Vancouver Island

We’d booked our trip through the Rockies and Alaska well in advance, but waited late until we decided what to do with the last 2 weeks of our trip. We tentatively thought about a road trip through western Canada, but after so much travelling, opted instead for a tranquil 2 weeks on Vancouver Island. All this travelling is exhausting, so we needed a rest. I can feel the sympathy pouring in. This was a bit of a tactical error as the start of this period coincided with Canada Day on July 1st. We struggled to find anywhere available, and so predictably, the places left free had something wrong with them. We ended up in a self-catering ‘cottage’ in a small resort 10 miles north of Qualicum Beach about half way up the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. At least the location is fabulous, facing the ocean just a few metres away. Unfortunately, the accommodation is a little basic and needs some attention. The whole property is for sale and the owners obviously haven’t spent any money on the place since the ‘70s.

Getting here was a mini adventure as the ferry to Nanaimo, the closest city, was full, so we had to get the ferry to Victoria which added another couple of hours to the drive, and there were plenty of traffic jams on the highway. Naively I thought the place would be deserted, but the island supports a pretty large resident population swollen with summer holidaymakers. The island has what the tourist board describes as ‘an enviable climate’, which in Canadian terms means its not snowing all the time. In fact, the weather has been fine with long sunny days around 20 Celcius.

Not much to report as we’ve spent much of our time reading novels by the beach, occasionally meeting up with the other guests in the evening around the fire on the beach that Canadians feel compelled to make, toasting marshmallows for the kids (although the adults seem to eat most of them.) We have a blue Heron that visits frequently, perching on one of the rocks breaking through the water. It stands on its Peter Crouch legs, watching the sea surface with the patience of Job.
We’ve managed the odd hike in the parks, including one by Rosewall Creek that attracted Mags in deference to the legendary Aussie tennis player. This turned out to be a fairly gentle hike upstream for an hour through old forest terminating at a small waterfall.

We’re well rested for our next stop, New York, where we expect the pace to pick up slightly.

Alaska

Beautiful Vancouver, the clouds finally parted and we had glorious sunshine. We spent much of our short stay walking around the superb sea wall that opens up most of the bay to the public. Stanley Park is situated just west of Coal Harbor, so we strolled around gawping at the display of totem poles and searching for frogs and birds in the brackish waters of Beaver Lake. We stayed on the waterfront near the cruise ship terminal, and adjacent to vibrant Gas Town. This is a ‘trendy’ enclave just east of downtown that has been gentrified from a once run down area. The hotel concierge actually crossed out a few streets in the area advising us not to visit so we wouldn’t encounter any ‘undesirables’. We did run into a fair smattering of beggars and druggies in some streets but nothing that we haven’t seen in most major cities. The place is now full of boutique shops, restaurants, and bars like a small scale Shoreditch which is close to where we live in London.

We boarded our enormous ship the MS Volendam for our cruise north to Alaska. We soon started to feel young in comparison to the other passengers which cheered us up. Its 20 odd years since I was last on a cruise ship like this when I worked on The Black Prince for a short while. I was wondering what changes there would be. The crew was all Filipino and the captain was Dutch – so no change there then.

First stop Juneau, although the state capital of Alaska, only the size of a small town. We had a few hours before our shore excursion so walked up to the city museum where there was a very good display of the town’s and Alaskan history that can be really summed up as: -

First peoples (Native Indians)
Gold rush
Logging
Tourism

The Klondike gold rush only lasted a few years, ending in 1899. The hastily built towns appear to have diversified into tourism rapidly and the streets still have the character of the Wild West with plenty of restored original buildings now converted to souvenir shops and crammed with tourists.

After a short drive we set off for our first adventure which was sea kayaking in front of the Maidenhall Glacier. We set off with 6 others in our two-person kayak fortunate to have calm weather and glassy water. We had a great, peaceful hour or so paddling amongst seals, ducks and watching numerous bald eagles glide overhead.

Next stop Segway where we had a more leisurely walk through forest near the Dyea River before rafting back. Again, lots of eagles, a few Robins and red squirrel. The town itself is really only one street full of jewelry shops.

Next day, was really the highlight of the tour. We cruised up to Glacier Bay, dodging the ice flows and stopping in front of the various marine glaciers. Loads of sea otters, orcas, whales and sea lions; and a lone bear wandering the shoreline. The whales were a fair way off and only caught the odd glimpse of the spout and tail but still very exciting. Margerie Glacier, which is the fastest moving around unloading 100ft of ice a year into the sea, was incredible. We watched as huge chucks of ice calved away from its 150ft face, thundering into the ocean, the sound reverberating off the mountains and causing mini tsunamis in the ocean; seals swam amongst the seabirds unperturbed.

Each evening we’d gather in the bar to swap stories of the day with our fellow passengers. We’d talk about the shore excursions, and they’d tell us who won the bingo. The night before our snorkeling trip, the resident DJ informed us that he’d done that trip – it was very cold and the sea was full of jelly fish. Not great news thanks, jelly fish and Mags have not been the best of friends in the past and this only ratcheted up the fear factor. It took a fair bit of persuading to get Mags to agree to snorkeling in Alaska in the first place. In the event, there was no need to worry as the sky was blue, the day was warm and the water clear. We had great fun swimming around the shallows enjoying the sea life including hundreds of star fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, lots of small fish, and some otherworldly kelp growing several metres high from a single rope like stem, topped with narrow amber leaves, gently moving in the current like ribbons of chiffon in a cool breeze. The hardest part of the trip was getting the extra thick wetsuit on which was like wrestling with a heavy rubber blamaunge for 15 minutes, and is quite a workout in its own.

Our snorkeling took place in Ketchikan, a very pretty tourist town located on a narrow strip of land on Revillagigedo Island. Land is so scarce here that a number of buildings have been constructed on stilts out into the harbor. Creek Alley, also built on stilts above the town’s Salmon river, was a den of vice during the brief gold rush, and the locals still ham it up for the tourists in the antique costumes of ladies of the night. We were one of four cruise ships that day which must have quadrupled the population. Luckily, we had our excursion to get away from the crowds.

Health and safety is firmly in charge here. There are all sorts of helpful, life saving signs on board ship. We gathered on deck on the bow to watch the magnificent scenery around Glacier Bay, I was confronted with signs informing me not to climb on the railings, throw myself overboard or stab myself with a bread knife. Before commencing shore excursions we had to sign liability waivers. Perhaps understandable for the snorkeling and kayaking, but for our hike? It was only a short walk.