Blog 7 18th to 29th July Alaskan Cruise and Seattle

Blog 7 18^th to 29^th July Alaskan Cruise and Seattle

Many thanks to all the Jacksons for putting us up again, and then kindly taking us to the cruise ship. We had a fabulous 7 weeks (and 3500 miles) in their van and we really appreciate everything they did for us – thank you!

We still weren’t sure about the idea of a cruise – but we are now! Alaska has such a stunning coast, most comfortably viewed from the 9^th floor of a ginormous floating luxury hotel, with a glass in hand, sitting on your personal balcony….

The ship itself was amazing, 2850 passengers and 1500 crew, 315m long and  37m wide, with 19 decks –we got lost several times. It even has a real lawn on the top deck! Rick took a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour starting with the Captain welcoming me on to the Flying Bridge which even has a window in the floor so he can position the boat accurately against the pier.  Then on to the mooring deck, crew quarters and engine control room, where the huge diesel electric generators power the ship, including both 20 megawatt Azipods that propel the ship in any direction.  The Quartermaster took us around five of the huge warehouses containing enough food and drink to satisfy  4000 crew and cruisers for two weeks.

Top Deck Lawn

We sailed up the Tracy Arm fjord in glorious sun (at 6.00 am), through beautiful clear water and ‘burgerbits’, towards the South Sawyer Glacier. What a sight! We were surrounded by true wilderness, hundreds of acres of it, with steep towering mountains that plunge into the fjord. This was as spectacular as it gets – just stunning. We just stood and watched in awe for 2 hours.

South Sawyer Glacier

In Juneau (State capital, pop 33,000), we had an absolutely brilliant tour in a boat, landing out right by 13 Humpback whales, feeding together by creating a  bubble net, in which to trap the fish. There are only 2 places in the world where they do this collectively, and we saw them do it 5 times! It was a pretty emotional sight. We could clearly see the baleen as they closed their great mouths to catch krill (and the odd seagull).

Our tour continued with an abundance of wildlife -  100s of Bald Eagles were standing in the stream, just picking out chump salmon that had just started to head up the streams to spawn.  A young black bear wandered about 2 metres below us while a porcupine snoozed in a nearby tree.

In Skagway, we took the White Pass and Yukon Railway 27 miles up to an elevation of 873metres. It was a really scenic route up steep gradients and cliff-hanging turns, over original wooden bridges with unparalleled views across the Chilkat Range, reaching meadows, lakes and streams at the top. It was built in 1898 in the wake of the Klondike Gold Rush, as an easier way for prospectors to reach the mine area, other than using the dangerous trails.

We waddled off the ship after having eaten much more rich food than our camping tummies had been used to and made our way to Downtown Seattle for three nights in the Hilton for a substantial reduction in luxury.

Seattle felt great, especially as we had hot sun, not (as we were told) the usual rain…Pikes Place Market was fun, bustling, retro and exciting. We also found the first ever Starbucks (so named after Captain Ahab’s Chief Mate, apparently – why?).  Our visit was well timed, coinciding with the Grand Torchlight Procession of the month-long Seafair Festival.

The futuristic Space Needle is Seattle’s grand icon. Built in 1962, along with the monorail, for their World Fair. the panoramic view from the top swept across the city from sea to mountains, encompassing the ubiquitous Google and Amazon corporate developments which are taking over the north bay area.

Chilhuly Glass Ceiling

We were captivated by the colours, size and forms of the exciting glass artwork in Chihuly Gardens and Glass, built to celebrate the creativity of Dale Chihuly  http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/ . We returned to see it all in the dark, with its clever lighting effects.

Our last morning was spent on a Boeing Tour at Everett.  This is where 747s, 777s and 787 Dreamliners are assembled from parts brought in by road, rail and Dreamlifters (a bulging 747) on huge production lines in the biggest enclosed space in the world.  43,000 people work at the plant and can cause massive traffic jams at going-home time.

At the nearby Future of Flight exhibition, we practiced flying in the cockpit of a 777, looking as though we knew what we were doing. A few hours later we flew home in one, but were disappointed nobody asked us to help out.

We’re now home in Sheffield, exhausted and jet-lagged, but it was all worth it as we’ve had such an exceptional eight weeks in a fascinating part of the world.   We’ll be back!

Masses more photos at : 
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6041952838827621489
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6040963326438328753
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6042246406719447457
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6042270186546622849
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6042270857997803841
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6042273287827998641
https://plus.google.com/photos/112477145672617228065/albums/6042273967384871201