Small boat cruise in Alaska.

[drron]

Having just finished my adventures in the Galapagos and the Amazon it raised comparisons with the other trip that I consider one of my all time great experiences-a trip to Alaska with a small boat cruise on the inside passage.This trip was done in 2006-coincidentally in the middle of the campaign for Governor of Alaska.It was researched on the internet and we decided on the Sikumi-www.sikumi.com.
It certainly was more expensive than a large ship cruise,though things such as whale watching,fishing and alcohol were all included.The experiences though again were priceless.
First the boat-

And the scenery-

And our cabin-

One of the features of this cruise was the food.Absolutely fabulous.Fresh pastries every morning,fantastic desserts and of course the freshest of ingredients such as Dungeness crabs-

Cant get much fresher than that.Of course everyone had to do their bit including drron-

Gee it felt bigger than that!Still fresh halibut for lunch-

Only 6 pics per post so another coming soon.

 

[drron]

To finish off the food it is right that we have dessert-

Of course as well as food the Inside passage is known for its scenery.In a small boat you can really get up close-

Note the obligatory champagne.Now to get close you need to get out on the water.Although quite rusty the kayaking skills soon returned-

Unfortunately mrsdrron had little faith in those skills so the camera remained on the Sikumi.Another memory I will always have is having whales surface right next to the kayak,breath taking.But you have to be content with a shot from the boat-

Whales werent the only wildlife.We literally ran into hundreds of my friends the sea lions-

You can see how different this experience is to being on a ship with 2-5000 others.It really is the way to go.And dont worry the Inside passage is not the open sea so no rock and rolling.
I will finish off with a few highlights of the rest of Alaska.

 

[drron]

You can literally run into wildlife anywhere-

Fortunately some are just as scared as you-

However this is as close as you want to get sometimes.This was produced by a rogue bear at Kennecott who was stalking hikers-

So yes the do s*** in the woods.
Kennecott is a must see.First of all because the best way to get there is to fly in in a small plane across the Wrangell mountains-absolutely fantastic.The ruins of the mining operation are also worth seeing-

So another place that really should be on your to do list.Another place that certainly is threatened by human activity.
To cap it all off we got to Alaska courtesy of our first awards on AA.
Hope you enjoy-see cant keep me down now that I have discovered pictures!

 

[JohnK]

Nice photos drron.

Looks like Alaska would make for a good adventure. That to do list is growing bigger by the day. Now if I can only drag myself away from golf long enough to complete some of the to do list....

 

[straitman]

Nice photos drron.

Looks like Alaska would make for a good adventure. That to do list is growing bigger by the day. Now if I can only drag myself away from golf long enough to complete some of the to do list....

JohnK,

Take your golf clubs with you and experience golf in other parts of the world. They tell me there is life after golf :!:

 

[JohnK]

Not the way the exchange rate is going at the moment. Life is golf and golf is life....

 

[drron]

Not the way the exchange rate is going at the moment. Life is golf and golf is life....

Ah,just wait till february and watch me play.Then youll know if life is golf life is in pretty bad shape!