Set Sail With Susan: July 2019

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Kushiro, Japan

Monday, July 29, 2019

Sometime in the night the fog horn started up again, but the fog lifted a bit as we entered the port at Kushiro, on the northern island of Hokkaido. Even though we docked right in the city center, we opted to take a short tour if only to get our bearings and get a feel for the place.

The Japanese officials were at the dock when we landed a bit before 8 am. By 9 o’clock they had set up multiple computer stations in the library and the passenger clearing began. Because we were on one of the ship’s excursions, we were in Group 1 so first in line. It was a painless process that went pretty quickly for those of us in the front of the line. This procedure lasted all morning until everyone had gone through the gauntlet.

Since we weren’t to leave on our tour until noon, we walked down the waterfront to the Moo, a multi-storied building with individual vendors and shops selling everything from souvenirs to candy to fish to produce. All the fruit was displayed beautifully. And why not? One peach, now I grant you it was a big peach, but one peach was 780 Yen or about $8 US. Better be the best peach ever. I’ve read about the Japanese insisting on the most perfect fruit and paying for it but 4,800 Yen for a watermelon? Approx $48 US. Yowza.

The candy stores are jammed with so many mysterious things. One little shop was stocked with the equivalent of our penny candy. They had little baskets for the customers to fill. It was overwhelming. I bought a pretty box of what I hope is a selection of candy to take to the Friday quilt group when I get home. I also bought what I thought might be plum and cantaloupe jellies in little individual cups. Like Jell-O shots. Tasted one. Sort of like a Jell-O shot but without the vodka. I’ve since learned that the KitKat bars in Japan are filled with different flavors depending on the geographical location. I’ve been assured that these are available at the airport, the traditional dumping ground for foreign currency. Jim just said, “You buy it, you carry it.”

Our excursion was to Kushiro Tancho Nature Park where the once almost extinct Japanese crane population is being restored. Our guide is a bundle of energy and so happy to show us her area of Japan. Fuji (her name was something a lot more complicated but she said, “Call me Fuji, like the mountain. Easy to say and remember.”) Her brother-in-law was a skater in the Calgary Olympics. She took her two small children there for three weeks to support him and experience it all. She said she didn’t speak a word of English but everyone was so kind, especially to her children, that she decided she would begin English lessons when she returned to Japan. And she did! Now she guides tourists in the summer and also works as a medical translator. I need a goal.

The crane park was a bit of a disappointment. Cranes mate for life. Each breeding pair lived in an enclosure surrounded by a high, electrified chain link fence to keep the critters out. These enclosures were huge—at least 30 meters wide and much, much deeper. Lots of grasses and trees and streams in each. The cranes seemed content with their housing. I asked if they could fly out. Yes, they could but a strain of bird flu had been detected outside of the park, so the wings of the cranes had been clipped so they couldn’t fly. They will regrow those feathers in about two years when the danger of the disease will have passed. When they can fly, do they return? Yes, they always return to their home area. Big birds: 5 feet tall, black and white with red on the tops of their heads. Very distinctive. A man on the dock was handing out little origami cranes. Mine is destined for our Christmas tree in December.

We crossed over Hokkaido’s most impressive natural area, the Kushiro Marsh National Park. It’s Japan’s largest wetland, home to many endangered species. Another stop at an Observatory for a more extensive view of the area and then to the Washo Fish Market back in Kushiro. All kinds of fish for sale as well as rice bowls. First you buy a bowl of rice and then you go from stall to stall adding various things to the bowl—sashimi, smoked fish, salmon roe, whatever strikes your fancy. Jim and I whimped out on that experience. Somehow having some guy pick up a piece of raw fish from an open display and plopping it in your bowl seemed like tempting fate. We also opted out on the next stop and decided to walk back to the ship which we could see looming up in the distance. It took us maybe 15 minutes, passing a 7-11 on the way. I was all for checking to see if they had my all-time favorite, Classic Coke Slurpee, but it was not to be.

Very rarely are the docks where we tie up open to the public. So often they are in working commercial ports that are strictly off limits to civilians. In Kushiro we are just one block from the city street. The dock area has a beautiful park, basketball courts and a skate board park. A guard has been posted since we landed who very officially directs any cars, taxis and buses to their designated parking areas. Well, about 5 o’clock people began to arrive and gather on the dock, including a sixth grade orchestra. They set up their chairs and music stands just below our stateroom and began tuning up. A woman in a lovely kimono approached the microphone to tell us that the kids (six in the horn section, one drummer, one marimba player and one percussionist) had been playing together for four years.

All aboard was 5:30, set sail at 6, so we were a somewhat captive audience. There was a big banner on the dock that welcomed the Maasdam this morning and now another was unfurled that thanked us for coming and bade us to come back soon. More people are gathering. The official car director is now directing all comers to a parking area on the dock so they can join in. And finally the orchestra (all in blue jeans, bright green shirts and straw cowboy hats) began to play under the direction of their very animated teacher. Anyone who has been to a school concert or piano recital knows that sometimes it’s a bit ragged and certainly no fun if you don’t have a child in the mix but these kids were great. They played as the last of the passengers came aboard and the gangway was lifted and stowed. Their Disney medley was a real crowd-pleaser, even warranting a long toot of appreciation on the ship’s big horn. Now there are a couple hundred people on the dock, waving flags, clapping to the music and waving good bye. Trust me, this NEVER happens. The passengers in turn were clapping and waving from all decks. Kushiro isn’t the most exciting place on earth but the people are certainly special.

The crew decorated the entire LIdo buffet with Japanese lanterns and screens and dressed in special kimonos and samurai robes for tonight’s Japanese dinner. They must get bored with the same old, same old, so were all in high spirits. Lots of sushi and sashimi and wonderful short ribs.

We’re gong to follow the coast to Tokyo, approximately 36 hours at 18 knots. And the fog that has been on and off all day is now on. Ditto the fog horn.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

One Hand for the Boat

At sea

July 21-22, 2019

We had dinner with a man who was on the tender that went into Nome this morning. He said they never even got off the boat, rather they were held until a decision was made whether to continue transferring passengers or not. Dozens of people were on the dock waiting for us plus he said they could see the tents and flags set up for the Blueberry Festival. it makes it even sadder that we couldn’t go ashore.

The ship waited around for the entertainers to arrive. The stairway and platform on the side of the ship were left out for them but it was very rocky. Suddenly a grey boat, maybe 30’ long with a small cabin and completely open area behind. No benches, just a partial railing and six passengers in life preservers hanging on for dear life plus at least a dozen pieces of luggage. Someone at the helm and one deck hand. This was all happening just below us. The boat guy wasn’t too thrilled about tying up to the platform because with every swell, his boat hit the platform. Big boat wins so he tied up while the Maasdam captain is using every engine and thruster to keep the ship as steady as possible and at the same time the captain of the grey boat was working hard to keep his vessel parallel to the Maasdam. First the luggage. Piece after piece was handed from deck hand to deck hand until it was all transferred and then it was time to move the people.

As more than one person remarked, last year a passenger on the Maasdam died when she slipped between ship and tender into the water. This just heightened the drama. By now the Maasdam passengers are along the railings on the balconies and promenade deck. It took a good ten minutes to get the six entertainers from boat to ship. Then, it was time to move the two departing entertainers and their luggage from ship to boat. It was an impressive show of seamanship all around. When the grey boat untied and pulled away, big toots from the ship’s horn and applause from the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if the entertainers had to change their pants!

Now it was time for the cruise director and his team to scramble and put together an on board program for everyone who thought they were going to spend the day and evening in Nome. Lots of talks, movies, games, rum tasting, wine sipping and as we pulled away, the shops and casinos normally closed while in port were open for business. We sat with a couple from Surprise, AZ named Susan and Jim at lunch and then later another Susan and Jim from Maui at dinner. What are the odds?!

Lots of apologies from the captain and warnings that we would be traveling through some weather for the next day and maybe longer so, “one hand for the ship.” There are railings everywhere in the hallways, dining rooms, public spaces, stairways, elevators so when it’s rocky you have something to hang on to thus “one hand for the ship.”

The sky is grey, the water is grey.

July 22

Normally Jim is up early so grabs his go cup and book and goes up to the Lido on 11 for coffee and then down to the Explorers Lounge on 8 to read, sip and look out the windows with the other early risers. The barista opens her coffee bar in the lounge at 7 just about when Jim is ready for another cup. I do my best to be down there by 9 when we go back up to the Lido for breakfast, an orgy of anything you could ever imagine to break the fast. So far we’re both sticking to cereal or poached eggs and fruit and maybe toast or bagel. Eyes averted from the trays of pastries, sausage and bacon.

This morning I woke up and Jim was sitting on the sofa in our sitting room in the dark. He said he didn’t have enough hands to carry book and cup and hang on. It was definitely a lot rougher. Normally we take the stairs up, down and all around, but that gets a bit tricky when the bow of the boat goes up while you’re trying to go up, too, so we played it safe and took the elevator up the three floors for breakfast. Afterwards I went up another floor to the Crow’s Nest to see if any knitters were there. Oh, boy. Deck 12, forward. Up high, up front. Not only do you feel the motion more, but looking out the windows the horizon is bouncing up and down, too. And the wind was whistling outside. A few people showed up and the game of who was in the roughest weather on a cruise. The winner was Reena from Ft Worth. On an Atlantic crossing the captain came on over the loudspeakers and said, “Wherever you are, sit down on the floor now!” She said they were all so startled they did and then were very glad they had. A rogue wave had been spotted and those things are big, sudden and steep.

And what was the presentation by the oceanographer this morning? “Big Waves.” We’d hit a bigger than normal one early in the morning (good thing Jim stayed put) and then while he was talking, the bow went up and then big splash down. Real life illustration of the text. Gloeta, the entertaining biologist and naturalist was up next with more volcano talk. There have been some eruptions in Alaska of late. The beautiful sunset beyond Kodiak the other evening was enhanced by volcanic ash that was still in the atmosphere. I’m going to try to attach the picture to this posting but I can’t guarantee success. Sometimes the Wifi just isn’t strong enough to download photos.

Another Gala Night so it’s ties and coats and sparkly frocks all around.

One Hand for the Boat

At sea

July 21-22, 2019

The sky is grey, the water is grey.

July 22

Another Gala Night so it’s ties and coats and sparkly frocks all around.

At Sea, Kamchatka

At Sea, Along Kamchatka Peninsula

July 22, 23, 2019

I’m still trying to get photos into these posts. I didn’t bring the card reader so anything in my camera will be there until we get home. I tried moving a picture from phone to iCloud and then to this. So far the only one that worked was of Jim when we first arrived in our stateroom in Seattle. Then I took a picture with the very iPad that I’m now using. That transferred very nicely to a document, but then not to blog post. I may start drawing pictures on the screen with crayons. So, if there is a big, blank area in this, imagine a line of snow-capped mountains on the horizon of a deep, blue sea.

After a day or so of rough weather, suddenly we sailed into the sun, the sea flattened and we were 3 on the Beaufort Scale instead of 8 or 9. (Google it.) The entire state of Alaska is in the same time zone, so as soon as we left Nome we started turning our clocks back one hour every night so we would be at the correct time when we docked in Petropavlovsk. We crossed the International Dateline early on, but we didn’t make that adjustment until Tuesday night. There’s always some numnutz who wants to set his clock forward 20 hours but one hour back, one calendar day gone and voilà you’re right time, right day. These are the monumental things that occupy our time at sea.

Jim keeps asking what there is to write about sea days. Well, there’s Boris and Natasha (names I’ve given them because they speak Russian), ping pong maniacs. She’s blond, tall, very tan and model-thin, he’s 50-ish, very buff and tan. Every day she’s in very short shorts (suddenly all the old patoots on board find reasons to walk back and forth past the ping pong tables on the Lido Deck), barefoot and being coached by Boris as they slam the ball in endless rallies. I guess I could ask them their story but it’s much more fun to make one up.

The Cellar Master had a 30 bottle wine tasting one afternoon at 2 o’clock. Knitter Linda’s husband partook. As she put it, “He got his money’s worth” and was quite useless at trivia at 4 o’clock.

We sat next to a couple from Princeton at lunch. They were scheduled to take a birding trip in Nome and were, in fact, on the tender that made it to the dock in Nome but then was returned. Ah, ha. Birders! I now “have a guy” to help identify the birds that fly along with us for hours. A type of petral (sp?) escorted us from Nome.

Got a question about something and no Google? Someone on this ship has the answer.

HAL sent emails a month or so ago asking us to bring something orange to wear to the Orange Party. For those who forgot, orange T-shirts, hats and scarves were available in the ship’s store. Then we found out that the Orange Party is at 10 pm after the pub crawl at 9. In Old People hours (same idea as Dog Years compared to people years) that’s waaaaay past bedtime. I think my orange shirt still has the tags on it so back to Macy’s or failing that, into a quilt.

Sailing along the Kamchatka peninsula is other-worldy. The sun is out, the sky is blue and on the horizon you can just make out a snow-covered volcano. Many, many snow-covered volcanoes. This is part of the Ring of Fire that formed the land around the entire Pacific, north and south. We learned in one presentation that 30 or so of the 1,000 volcanoes of Kamchatka are active. At “Ask the Captain” (once during the cruise the captain gives a short talk about the workings of the ship and then answers questions posed by the passengers) one guy wanted to know if we could go close to one of the active volcanoes. “No.”

As I write this we are dockside in Petropavlovsk. Lots of paperwork and procedure to clear the ship and passengers. We docked at 6 am but won’t get off until 10:30. We had to fill out some forms and then hand them in to Guest Services with our passports. When we’re ready to get off, we will get our passports (already checked by Russian officials who came on board) back to show to yet another official at the bottom of the gangway. Saw three of the young Russian dudes this morning about 7:30 desperately looking for a place to smoke. One of the HAL officers led them to the tiny little smoking area on a deck off the restaurant on the 11th floor, the only place to smoke on the entire ship.

It’s a lovely day. We’re in a commercial port with lots of small freighters and attendant activity. Biggest surprise so far is the stream of pleasure craft (sailboats, power boats) heading out of the harbor early this morning. We haven’t seen many if any since we left Seattle. Our Alaskan stops were commercial fishing ports for work not play.

I’m sure I’ll have tales to tell when we get back from our three hour tour.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

There’s no place like Nome.

July 20-21, 2019

Through the Bering Sea to Nome, Alaska

It’s 600+ nautical miles between Dutch Harbor and Nome, so we’re cruising at a constant 18 knots to get there by 8 am on the 21st.

Lots of shipboard activities to keep the troops occupied. Movies, lectures and cooking demonstrations or for the kids, basketball and pickleball up on the sports deck. Plus the usual bridge, casino, trivia and food, wine and cocktail tasting. It seems like a smooth ride, but there is enough movement to get the pool water cresting like a wave pool so the surface net is on to try to contain the splashing which means no pool time today. It’s been very popular with the teens. The boys are trying to impress the girls and they, of course, are ignoring and flirting at the same time as only teenage girls can.

As an “Exc in-Depth voyage” there are seven experts on board who give talks on everything from Japanese cooking to Alaska native culture to geosciences and oceanography. They all have credentials out the ying yang and have the ability to make everything seem fascinating. The Showroom is SRO for most of the presentations. Jim couldn’t tear himself away from his book, but having heard good things about Gloeta, a biologist and science communicator, I went to hear about “The Amazing Nature of the Tundra.” That sounds tedious, but she was quite animated and funny especially when she chose two octogenarians in the audience, John and Mark, to demonstrate the differences in rutting between bull moose, caribou and musk ox. Trust me, you had to be there.

Jim and I both went to watch the guest chef, Naomi Kakiuchi, demonstrate marinated salmon and Somen, a type of Japanese noodles. Naomi said Somen in on the menu at McDonalds in Japan. It’s always fun to pop into a Mickey-D’s in a foreign country just to see what native dishes are available along with the Quarter Pounders. Remember John, our driver in Sitka? He said everything on the Dollar Menu there costs $1.50. Chef Naomi is preparing a special dinner next week in the Pinnacle Grill. Just one sitting at 6 pm, so we’re assuming the timing and service will be on point.

Believe it or not, showering and changing into “Smart Casual” for dinner in the dining room every night gets old so tonight we schlepped up to the Lido Buffet for dinner in our daytime clothes. So many selections. Jim has discovered that the salad guy will top his Caesar salad with a pile of anchovies so he was a happy camper. I had beef bourguignon with chocolate panacotta and strawberry pavlova for dessert. Don’t judge. Small portions of each. Each stateroom has a DVD player and the ship has over 1,000 movies available from classics to current, action, drama, comedy and family titles. We passed on the Showroom and watched Network instead. I don’t think I’ve seen it since it’s release in 1976. I know I couldn’t imagine how prescient it was.

Sunday, July 21

8:30 am

It’s grey and foggy and we haven’t anchored yet. The tenders have been launched and are milling about. The fog suddenly lifts and there is the breakwater and channel that leads to Nome. We still haven’t anchored yet. This is not a good sign.

About 9 o’clock the captain announces that the swells are coming straight into shore and that he is trying to maneuver the Maasdam so it won’t be so bumpy transferring passengers to tenders. Keep in mind that to board a tender, you walk down a metal stairway on the outside of the ship’s hull to a small platform and from there onto the tender. In calm waters this is a piece of cake; with a rolling swell, not so much. As we were having breakfast we could look down and watch the operation. Uh oh. The process is going very slowly. The passenger waits on the little platform until the ship and the tender are even and then crew members on the platform hand the passenger over to crew members on the tender. It does get the pulse rate up. We’ve done this before and survived so decided to wait until the inevitable line gets shorter, This is our last port for US$, there are two fabric stores and don’t forget the Blueberry Festival.

The tenders load just below our stateroom so we went back to watch and wait. Uh oh. One tender of crew to set up the dockside station has left and one tender of passengers but now the other boats are just circling around.

And then the captain comes onto to the loudspeakers again to break the news that the weather is getting worse, tender operations have been canceled and passengers and crew on shore will be coming back to the ship immediately. Needless to say, this is not a decision they make lightly. The passengers are disappointed and the town is going to take an economic hit. Our son and daughter-in-law went to a Blueberry Festival in New Jersey only to discover that they had run out of blueberries. I texted Claire our sad news and she replied, “Fishers are now 0 for 2 on blueberry festivals this year.”

Now the passengers and crew are back on board and the tenders have been pulled up. The entertainers that are arriving in Nome midday to join the ship will be brought out on the Pilot boat. Now THAT’S going to be a maneuver to watch. Those boats come alongside the ship as it’s moving and the pilot jumps from the deck of his moving boat to the ladder on the side of the Maasdam. So we’re waiting for this and then we’ll head towards our next stop, Petropavlovsk, Russia. It’s at least two sea days plus we cross the International Date Line so it could be three days.

To quote Tina Fey as Sarah Palen on SNL, “I can see Russia from my porch!”

Your first time in Dutch?

Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska

July 19,2019

“Your first time in Dutch?” That was the question the nice young man in the clothing department at Alaska Ship Supply asked me. Oh, you betcha.

Dutch Harbor is the port of the city of Unalaska, Alaska. It used to be the home port of the Deadliest Catch boats, but they dock in Kodiak now, which would explain the towering stacks of enormous crab traps on the pier there. Dutch was the site of a WWII battle, with museum and various concrete bunkers available to tour.

19 ships will call into Dutch this summer, most with 200-500 passengers, It’s about midway out in the Aleutian chain, not exactly on the way to anywhere.

Once again the town provided school buses to shuttle us to the WWII museum and the Safeway. One could walk the 2.3 miles into town or take a cab there or one could walk across the parking lot of the Safeway, past the Grand Aleutian Hotel to Alaska Ship Supply: Groceries-Hardware-Clothing-Liquor. What a place! You name it, they’ve got it! Talenti Gelato? Yessir. Foul weather gear? Un-huh. From toiletries to refrigerators, you want it, they’ve got it. It was the modern version of the small-town general store. Jim found a Dutch Harbor T-shirt while I continued to price check Nexium. On Amazon, under $20; in Ketchikan, $37 and change; in Dutch Harbor, $57! Holy moly. However, the Talenti was $6.21 and the Horizon organic milk, $5.79, neither of which I thought outrageous considering where we are. Just as we were saying it seemed to be an Alaskan Costco we came upon a pallet of Kirkland water! And they had the Kirkland Decaf K cups that the Kennesaw Costco no longer carries. I was tempted but at $103 for the box, I passed.

HUGE Safeway. I scored a Tide stain stick (Remember the Yakima cherries from Ketchikan? Of course the very last one squirted on my new blouse.)

Another good weather day, in the high 50s, low 60s. The lovely young woman who gave us a brief overview of the area as we rode the bus pointed to a bay where whales gather and then said, “But they prefer cloudy days.” Didn’t see the sea otters who supposedly live in the water behind the hotel. Eagles are everywhere, the mottled juveniles and mature birds with the white heads.

My marine life losing streak was broken that night as we were having our pre-dinner cocktail. Out the window I spotted a pod of Dall’s porpoises racing through the water. Found only in the North Pacific they don’t gracefully move up and down like other porpoises, rather they barely break the surface with their noses, almost like a swimmer doing a fast breast stroke across a pool.

Dinner with Phil and Genevieve from Canberra, Australia. She spent her career working for the UN refugee department in some very scary spots around the globe. We told her we thought she had been a spy. We’re not totally convinced that she wasn’t! One of those days when everyone else’s life seems a lot more glamorous than your own.

The showroom entertainment was Mark Hussey, a guitarist who played everything from Pacobel to Clapton. He told us he got a PhD from Oxford, worked as a virologist for four years and then quit to become a professional musician. He was an excellent guitarist.

Now we’re on to Nome, the farthest north we’ll be on this trip. We have to tender in, but besides touring and shopping, the fine citizens of Nome are putting on a Blueberry Festival just for us so we’re all anticipating a fun day. Plus the weather, while grey, is still a relatively balmy 54. More than once on this trip we’ve seen and heard about the changing climate. The life cycle of the animals is attuned to the availability of different food sources. The berries ripen after the salmon spawn, providing food after the fish are gone. Now the berries are ripening earlier while the salmon are still running. It was 80 degrees in Nome last week. We saw pictures of the local kids swimming in the Bering Sea!

Friday, July 19, 2019

A Gangway and Truffles

At Sea, Between Kodiak and Dutch Harbor
July 18, 2019

Today we listened to the geologist on board talk about “Faulty Alaska,” Alaskan earthquakes specifically one in 1958 in the lower part of the state and the more famous ‘64 quake near Anchorage. That one lasted more than four minutes, an eternity if you’re experiencing it. The most damage was done by the resulting tsunami. Traveling at 500 miles per hour it reached New Zealand in fifteen hours. Tsunami alerts were given all along the west coast of the US, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands all the way into the Southern Hemisphere. I vaguely remember a tsunami warning in Newport but I’m not sure if it was from that earthquake. I do remember that we all ran out on the beach to watch for it. A tad bit unclear on the concept.

Because of the damage and loss of life in Kodiak they have a Tsunami Alert Test every Wednesday at 2 pm. On the nice Discover Kodiak map given to us at the Visitors Center there are red arrows in circles here and there with the note “Move above red arrow to safe zones. Higher ground = 100 feet/30 meters above sea level.” Wouldn’t have to tell me twice.

A quiet day at sea. The ocean is a bit choppier but still a smooth ride. After last night’s dinner (wonderful food topped off by those promised profiteroles and a plate of truffles in our room) I had grand plans to get up and walk the deck. I checked the ship’s weather on the TV first thing and the wind was 36 knots. Change of plans. Instead, breakfast, chat and knit with the growing group of knitters/quilters, “Faulty Alaska,” rip out what I had knitted before then lunch and a movie. Some minion somewhere found every movie available with Alaska in the title for the daily matinees. Today it was “Mystery, Alaska” about a tiny town in Alaska that was mad about ice hockey. A very young and fit Russell Crowe among others, for some reason playing the part of the local sheriff with a Canadian accent. Of course, the movie about Alaska was filmed in Alberta so maybe he was a bit confused. It was charming, funny and heart-warming plus there was popcorn.

The service at dinner last night was out of whack. Something was obviously going on in the kitchen because it took forever for food to appear. It was 1-1/2 hours before our main courses arrived. People were getting a bit testy. Jim told the maître d’ that he wasn’t happy. Much bowing and scraping. This afternoon a note of apology from him arrived accompanied by more truffles. Beginning to look a bit like a See’s candy store in cabin 117.

It’s now 11 pm and the sun is still up. I’m watching out the balcony door for whales. So far I remain 0 for everything as far as sea mammal sightings go. I did see an eagle yesterday before we left Kodiak. I was on the balcony watching the pier side activity when I spotted an eagle swooping and circling above the trees on the hill across the street. It’s comforting to think that nearly the entire Aleutian chain is a wildlife refuge so all the creatures are protected. Last night an orchestra of the various musicians on the ship played live music set against footage about the seasons of Alaska from the BBC Earth series. An unexpected treat.

Yesterday afternoon the captain made the announcement that the US Coast Guard would be using our berth in Dutch Harbor which means we will anchor and be tendered in to shore. I have no idea how much of a protected harbor Dutch Harbor is so who knows if the tendering process will be a ho-hum operation or one of those wild and wooly experiences. I do know that there aren’t any ship’s excursions in DH, so the incentive to go ashore dwindles if you have to queue up for a ride. Not many cruise ships stop in DH so I’m fairly certain the merchants there won’t be too pleased to miss the trade. Then we received a letter from the captain telling us that there would be coffee and pastries in the Wajang Theater for the four and five star Mariners (frequent fliers) to munch on while waiting to jump the line of the rest of the passengers. I’m more than happy to take advantage of free laundry offered to four and five stars but be the first to go ashore? I don’t think so.

But then THIS afternoon, a much happier captain made the announcement that after much discussion with the Harbor Master of DH and the Coast Guard it was decided that the Maasdam would indeed get a berth at the dock. Oh, happy day! It doesn’t take a whole bunch to please the passengers, just a gangway and endless chocolate truffles.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Kodiak

July 17, 2019

Happy birthday, Jim!

Sunshine and blue skies for our day in Kodiak, home of the largest Coast Guard base in the country and an equally large fishing fleet, emphasis on crabs. We’re docked in the commercial area of the port, just a mile from the city. Kodiak has mustered all their school buses to ferry us either into town or to the Walmart. This is the last place the crew can buy supplies and snacks at a reasonable price so they are itching to get off and go shop.

We opted to go into town. Not many cruise ships stop here so we have the place to ourselves. The wildlife center is just steps from the visitors center with wonderful displays about bears and salmon and other critters. Kodiak is an island and wildlife refuge. It is home to about 3,000 Kodiak bears, a type of brown bear. Brown bears on the mainland are grizzlies. The Kodiaks are the big ones. The island is rich with fish, berries and plants that provide a diet for all the wildlife. The bear population is controlled by a closely monitored hunting season that allows only a certain number of permits, males only, no females or cubs.

Our other stop was at the beautiful new Alquiit Museum about the indigenous people of Kodiak Island, inventors of the precursor to the kayak. Then and now they rely on fishing and hunting for their subsistent lifestyle. There was an exhibit about medicinal plants and herbs the healers still use with a stern warning that the medicinal value of the plants has not been proven and many poisonous plants look like the safe ones. I guess we’ll stick with Tylenol and Neosporin.

This little place has a quilt shop and a yarn shop, both well stocked, especially the yarn shop. I bought a little sumpin sumpin at each to remind me of our time here. Everyone is so polite and congenial. Cars stop at each intersection if a pedestrian is remotely close to the crosswalk. There’s a big True Value (Marine, Commercial, Home) and a few casual restaurants but the major presence is the fish cannery built inside a huge fishing vessel run aground 50 years ago in the tsunami that followed the big Anchorage earthquake. The storm wiped out the existing cannery, so they converted the boat instead of building a new one.

A small Russian Orthodox cathedral is a reminder of the past when Alaska was home to Russians in the fur trade.

I’m writing this about 3:30 pm as I look out the window watching the town and Walmart shuttles coming and going. From the bags crew and passengers alike are dragging off the Walmart bus there couldn’t be much left on the shelves.

A nice, relaxing day in beautiful weather (it stopped raining just as we arrived in port). Tonight we’re spiffing up again for a special dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. They’re converting it to a pop up restaurant featuring the cuisine of the head chef of the cruise line. Guest services called this morning to ask Jim what kind of birthday cake he wanted and he said he didn’t want one! Could’ve smacked him.

This and That and Gala

This and That and Gala
Sea Day, July 16, 2019

Sea day. Time to ponder the really important things in life. For instance, have we been on the Maasdam before? Except for the new, bigger ships, all HAL’s have the same basic layout. Dining rooms aft, showroom forward, shops, casino, lounges in the middle. The ride has been so smooth that you can hardly tell that you’re moving so I find myself looking out a window to figure out which way we’re headed then I still have a 50-50 chance of going the wrong direction.

Whether we’ve been on it or not, the Maasdam has been freshened up from carpets and drapes to dining room china. Lots of blues and whites and, of course, orange for The Netherlands. It seems all the various cruise lines are cutting little corners here and there (a common conversation topic). HAL has turned their wonderful libraries into Explorer Lounges; still books on the shelves, the chess/checkers tables and jigsaw puzzles but no more librarians and book clubs. On the plus side, they still have florists on board that create massive, avant garde floral displays for all the public areas. And the room stewards still leave a towel animal and chocolates on your pillow every night. Critter tally so far: squid, mouse, caterpillar, cobra and seal.

One of the redesigned areas is the Crow’s Nest, the bar forward, at the top of the ship with a spectacular view of what lies ahead. All around the room, Eames-like lounge chairs are side by side to take advantage of the view, but not to encourage conversation. Our favorite pre-dinner cocktail spot is now the favorite roost for readers, like the quiet car on a commuter train. Luckily for us, the Ocean Bar on 8 has comfy chairs, big windows and bourbon.

Formal nights are now Gala nights. Coats and ties for gentlemen and dressy attire for the ladies are requested in the dining room, a step down from the days of black tie and evening gowns. I was pleasantly surprised to see that everyone made an effort to dress nicely and break out the good jewelry. We sat with the Edinburgh couple we’d met earlier and another from Australia. Lots of fun even if we understood only every other word!

Before we left we received an email from HAL saying that since there weren’t many children on the cruise they would not be doing children’s activities and rather than entertainment in the showroom each night there would be “cultural enrichment” programs. No children’s activities, but the most children, from toddlers to teens, that we’ve ever had on a cruise and so far there’s been entertainment in the showroom each night. The cultural enrichment programs are scheduled during our dinner time so we continue on un-enriched.

Smooth sailing across the Gulf of Alaska.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Bears and Raptors, oh, my

Sitka

July 15,, 2019

Four years ago, moments after we arrived in Sitka, I stepped on a rock, fell and broke my leg. I did manage to drag myself to the Fortress of the Bear but that was it. I spent that port day in the medical center on board.

This time I’m scanning the ground for any possible menaces to my navigation. Instead of anchoring off the city, we’re at a dock in a deep water harbor about five miles north. The city has provided a fleet of shuttle buses to ferry us back and forth to downtown, metro Sitka. Sitka is on an island, the fourth largest city in Alaska with 9,000 people. It is connected to the world by boat or air. It has 14 miles of paved roads that wind through the endless forests. The people share this lovely spot with brown bears, bald eagles and salmon.

For ten bucks we took another local shuttle driven by John (30 ish, born and raised in Sitka) first to the Fortress of the Bear, then to the Alaska Raptor Center, both a few miles out of town. The Fortress is a non-profit sanctuary for orphaned brown bears, Two enormous round water filtrating tanks have been converted to habitats, complete with lakes, hills, trees and numerous “toys” to keep the bears busy and not depressed. It is illegal to return bears to the wild, so these guys are permanent residents.

The compound was closed over the winter for a big building project. It’s not yet finished but will provide better facilities for the staff and visitors. The bears are observed from walkways next to the top of the enclosures (at least 25-30 feet above the bears). Several of the staff are on hand to answer questions, toss the odd treat to the bears (pear, mango, branches of salmon berry bushes) while constantly observing and noting their behavior. The bears do not have a regular feeding schedule (nasty smelling salmon heads and parts from a nearby cannery) to prevent domestication. The lakes in the enclosures are stocked with live salmon from time to time so they can hunt dinner. Treats are tucked here and there so they maintain their foraging skills. Because they will never go back in the wild, there is human interaction. Sadly, Big Balloo, the full-grown Kodiak bear that was quite the entertainer, died a couple of years ago from the same type of degenerate spinal problems than can afflict large breed dogs. One of the staff told me they were all devastated with his passing. She said the only comforting thought was that had he remained in the wild he probably would have been shot years ago.

At the Alaska Raptor Center, the central mission is to rehabilitate injured birds and return them to the wild. These creatures have no human contact. We could observe a dozen birds through one way glass that were in the enormous flight training area. The roof and side are slatted so natural weather (sun, rain, wind, snow) can come in. They eat their natural diet of small critters, but dead not alive. They aren’t well enough to hunt live prey. One handler told us that eagles are not “prideful eaters.” They’ll go after road kill as well as dive down for fish or small mammals. Many of them are hit by cars while they’re picking at road kill. When a bird is judged healthy enough to survive outside, it is released. They’ve been doing this for 30+ years so hundreds of raptors have been saved. The birds that are too injured become residents at the center and teaching tools for the public. It’s located in a lush forest. We were all mesmerized.

I told driver John that some salmon berry branches were tossed into the bear enclosures and two of them came lumbering over, grabbed the branches and headed for the lake where they floated on their backs like otters, chewing on the berries and leaves. John told me that ripe salmon berries are quite tasty out of hand or in jams and jellies. His aunt makes wine from them that she breaks out on New Year’s Day. The berries growing wild right be the ARC parking lot weren’t ripe enough to eat. John said they are very sour. I took him at his word.

Lunch in town—grilled halibut sandwich for me, reindeer (not the ones who work on Christmas Eve) Reuben for Jim. We poked around the shops a bit. Sitka is much less touristy than Ketchikan although zoning is a bit lax. There would be a lovely, large home and next door, something very ramshackle and mossy.

Met my first snippy Aussie today. I thought they were all fun and friendly until I talked to this one on the shuttle. When she found out we were from Atlanta (much easier to identity than Kennesaw) she said they were going to visit friends there next year.

Susan: When will you be there?

Snippy: April.

Susan: A good choice, certainly better than July or August which are very hot and humid.

Snippy, dismissively and huffily: We live in the tropics so it wouldn’t bother us in the slightest.

So, I want you all to mark on your calendars for next April in Atlanta: pray for heat and a deluge of rain that batters the flowers from the azaleas. And the usual huge lines of people going through Immigration at the Atlanta airport. And maybe locusts. Miss Snippy needs a karmic bitch slap.

Sailing to Sitka

July 15, 2019

We sailed from Ketchikan to Sitka last night, arriving at 8 am. It was smooth and quiet except for the emergency alarm (7 short blasts followed by 1 long one) that went off at 3:37 am.

“This is the watch commander. We have sounded the first alarm. Please stay calm and in your staterooms while the situation is assessed.”

Then, “First responders report to deck C, forward elevators.”

Hmmm. The boat is still moving, the seas are nonexistent, we have electricity and water and the toilet flushes. That checks all the boxes for us.

A few minutes after that, “This is the captain speaking.” (Uh oh) “A smoke alarm went off in one of the mechanical closets. There is no fire. My apologies for this disruption.”

And so back to bed.

Everyone was a little bleary-eyed at breakfast, but soldiering on. No harm, no foul.

Ketchikan

July 14, 2019

Clocks back an hour last night. One of the nice things about sailing long distances is no jet lag when you arrive. The ship will always be on shore time when we stop at a port but when you’re at sea for several days, it’s Captain’s Time. You just get a little card on your pillow reminding you to set your clocks back an hour. That would be IF you brought your own clock! Ships are like Vegas, clocks are very few and far between. I have a little battery-powered alarm clock I bought at Walmart years ago that sits up on the bookshelf in our stateroom.

Ketchikan, Alaska’s First City and salmon capital. First city because it’s the first one after you leave Canada and head north. Salmon capital because they supply a gazillion pounds of the fish to the world. It’s had a storied history over the years supplying food, supplies and comfort to prospectors, lumbermen, fishermen and adventurers. It’s a small town, 8,000 people? Very walkable. There were four ships in today, including two of the biggies which means at least 10,000 visitors but somehow this small place manages to absorb them. There are endless tourist shops for diamonds (I’ve never understood why you would get off a ship to buy diamond jewelry from some random store), salmon (canned, dried, jerky, dips), Alaska souvenirs, clothes, and stuff you forgot.

I left my Nexium at home so the search was on. The lovely woman at the Visitors Center on the pier suggested a convenience store in the back of one of the souvenir stores. No dice. I ran into the Cruise Director who pointed us the other way to the IGA/Kress supermarket. It wasn’t very far to walk and, bless ‘em, they had it, for approximately 50% more than I paid in Georgia, but I was just happy to find it. We wandered around a bit to check prices. The produce was pricey but looked pretty good, with a big variety including cherries! Fresh black cherries the size of ping pong balls from Yakima, WA. Grabbed a bag of those puppies for cabin snacks. I told the cashier I’d thought I’d have to order the meds from Amazon to be delivered at our next port so was more than happy to ante up in Ketchikan. She told me that Amazon overnight was a crapshoot up here and you pay for the service. Couldn’t have been nicer. The citizens work hard in the shops and restaurants when ships are in port but are also quite accommodating. Tourists can be dumb and ask dumb questions (What currency do you use in Alaska?) so kudos to them for their tolerance.

Creek Street provided the color and comfort over the years. Supposedly the last brothel, Dolly’s, closed up in the 1950s. It’s now a brothel museum. The wooden buildings were built on stilts over the creek, with wooden “streets” connecting them. Because the buildings don’t actually touch the ground that was supposedly the work around during Prohibition. Like anyone would care up in Alaska. The buildings now house art galleries, shops and small restaurants. Salmon run up the creek. Kings are running now, but we didn’t see any. That’s 0 for 2 on marine life.

I managed to find the quilt shop, yarn shop and book shop. I definitely remember the quilt and book shops from our last trip up here. I chit chatted with a fellow visitor in the quilt shop then ran into her again in the yarn shop. She said she was also on the Maasdam and so was another woman looking at yarn. She’s organizing the sea day needleworkers gathering: 10 am in the Crow’s Nest. Bring your knitting, crochet, needlepoint, embroidery or whatever. These groups form on every ship. It’s fun to meet people from all over the world plus learn what’s happening on the ship. I optimistically brought three knitting projects so I’m ready to stitch and bitch.

Note: Received Jim’s ticket for the Russia tour today so I’m off the hook.

Day Two, Strike Two

Scenic Cruising Inside Passage

July 13, 2019

Yesterday I sent us to the wrong cruise terminal in Seattle. Strike one.

Today Jim was looking at our tickets for excursions and realized there was just one ticket for me to go ashore at Petropavlovsk, none for him. You don’t need a Russian visa if you’re on one of the ship’s excursion, so no ticket, no visit. No problem says I; we’ll go to the Shore Excursion desk. It must be an oversight. Oops. It appears that on July 8 when I booked the shore excursion I hit the wrong button and reserved just for me. Oops. Two tours that day, both sold out. But Jim is #1 on the waiting list. Day two, Strike two.

Lovely ride, though, from Seattle to Ketchikan. Some saw humpback whales. I did not.