From Ship to Rail....

Today was our first day at sea with Holland America Line aboard the Zuiderdam.
Our first port of call will be Juneau, the capital of Alaska.

We started off with a full day at sea as we made our way up to Juneau the capital of Alaska.
Before arriving at Juneau the ship cruised the Tracy Arm which brought us into an area of ice floes of many interesting shapes and sizes that had broken away from many of the glaciers that reach right down to the waters edge in many of these fiords.

Tracy Arm... the small ship in the picture was from National Geographic.

Then it was on to Juneau. Here we disembarked for some souvenir shopping and a bit of a general look around. We had not booked any optional excursions as according to my research it was relatively easy to make our own way out to the Mendenhall glacier which is the main attraction in Juneau. So we boarded a rickety old ex school bus with a driver named Sonny who was a First Nations native born and bred in Juneau. He was a breath of fresh air compared to most other tour guides as he was quite a character and passionate about his home town and all that Juneau had to offer, which in his own words was “not much”. Once at the Mendenhall glacier we walked the small trail to the viewing area and took in what was a most staggering sight of beauty. The glacier is massive and very picturesque.

Then just as we were standing around taking photos, a black Bear walked out of the bush and literally wandered to within 6 feet of us. This was a real treat, and I managed to get both video footage and photos which were the envy of many of our touring companions who had not visited the glacier and missed out on the bears quite random visit.

Black Bear...
(2 year old according to the Park Ranger who was busy keeping everyone out of its way..!!)

After Juneau we set sail again for Skagway and were docked the next day by 7am. We had booked ourselves on an excursion called the “Ultimate Yukon and White Pass Railway Excursion” which promised a truly amazing journey on a “Deluxe Coach” into the heart of the Yukon and an amazing return journey by the famous White Pass Railway. Our “Deluxe Coach” turned out to be an old clanger that wouldn’t even start until the driver got out and fixed it from underneath the carriage somewhere. Then the wind-screen wipers packed up while driving through snow and the people at the back of the bus complained they couldn’t hear the drivers commentary on the PA system. I reckon they were the lucky ones..!! We heard it loud and clear from up front where we were seated and the driver was one of the many typical tour guides we have encountered on our journey, guides who know their script by heart and tell all the same stories and jokes. One particular joke we have now heard 5 times from 5 different guides.!! But despite the bus and the bus driver, the scenery was awesome and once we reached the top of the Yukon the views were truly spectacular. Frozen lakes and snow covered mountains were in every direction. We travelled as far as Carcross and then stopped for lunch at Caribou Crossing. This was a very disappointing place... there was nothing there and it was truly a forsaken wilderness, so the powers that be that fleece the tourists of their dollars had built what I can only describe as a big barn to cater for the hundreds of visitors that arrive there every day. They had tried to make it look like an old shanty town village but it was a poor imitation and very unauthentic to say the least. The temperature was about minus 12 and there was no-where to escape the cold except in the small gift shop that had no chance of holding four or five bus loads of tourists, so one just stood outside in the cold, killing an hour and a half until one was able to board the bus again for the return journey. So much for the “Ultimate Yukon” part of the excursion.!!
Once we had boarded the bus we made our way back to Fraser, which was also a forsaken widerness but one of absolute beauty and a wonderful delight.
From Fraser we boarded the White Pass Railway and soon discovered that this was to be one of the highlights of our whole trip. This rail journey makes its way down from the Fraser valley at the top of the Yukon back to Skagway over some of the most picturesque scenery I have ever seen. Adding to the beauty was the fact that due to the time of year (May) there was still stacks of snow about. In fact some parts of the journey the snow was piled just as high as the train carriages and it was like we were riding through a tunnel made of snow.

The train carriages were in very good condition, maintained in their original state and the whole journey was one of the most authentic excursion we have done to date. Each carriage has a small viewing platform that enables you to get outside and take pictures as you make the journey over some of the most rugged terrain imaginable with wooden bridges and sheer drops either side adding to the whole experience.