Although travel isn’t possible at present and indeed most of us will be staying close to home for some considerable time to come, it’s still nice to reminisce and perhaps dare to dream of some future trips. With this in mind I thought I’d get caught up with a past trip that I never finished writing up – our month-long travels in Western Canada and Alaska in August 2018.
I left us sailing somewhere up the Inside Passage off NW America where our last port of call was Ketchikan. For a recap of the trip so far see here for our Canadian Travels and here for the US travels.
We sailed overnight from Ketchikan and woke the following morning to a typically grey, misty Alaskan day as we approached our next port of call, Juneau. The Alaskan state capital nestles on the shores of the Gastineau Channel, a narrow inlet that divides the town from Douglas Island on the opposite side. Somehow the large cruise boats ease their way through the waters to dock at the quay. Part-shrouded in cloud with wooded hills sloping down to the channel interspersed with rocky ravines and waterfalls, Juneau has a haunting beauty.
Like Ketchikan we hadn’t pre-booked any tours on the boat so disembarked after breakfast with no particular plans in mind. We were greeted with a row of booths and stalls set up along the quayside all advertising local excursions, activities and potential shopping trips. In the end we found ourselves hurriedly booked onto a shortly-departing whale watching tour, which turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of our life! I will save that excursion for next week’s post as it really deserves to stand alone.
In the meantime here are a selection of photos taken around Gastineau Channel and the departure quay for the small whale-watching boat.
It’s been enjoyable sorting through these old travel photos and appreciating all the places we have been able to visit over the years. I know the small communities in Alaska, which rely so heavily on the tourism industry, must be going through really difficult times right now. The season is so short too – just from May to August for cruises.
Sending virtual hugs and best wishes to all the wonderful people we met on our travels up in this beautiful part of the world.
Copyright © 2020 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
What a special trip. Looking forward to the whale watching excursion!
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It was a very special trip Margaret and I’ve enjoyed looking through my photos and recalling the excursions we did. The whale watching was an absolute highlight! 🙂
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The scenery looks majestic, Rosemay. Glad you’ve settled to carry on the writing process, while we supposedly have more time on our hands. If I ever catch up with that Time Thief he’ll be in big trouble 🙂 🙂
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I’ve been meaning to finish writing up my Alaska trip for so long Jo – not sure what my excuse is. However it did feel a bit weird initially since no one can travel at present. I have so much still to write so will do some Alaska posts interspersed with life in Perth and Western Australia. We have more restrictions being lifted on 18th May including some of the regional travel bans in WA (not the interstate ones though). Hoping we might be able to do some day trips or even a couple of nights away. Pubs, cafes and restaurants will also reopen but with greatly reduced seating and social distancing measures. The state government wants everyone back to work (and school for that matter) unless they are considered vulnerable. Cautious steps in the right direction. Alaska was spectacular and so glad we went there as it will most probably be a once in a lifetime trip. Hope all’s well with you and you’re enjoying some sunshine! 🙂 🙂
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I always enjoy reading your posts but even more so at the moment. Arm chair travelling at its best. Looking forward to your post on the whale watching trip.
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Thanks so much Isabel! I hesitated to post travel posts for a while since obviously no one will be going anywhere for a long time. Then I realised I was enjoying reading travel posts from other bloggers and watching some vlogs too so thought it was a good opportunity to catch up on some posts I never finished. Armchair travel is quite inspiring and Alaska is not somewhere you can get to that easily. I’ve so many photos for the whale watching post it’s hard to know what to leave out!
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Looks grand. We flew in and out of Anchorage when we went to Alaska, so didn’t see this bit.
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Yes this part is also known as the Alaska Panhandle presumably because it does look a bit like one attached to the rest of Alaska! The scenery and natural wildlife are wonderful. We went to Anchorage too and Denali National Park 🙂
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Rosemay, I so would love to do this cruise. In fact your whole trip has been so amazing. I am glad that you are finding the time now to share your trip, I think it is helpful to others who fancy doing this same journey.
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Thanks Gilda – sorry have only just seen your comment and replied! Am glad you have enjoyed the Alaska posts – I did wonder whether it was a good idea to write about travel at present but borders will reopen at some point and it is an amazing place to visit. I do feel for all the people and businesses impacted by the travel bans and lockdowns – these remote areas especially reply on tourism to keep going. I think you’d really enjoy the cruise though you could always hire a motor home and do a road trek! Not all places are accessible by road but quite a few are and the scenery is stunning! It’s actually been good to have the chance to get my trips written up! 🙂
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