Alaska and Muroran Info

Well, as you can see, the date now is October 28,2012, the day after a 7.7 earthquake hit Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the  Queen Charlotte Islands).  We did not feel any effects as we are so far from that area.  A scary thought for sure, and yes, don't we all have to work on replenishing that earthquake kit?

In September, we boarded the Diamond Princess ship from Canada Place and made our way from sunny Vancouver up to wet, chilly, or even cold, Alaska.  We visited (again) the ports of Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.  Even though we have been there several times, it is still fun to get off the ship and just 'muck' about.  And yes, we dressed in layers, wore our Goretex, and even our hiking boots (toasty toes we had!)

Here you can see we are having fun in Juneau with the local bear statue!  He not only caught a fish but he is enjoying snacking on a beautiful Swimco bag!

I must say that we did enjoy the glaciers; on your first trip and then your subsequent trips, you are always amazed at the beauty of the glaciers and you are always listening to the sounds for  what they call 'calving' or breaking off of portions of the glacier.  On this last trip, it really was amazing as we heard calving many, many times.  Just one picture:

I stayed on our balcony to enjoy the glaciers but dear hubby enjoyed being on the open decks to capture his photos.
After leaving College Fiord, we made our way to Whittier, Alaska in very poor weather conditions.
We arrived in Whittier, Alaska and because of the rain, ie pouring down rain that even a Vancouverite would shudder at, the Captain (and what a sweet man he was) decided that for all of our safety, and the ship's safety, that we would bunk down and stay overnight in Whittier.  The two of us had left the ship to walk into the small town but the heavy rain made me turn around but dear hubby did venture forth.  He returned totally drenched!

Wildlife:  we did not bring our binoculars on this trip (thinking of the flight home with all the airline weight restrictions) but we did manage to see pods of whales, the odd eagle here and there, and even this cute creature:

I believe it was called a harbour seal.

After leaving Whittier the next morning, we embarked on the beginning of our six, yes, six sea days!  And yes, the seas did get heaving at times, but nothing unbearable.  We always kept busy, managed to have all our meals, and just had a truly relaxing time.  We really couldn't go out at times onto deck because of the storm, but when it all calmed down, dear hubby and I managed to walk the deck.  Even if we don't walk the deck, we do a ton of walking inside the ship.  We had a balcony cabin on deck 10 and to get anywhere at all, we had to walk.  We try very hard not to use the stairs unless it is formal night and I have my heels on.  Here is a picture of our cabin: (balcony not shown)

Six days at sea:  breakfast, reading,knitting group, arts and crafts time, lectures, coffee time, yakking to lots of people, then lunch, more lectures, reading, meeting up with others, getting ready for dinner and enjoying a cocktail pre dinner, dinner with friends, then the shows that night and finally, after listening to music or dancing, the cabin beckons to us and sleepy time is upon us.  Getting to the gym was a challenge as at 7 am each day, the treadmills etc. were already occupied!  The age group on this ship ranged from babies (yes!) up to 80 year olds.  Mainly we were all over the age of 60.

Ports:  our first port was Muroran, Japan, on the island of Hokkaido.  To describe it, I would say it compares to what we see, which would be trees, lots and lots of trees and mountains.  We arrived and the pier was busy with many students assisting us all.  Of course, the tour buses were waiting, and we were fortunate that a fellow Cruise Critic member, Art, had a tour guide and driver waiting for us.  It was very rainy that morning but it did clear up later on.

First stop:  the 7--11 store and in Japan, there are many of these.  Why?  to go and get Japanese yen. 
Easy to do:  use your ATM debit card,insert into the machine, English comes up, follow the directions, and yen comes shooting out!  Smallest amount you can get: 10,000 yen (approximately $125.00 Canadian)

 



Here dear hubby is paying for some snacks (we wanted to get smaller bills!)

We enjoyed our tour and for us, the best part was visiting the Ainu Settlement (Museum) where the people put on a presentation, fully costumed, exposing us to their songs and some of their stories.  This was very interesting to us as we also enjoyed peeking into the other reconstructed buildings.  The Ainu, I believe, are considered the original peoples of Japan.  Correct me if I am jumping to conclusions!

And they also had a few white dogs (like Akitas) and believe it or not, we saw 3 bears in their cages.  Now I know some people get upset about the bears and cages, but these 3 were found as homeless cubs so that was why they were on display.

Can you see the tiny person beside the huge statue?  Imagine the time and effort in producing this massive statue!

Here you can see one of the performers explaining about the baby carrier.  She also sang a lullaby to the audience.

Until next time, which will be about the fantastic send off from Muroran!