Day 19 - Skagway

We went to bed in Juneau last night and woke up in Skagway.  Today started out foggy and chilly, but like yesterday (21c degrees) it cleared to a sunny and relatively warm day.  

Skagway is a very old gold mining town, with quaint streets and tiny shopfronts for a range of gift shops, jewellery shops, pubs, churches, eateries, a visitors' centre, and a railway station.

We had booked a dog sled ride prior to the trip, but we're very disappointed to learn that it was on dirt and pulled by a four wheel drive vehicle.  Fortunately we were able to cancel and receive a refund.  We walked into town and did a reconnoitre of this small town instead.  

This ship is quite large and it is easy to become disoriented when changing levels or moving along a deck.  2.8 laps of the promenade deck (open air) = one mile.  

Russia is only 30 miles away.  USA paid $7.2 mill in 1867 to acquire Alaska from Russia.

Canadians refer to the US States below the 49th parallel as "48 below".  

Crew safety drill with life boats this morning.

 Painting maintenance whilst berthed.

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The Coral Princess from the stern end, berthed at Skagway.

Train line to the Yukon Valley.

Train from Skagway to White Hills follows the river valley.

Nimble and sure footed mountain goats.

A view over Skagway.

The cabins look rather high! 

Day 18 - Juneau

Arrived at 1.00 pm and transferred to our shore excursion. Drove to the glacier and then transferred to a boat to chase whales, we saw several and then back to ship.  iPad is now full of photos so will have to delete some of the 6000 (taken over the past 3 years).   So only a couple of photos of the hump back whales in the waters around Juneau, will try again at Skegway.

Did not take long before we found the whales.

Hump back whale in the icy waters at Juneau.

Day 17 - Sailing to Alaska

We have been sailing through very calm seas with hardly any movement on the ship.  It is very relaxing, the service is excellent and there is a choice of restaurants for every meal.

The onboard range of activities is overwhelming including everything from ice carving to Zumba classes and carpet bowls to many lectures on wildlife and the glaciers. In the evening the choices include cinema, live shows, dancing, the casino or live artists at various bars.

Whale spotting has been a popular activity with many quite close to the ship.

Tonight is one of two formal nights for dinner, which is a change from the layers of clothing we have been wearing up until now.

It will take almost two days to get from Vancouver to Juneau.  This is the capital city of Alaska and is only assessable by air or sea.

The pilot has been on board all night and this morning at 8.00 am he was collected and taken back to the mainland.  This is where the whales were spotted following us alongside the ship.

Have not had a chance to get a photo of the ship so far so here is a post card to give you some idea of the size.

Day 16 - On Board the Coral Princess.

Embarkation commenced at 11.00 am, we found Internet access and then prepared for the fire drill at 3.45 pm.  The ship left Vancouver at 5.00 pm.  We wandered through this vast maze of bars, pools, musicians and groups of people having a fun time.  There are 14 floors above the waterline, we are on floor 10.      2000+ people on board but not crowded, plenty of entertainment and many restaurants. We sail all night tonight and tomorrow then we start the on shore activities.

We will do a discovery tour tomorrow and see what other gems we find, until then a few photos.

So many levels, so many shops and so many bars.

One of the entertainment venues.

15 degrees and kids in the pool !

Enjoying the sights

Only six metres to spare when passing under the bridge at Vancouver 

Day 15 - Vancouver (2)

We may have some difficulty posting daily updates on the ship as from tomorrow.  Have been told that wifi is only available when in port.  We are on the ship for 7 days, there must be some way of keeping in contact, so watch this space.

The word on the street is that WIFI will be available !

Day 15 - Vancouver

A half day tour this morning of North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver.  All started at the Capilano suspension bridge (230 feet above a canyon) then a skywalk amongst the tree tops on seven suspension bridges and last a spine tingling cliff walk along sheer granite cliff faces while suspended 200 feet above the canyon and 50 feet out fron the cliff face.  That one got the blood flowing but offered great views.

Then a tour of North Vancouver, Stanley Park and the Granville Island Market under the Granville Street bridge.  It was interesting to note that Vancouver has a problem with people sleeping tough on the streets. The property prices here are high, bit like Melbourne, and this has increased the numbers on the streets since all the mental homes were closed some years back.  Sound familiar ?  

On the suspension bridge

Doesn't look far to the water 

Made it to the other side !

Some decided not to chance it.

This was the spine tingling sky walk.

Looks like a walk in the park from here but the bridge moved up and down as well as swung from side to side.  The rule of not deliberately moving the bridge was disobeyed by some other fellow travellers hence the screams and clutching of the suspension cable. 

The Vancouver bridge looks like a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco 

Looking across the bridge to North Vancouver.

The Granville Street Bridge.  The market is under this bridge.

Day 14 - Kamloops to Vancouver

This was our second day on the Rocky Mountaineer, travelling through a range of differing countryside. Much of the route was along side the Fraser River and through many, many tunnels.  From time to time the train needed to stop to give way to extremely long cargo trains carrying containers either from west to east or east to west of Canada. Some of these trains had up to 200 carriages and were up to 2.5 kilometres long. Cars had to wait for up to 30 minutes at level crossings.

 For much of the journey the Fraser River was a raging torrent of silt-laden swirling whirlpools.  As the river became more placid through the Fraser Valley, we viewed very green agricultural land where 90% of Canada's foods are produced.

I have not yet mentioned that the precipitation which falls in British Columbia flows into many other rivers and eventually ends up in one of three oceans - Pacific, Atlantic, or Arctic.

Vancouver is a bustling and busy city,  with bridges, overpasses, train lines, and freeways which put Melbourne to shame as far as infrastructure is concerned.

The following photos have been taken from the Rocky Mountaineer today.  Our view is that you really need to do this trip yourself to appreciate the countryside as these photos do not do it justice.