jeuno, aka bear central. It's renowned for the local residents (bears) to just wander into the pharmacy. We thankfully did not bump into a local as our initial reaction would be to run which apparently is the worst thing to do! Grizzlys can run up to 16ft per second and swim a lot better than us and if we were to climb a tree, they aren't great climbers but they will knock the tree down. You've also got to be careful with how you smell as they can smell up to two miles away. However after travelling for 4 and a half months smelling bad isn't a difficult task for us! However, on our final stop of Alaska in Skagway
we go for a walk to smugglers cove after just eating salmon. Not such a great idea. Salmon is like bears fajitas! Ding dong! Thankfully, they either weren't hungry or we really do smell as bad as we fear.
Our final stop involved Victoria on Vancouver island, Canada! It was so pretty and where we spent our final night of the cruise.
So on to the Rockies.. life isn't too bad hey? So from America to Canada to America and back to Canada (phew!) we headed for the mountain range.
What can we say about the Rockies? They are picture perfect, what you see on photos are well and truly what you get except they are bigger and better! Huge towering mountains from every angle you look and multi coloured lakes and huge powerful waterfalls carving canyons is what welcomed us and what a welcome that was.
We travelled the Rockies by a moose tour. Our guide promised that when we would get into the Rockies there were more animals than there are humans. This was easily understood when there are over walks and under walks for wildlife to cross over or under the road. This was proven right again
as after 15 minutes of being in the national park we spotted a black bear. Now the main reason we were so excited for the Rockies was because of the wildlife it could offer us and sure enough, it did not disappoint. We spotted 5 bears in the end. Only 3 were named so shout out to Balloo, Humphrey (grizzly) and Edgar. We saw a few herds of elk, lots of deers, squirrels, chipmunks, ravens and big horned mountain sheep!
The tour began with us leaving Vancouver and heading to Kelowna via some stops in Oakanagen to see where all the fruit is grown and where okopogo (Canada's Loch Ness) lives. Once in Kelowna, we took a jet boating adventure on the lake. From here we headed for Banff which was the start of the Rockies. Banff is a small little tourist town which although we are in quiet season is never quiet! From Banff it was lake Louise which is one of the world famous lakes of the Rockies with it's glimmering blue water and glacier skyline, it was so beautiful. We also saw Moraine lake which is the most photographed lake of the Rockies and probably our favourite
along with Maligne canyon where we saw a ravens nest.
Onwards to Jasper which was an even smaller touristy town and here was where we experienced the wildnerness with no showers or wifi available and only a drop toilet outside accessible. Despite this it was one of our favourites and gave us the real feeling of being outdoors. We sang around a campfire but were a little on edge as the owner had scared a brown bear away that very day only an hour before we arrived. They have to learn it's a scary place as a fed bear is a dead bear but do still pay a visit every so often.
So with all this going on, it would be a pain to need the toilet in the night right? Yes it sure was! Of course Gem woke up at 2am bursting for the toilet. Now with bears roaming around and it being dark it was not wise for her to go alone so off we both trotted (it was more a run) by torchlight. Typical hey!?
From Jasper we headed back to Banff via a glacier which we walked on. We also drank the fresh water it was
producing. It was so nice and the most pure water you can get! For those of you who know Beth's history on ice, she didn't let us down. After posing for a photo, she did indeed end up face planting the snow putting her out of a couple of walks the next day, and yes it is once again on camera! We got an ice truck to the glacier which was an experience in itself having to go down on the 2nd steepest road in North America with a 16 degree incline!
Our day in Banff consisted of horseback riding! This was so much fun! It was a bit concerning when they didn't give us a hat and with a grizzly coming into contact only the week before resulting in the guide chasing him away on the horse! The horses were so not bothered. However, the ride was so nice and it was so cool to see the scenery in a different way! The after effects weren't great with us walking in very odd ways and having a bruised bum!
After paddle boarding (and falling in) on lake Skaha and playing with ground squirrels at lake lighting it leaves us
here in Vancouver once again with a few days to explore with!
We understand this blog has been mainly around the bear locals but it's just a whole other world with bears being your regular neighbour. There are even bearproof bins... More like Gem and Beth proof bins! It took us a while.
Anyways that's all from us. It's a teary goodbye as it's one of the last blogs! Ciao for now!
Gem and Beth x
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GrnDa "S"
non-member comment
""Wow" Great Blog, what super pics.
Gem, Beth, so impressed, great blog, so well written feel as though we were along with you. (just as well we were not! Might have spoiled the FUN) Cousins in Toronto await your arrival, apparently you are to look out for "A little "Ole" grey haired lady with a welcome Gem/Beth sign"...XXX GD"S" n NaN