Day 8: Suffering heat stroke at Seward, Alaska


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North America » United States » Alaska » Seward
June 15th 2015
Published: June 25th 2017
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Geo: 60.1042, -149.442

A lazy start to the day had been planned by ordering room service so that we didn't have to get caught in the flurry of the 2 000 guests who were leaving the cruise today. This backfired. After a very late night (or early morning), we thought we had ordered the breakfast for 9 am but somehow the confusion of time zones and time changes had the phone shrilling at 7.45 for an 8 am breakfast.

Oh well, gave us more time to get organised and to be honest, I did fall back asleep while Mac was off finalising our Part 1 account at Guest Services.

This is the furtherest point north in the journey into Alaska and it was 22C. The locals were telling us this was unseasonably warm for Seward. Shorts and T-shirts were the order of the day and children were out swimming in the inlet. You really do have to question your perception of Alaska.

Mind you we have travelled for a day and a half up the coastline that is nothing but a seemingly endless series of snow capped peaks. The horizon had been so white with towering ranges that the camera lens has trouble discerning the clouds from the snow capped peaks.

But there we were in Seward, sweating and reaching for the sunscreen and looking for air conditioning. We found it and free WiFi in the Municipal Library and spent 90 minutes reconnecting with the real world...reading the newspaper, checking in with the kids, paying bills and responding to email.

Mac had the map so we explored Avenues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and streets A, B, C, D and E (seriously, they were the street names) before settling into Christos for the most amazing seafood chowder, halibut and king crab. Tried and loved their speciality coffees (Peppermint Patty and Reviver) but demonstrated willpower to resist the 8 layer chocolate cake!

The afternoon was spent ambling along the shore of the fjords chatting with the locals. Learnt that on July 4, Seward hosts a mountain race that attracts some 40 000 people to this tiny little community of 2 500. The town comes alive as the competitors race 3 miles up the sheer face of the mountain and then scramble back down. From the base the track looks like a mountain goat trail. We will be looking for news of this race when we return home.

There is evidence of new building and development in Seward. The community was devastated in the tsunami following the 1964 earthquake and the foreshore has lots of advisory signs giving directions for evacuation routes. Apparently each Tuesday evening the alarms and sirens are tested and the locals hang on the confirmation that it is "just a drill".

We met the caretaker of the camping grounds and she was full of stories and insights that she was happy to share. It's not a bad "job" and along with her husband they have been doing the job for years. For four months over summer they park their mobile home on the edge of the inlet and give information to the campers. Their main job is to offer a change service to provide quarters for the showers. And their payment? They earn the princely sum of $4 a day......and they love it!

Our accent always attracts attention and invariably we are asked "where are you from?". Today was no exception and our response of "Australia" was met with an elevated level of excitement. One of the ladies (local Grade 2 teacher) had met "another" Australian yesterday. And the local lady was so excited and dug deep into her memory to find the name of yesterday's Australian. And when she recalled that it was "Glenda" she wanted to know if we knew her! Mac patiently explained that Australia is a "big place" and that "no" out of the 2 million in our home town, we didn't know "Glenda." Interesting understanding of Australia for the Grade 2 teacher of Seward.

The last stop for the day was at the marina to watch the fishing boats returning with the tourist groups and their catch. Couldn't help thinking of all the keen fishermen and women back home and how much they would have loved this adventure. The catch was hung up and displayed for all to see and the gentleman who caught the 142 lb halibut was showing everyone on the dock the burns and cuts on his fingers from the catch. Every boat was returning with a massive haul.

The last land day had come to an end and it was back on board for us to balloons and the welcome aboard for "sail away" day number two.

While the 2 000 new guests were assembled on deck 6 for the evacuation drill we were exempt and were enjoying watching a sea otter performing just for us as we took in his antics from our balcony.

Dinner plan tonight was to "go light" at the tapas dining room. We rocked up at 9 and were met with a "private function" sign. This bar was only open to the high rollers from the Casino and because we hadn't received our personal letter of invitation in our cabin it would seem that my $20 week 1 loss did not qualify us! Mac was disappointed! Mind you, he is not keen to play in the Texas Hold'em Tournament because the finals are played on a cruise ship in November in the Caribbean - that would mean another cruise but this time with the added bonus of ocean waves. Definitely no incentive to play!

Plan B was to hit the Sports Bar. We made up our own sharing menu and again the staff were only too happy to accommodate and create a unique combination for you. The otters waved us goodbye and the porpoises and seals joined us for the run out of Seward as we finally left for the start of cruise number two at 10 pm.

Monday
Temperature: 22C
Pedometer: 12 894
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 12

Things @AuntyGail and @Paul forgot to tell us about cruising:

1. Always turn the shower nozzle towards the inside of the cubicle before you turn it on.

2. Pyjamas take two days to dry.

3. All that room key card swiping during the cruise has to be reconciled at the end of the cruise. Oops, really should have told us that one!

4. It's okay to wear the same outfit twice on a freestyle cruise, providing it still fits.


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17th June 2015

aren't the otters cuties ,and if you can try the halibut great eating fish,not sure if in season.go the maroons tonight
18th June 2015

I think I would enjoy your cruise more than Ganga's. He left this morning in glorious weather to sail to Noumea, hope it stays that way. Definitely not your idea od cruising Mac. What an amazing holiday you've had, enjoy the last couple of
weeks. look forward to catching up when we're all home xx

Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 14; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0489s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb