Inside Passage, from up close

Being close to the glaciers and witness their break, letting loose a small iceberg, was a thrill. And it was so exciting to see whales just by our boat!

Quick Tips:

At every port we had optional tours - scenic flights, tranquil canoe trips, and so forth. In some, it was possible to do things on your own.

Best Way To Get Around:

Although local ferries are available at a very affordable price, they can't offer the opportunities a cruise ship does, like getting close to a glacier or stopping to see approaching whales.

There are many different cabins at different rates. Ours were the cheapest, smallest and closest to the engine room, so noise was my biggest complaint. Otherwise, the ship was comfortable, food was great and the staff was very nice. We chose this ship because it was a small one that can go places that huge cruise ships can't - and that's what we were in Alaska for. If you can afford it, it's great. Check out the Smallship website.

Glacier Bay National Park was created in 1925 as a National Monument, redesignated in 1980, the park is also a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

Our boat stopped at many glaciers. Margerie and Grand Pacific glaciers are side by side, but fed by different icefields. We also saw Lamplugh and Reid glaciers. We were not allowed into Johns Hopkins Inlet because sea lion mothers were there with their puppies.

There was some activity and from time to time we saw a piece of ice falling from the glacier walls. This is called 'calving.' Sometimes the ice block is so big that we could feel the wave formed by its hitting the sea. But most of the time we could only hear the ice shrieking and thundering, making us expect a huge calving that did not happen.

Sea lions like inlets because orcas, their predators, do not usually go there, where the water is much colder due to the glaciers. We saw an orca later that day, though they are not common in the park's waters. We saw many sealions on icebergs, as well as eagles and kittywakes. With great excitement, we saw grizzly bears at the shore: a mother and two cubs.

Tracy Arm is a fjord and it has some glaciers. The first one we saw was South Sawyer Glacier, which offered us the best glacier calving in the trip. After a strong thunder, a huge block of ice slowly fell from it. We saw many other iceblocks falling, but this one was really impressive. Later we saw Sawyer Glacier, beautiful too, but less active. The ship's zodiac went close to it to grab a block of ice from the water which was displayed at the bar.

Sitka is a Tlingit name that means 'by the sea.' Under the name of Novoarkhangelsk, it was the capital of Russian Alaska until the USA bought Alaska from the Russians in 1867. It is located in Baranof Island, named after Alexander Baranov, manager of the Russian-American Company that explored the region. They were particularly attracted by sea otters' fur, which were hunted almost to extinction.

We took a short guided walking tour and later we visited places on our own. At Castle Hill, the acquisition of Alaska was signed, ending with over a century of Russian colony.

St. Michael's Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church first built in the 1840s. Destroyed it in 1966, when fire burned many blocks in downtown Sitka, a replica was built on the same site. The Orthodox Church was more easily accepted by the native tribes because its priests did not attempt to destroy the indigenous culture.

We also visited The Bishop's House, Sitka National Historical Park, and the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, a hospital for birds with many bald eagles.

Sitka is a very pleasant city, proud of its Russian and Tlingit origin. Dance groups present their folk dances.

Skagway is the site of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. In 1897, this was the starting point for goldseekers on their way to the Klodike River. Chilkoot Trail, starting at the nearby city of Dyea, was the steepest but shortest route and can still be hiked today. People were only allowed into Canada if they had provisions for one year, so they had to take many trips to carry all they needed. Many died on the trail. Artifacts were left on the way to relieve the weight and can still be found on the trail. Although a tramway was built to carry cargo, few could afford this transportation.

The city is very small and keeps the atmosphere of the old times. Tourists normaly take the train trip on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. This railroad was built as an alternate route to the Klondike. Although the gold rush was over when it was finished in 1899, it was still useful as a connection with the remaining mining towns and to provide goods into that remote part of Canada. The train partially follows the Skagway River valley, offering us some nice views of the vegetation and some waterfalls. White Pass was another trail people took to the Klondike, longer but allowing the use of animals. Though it was a nice trip, I thought it expensive for what it offered us (US$80, 3h).