Alaska - a pretty cool place

Alaska is difficult to describe for all the right reasons. Within hours of setting sail, it was captivating. Endless snowcapped mountains, distant whales, authentic townscapes and a sense of deep history beyond gold diggers and new American explorers.

We boarded our ship in Seattle, settling in for a day at sea before our first port. The weather even allowed us to enjoy time in the sun and jacuzzi, where we started our weeklong searching for whales. The sea was calm with a backdrop of pine-covered mountains peaked with virgin snow.

Our first port was Ketchikan - a rare warm sunny day, as it's normally wet there. We went for a walk through the rainbow forest, visited the fascinating Totem heritage centre and wandered through the 'lumberjack' town. At its centre was Creek Street, a former centre of brothels serving the men visiting this gold mining gateway. The history of Dolly's 'brothel', itself part of Creek Street, showed female entrepreneurialism at its best.

We rose at 430am the next day to see icebergs passing by our balcony; we were on our way to the Dawes Glacier via the Endicott arm. The temperature had considerably dropped, enough to keep our prosecco cool on the helicopter pad, used on this occasion as a viewing station. It was some view; but we were told its rate of melting was worrying, shrinking unnaturally fast.

We had 3 breakfasts that day and later landed at Juneau. The continuing rain didn't put us off finding a 'fake' authentic bar for tourists or completing our first proper outing; Paddling with twelve others, we canoed in the rain across Mendenhall Lake to the Mendenhall glacier and nearby meltwater waterfalls.

Skagway was the furthest point we reached in Alaska, with another very early start where we boarded a catamaran to Haines island and travelled on an old USA school bus to a bald eagle wildlife reserve. Here we went on a 2-hour raft trip down the freezing glacial river. Ironically, we saw more

eagles on the outskirts of the town, which we were told was the result of an easy source of food - at the nearby dump.

We used the few remaining shore hours to walk through Skagway when we returned. This place could have been mistaken for being built for tourists by Disney, but on seeing old photos, it was clear this was the genuine old gold rush town, and many of the wooden buildings were original!

Our time on the ship was excellent, from naturalist-led talks, musical shows, discos and great food. The scenery, while we cruised, was spectacular, and we imagined it quite changeable by season.

We never saw a bear, which due to the excellent source of salmon, can grow up to 800lb. We never saw "Big-Foot" either.

Then we had another sea day before arriving in Victoria, Canada. Even though we only had a few hours there, we were captivated by the character of the place and would love to return to spend more time there, perhaps as part of an extended Canadian trip. From there, it was back to Seattle.

Alaska - a highly recommended trip.

M&J