me and my mountains

The Glacier Bay Day Tour was hands down the highlight of this Alaska trip. Though the glacier and especially the blue icebergs on the Tracey Arms Tour two days ago were more special, the total experience yesterday was breathtaking all the way. Tip: do both. But describing all the sights wouldn’t do the total experience right. I was completely happy, now on with some anecdotes.
In between happily looking at the mountains (did I mention I love the combination of mountains and water?) I noticed a few things. First: I lack something. This became clear when I found myself, not once but twice, on one side of the boat, taking in some great mountain ranges, while the rest of the boat was on the other side, catching a glimpse of a mountain goat or a bald headed eagle I couldn’t bring the enthusiasm up for that others seemed to have plenty. And there were the Orca’s, or, better, the fins of Orca’s. Been there, seen that. Loads of sea lions. And birds in shades of colors. Nice, I truly think so, but give me a bald headed mountain anytime.. (Did I mention I love..?) Wide open space always does it for me. What does that say about me? To my defense: I loved the sea otter drifting on it’s back with his hands and feet out of the water, looking at us, totally at ease. I identify with that. Drifting through these waters, enjoying the scenery..
Of course also in people there were the usual suspects on the boat: the New Zealand cool kid with tanned face, cool sunglasses and one-liners (question: why do the people in the most beautiful country in the world travel so much?) that has seen all the world. We picked him up at a beach, after he had been kayaking around glacier bay with a mate, camping on the rocks. Cool, what? We got talking about travels and my worry about the ecological effects of visiting Galapagos and Antartica. He looked at me strangely, started an incomprehensible argument about expeditions and tourism and advised me to visit the south pole soon, before tourism really hits it and prices will go through the roof. And there was a cute Dutch lesbian couple, keeping very much to themselves in a corner of the outside deck, armed against the world with enormous tele-lenses hanging low on their hips. When I heard them discussing whether they would ask someone to take a picture or not, I made my Dutch and myself useful. They looked a bit startled.
Important: must make a comment on the Glacier Bay Lodge staff who organized this trip: what a great feeling it is if the people serving and assisting seem just as happy as you are to take the trip. What about forgetting about the stiff ‘customer oriented’ service and thinking in terms of ‘event oriented’ or ‘enthusiasm generating’ service? Let’s enjoy it together, staff and customer? What a great difference that makes to your day. Thanks for that.

On to Seattle today. But will be back here. Would be the best if I could sail through these waters then. The quietness would make the experience even better than it was today, where the noise of the engine was the only small negative. Just to drift through the waters like an otter, silent and smooth.. Aah, did I mention I love mountains in combination with water..?

glacier bay

Haven't thought about writing all day. When I woke up I was prepared for anything: I had only one call to fall back on, and a single confirmation number. But today everything just turned out marvelous. The taxi was waiting at 5.15 AM, at the airport a friendly women brought me to the right (empty) desk. Not being Marcel I did not panic and just waited. Plane was supposed to leave at six. At ten to six still no one. Then I became a little worried. But in the end a man came running and after noticing there was no assistance at all, said he was the pilot, took the heavy luggage of the only other customer and took us to a very small plane. Just the three of us.. It all just came together, which amazed me a little: think of it: after only one call, three different companies work together: there is a plane waiting, a pilot who has the name Keimsmeijer scribbled on a small piece of paper, a car waiting in Gustafson, taking me to my boat for the day, ready and waiting. All to make sure I set off to Glacier Bay before 7.30.. Love that. And a great day it was.

But I think the internet connection is lost, so more tomorrow.. If this will still get on, that is..

Icy Days

The helicopter ride and the walk on the glacier were, of course, amazing. Will not bore you with superlative descriptions. Best part was having to climb a three story high pile of ice with a hook in each hand and a rope between my feet. Never did wall climbing, but natural ice is very inviting to try and master. Muscles keep finding new places to ache, though. The things you do at old age.

Today was another boat tour, to Tracey Arms, 2,5 hours to get there, but again well worth the trip and the early rise. A green bay full of smaller and bigger icebergs in white and neon blue floating in between the high rising mountains on both side, discarding water from their tops in steady and powerful streams. Until we reached the main thing. And yes, the hypocrisy is not lost to me: a boat full of people worried about global warming hanging around a glacier for more than an hour, hoping a huge chunk of ice will break off the glacier. And it happened. No Al Gore quantities, but one rather large chunk and several small pieces. We can start and really save the world, now I have seen the evidence.
On the way back we encountered some whales, the magical animals everybody runs to the side of the boat for. And that while they only show a tiny bit of their back, in the distance. Talk about image! The sea lions, stretched out lovably on an iceberg, didn’t get the same enthusiastic response. Personally I loved the sight of two eagles sitting next to each other on a small piece of ice, like they were in deep conversation.Ended the day in a pub, looking straight up at the humungous rump of the Zaandam, at the pier. My god, what a monster cruise ship. Next to me a loud American family bossed the waitresses around. Especially the women was of the neurotic American type: ‘could you bring me.. What about our drinks, could you check on our food, could I have some salsa with it.. etc’. And, funnily: ‘that waitress is actually cuter than she looks. I love that accent’. The waitress spoke Oxford English. But she brought her dad on a cruise, and that is a good thing, though she let him know one time too many.
Tomorrow is a land day.

Juneau

In Juneau. Chose the right B&B. Quiet, great mattress on the bed. Slept like a log, after the ferry trip, where sleep was less easy. But it was an amazing experience. A day and a half through endless series of islands and mountains in all sorts and styles. Makes one rather reflective. It really feels like moving up to the end of the world. Like that. Have I mentioned I love mountains near the wide open sea? Slowly arching their backs out of the water and reaching into the clouds, happily clinging to their snow-capped tops? Magical. Can look at that for hours. And could, for more than a day, to be precize.

Had a little hick-up at the border control in Prince Rupert, where the man got rather nervous looking at my passport. I had to step back, he looked for his supervisor (not to be found), he asked for my driver’s license, asked for a ticket back to Amsterdam, made copies of all those papers, went for his supervisor again and still couldn’t find him. Asked after my occupation (what does one say? I choose advertising manager, doesn’t sound that terroristy..). Then he asked me if this was my First Passport ('No...') and if I had my OLD passport with me..! I remained calm and bit my tongue to keep in the cynical remarks I could make on that question. In the end he asked another colleague and luckily she said it was alright. He apologized but I just shrugged. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. God bless America, I have a stamp. The ferry was adorned with a lot of American flags, but according to the Canadians it was a bit understated for July 4: Independence day!

Met a very interesting woman named Lorraine, who used to have a travel agency and was now on her way to Dawson City, the infamous gold mine city far north, to live there for a few months. “I want to experience all the characters there”, she said. Hope she has a lot of fun. We had plenty on the boat, she being a gracious victim to my growing need for communication. Not that many whales alongside the boat, saw a few farther away. Lots of eagles, some sea lions. And my first official iceberg came floating by. Amazing sight, like a work of art on an empty gallery-floor. All shades of bright blue to white.
Am now waiting for my pickup for a helicopter trip unto the glacier here and then doing some hiking up there. Sounds good.

Local rain

Spent some time in the local museum. Wooden building, nice architecture, good exhibition design, local history, focus on native people history. What I always like is the stress on what I call 'moving history', the way most original cultures keep the past alive by storytelling and carrying symbolic representations of the past with them (cliche example: totem poles). Noticed that in Aboriginal culture and their Dreamtime, where a threethousand years stretch amounts to about the same as a week, somehow, it's not about time, but about being part of time) and again here. Where most Europeans see history as something outside of us, something we can study with the same detachement as we would study foreign cultures, for the native people of Canada it is inside and still part of them. It makes the stories so much more relevant and deep. That's the good part, I find. There is also a less politically correct side to it: most art strikes me as a copy of something I've seen a thousand times before. To put it bluntly: how many symbolic representations of a fish, a bear, a wolf or a whales tale can you see, in wood, silver, gold or stone? It's nice, but -dare I say- boring too..? Outside it was raining, so I took my time. Did not feel like taking a boat trip, because the next few days will be all trip.
A day and a half on the water before reaching Juneau, then a day trip by boat to Tracey Arms and another day boat trip to Glacier Bay. So I decided to keep to land for today and instead went for ginger cake and iced coffee. And now just half an hour to spare before the taxi will bring me to the ferry. See you in Alaska.

drive out

Woke up startled at 11 in the evening. Thought I had a wine-induced bad dream but it was true: I heard an explosion, followed by a machine gun. And more gun sounds. In Prince Rupert???
Then I remembered: It was Canada day. Fireworks! Missed them, falling asleep on too much wine.

Today I decided to rent a car and drive out to Terrace, two hours from PR. Cd in the player and drive out to the snow capped mountains. Great trip, green/blue fast flowing waters, quiet roads. Leading to Terrace, which reminds one what a shame it is Europeans did not reach this part of the world 500 years earlier, building a castle or an interesting wall or whatever. Or only ten years ago, so the native people would have had the chance of cementing their style. Now it looks like any American city-crap: ugly buildings in ugly streets, in one of the best spots in the world! Luckily today was about the process of getting there, not the destination. So I ate a sandwich and immediately drove on again, back to nature. Nice day between my beloved snow capped mountains, alongside clear water. And a good idea to get away from PR: it rains 220 days a year here and today was no exception, I noticed, driving back. Missed out on a few showers.. Anyway, the town is almost deserted, everyone inside or away, I don't know, but all the good restaurants were closed. My fish plate, fresh Halibut, Salmon, oysters (hmm, already pictured them in their shells, on ice..) turned out to be of the variant 'roll it in flour and fry it'.. Shame about the oysters. But they served it with a big smile and that's worth something too. Tomorrow evening it's boarding time.. On the boat to Juneau, Alaska. Boat. Means no internet.

whining drunk writing

A littledrunk. red wine and no sleep last night. In Prince Rupert now. Don't feel like describing that/laughing one moment and melancholic whining the next/how did I get here? Let's whine a little! Up at six. Nice Asian taxi driver working second job to keep up to Vancouver standard. Did internet check in/ Finding: technology is put to use when it is available instead of when it is relevant. Arrived at the airport/people desperately trying to do an automated check in/I already did that so wanted to drop my bag quickly/big mistake/ had to stand in line for a counter handing out baggage tags/ So now we have three lines, 1. automated check in, where assistants help nervous people not able to print a boarding pass 2. counters for luggage designation, just as long as the check in lines we know so well. And 3. line to drop your bag (with assistance). But flight was nice/ 22 people in a propeller plane/ an automated baggage claim in Prince Rupert. 3 planes a day land here. You see your bag in the plane. But the computer does not work. One hour later it does. The bags arrive at the claim area in a truck (100 meters). They unlaod the truck. We claim our bags. We walk outside. Same truck there. We hand bags back to the man who load them in the truck again. I am Not kidding. We step into bus. Bus and truck move downtown/good service. But why the trouble and the delay, just to make use of technology? Stop whining. go to bed. Good wine. Nice sleep. Tired.