sea star : blickwinkel / alamy ; red onion : design Pics inc / alamy ; totem : cameron Zegers / stocksy united the brothel owner , is said to have cost a cool grand .
Every time we step ashore , we find a different and fascinating way to experience Alaska . But the most exciting moment actually takes place on board the cruise ship .
Our Glacier Bay morning begins swathed in grey fog , but when the mist lifts and the sun burns through the clouds , we find ourselves surrounded by towering walls of white . As we gape , a thunderous crack obliterates the silence and a chunk of ice as tall as a skyscraper falls from an ancient glacial wall . The massive shard crashes into the water , sending spray a dozen metres in the air , the event now soundtracked by a frenzied clicking of camera shutters . Holding tight to the ship ’ s railings , we stand transfixed by the power of the ice . We listen for hours as we sail , awestruck by the eerie growling of the ice as it readies itself to calve again .
Each night aboard the ship we share shore-leave stories with other guests ,
Totem pole in Ketchikan
many of whom have enjoyed completely different excursions . Some have gone flightseeing over the glaciers ( the airborne tours are pricey , but so popular that they often fill up well in advance ), while others fished for salmon and had cookouts in rustic lodges . Some tried zip lining high above the dense Alaskan forests , and still more rode the famous White Pass and Yukon Route railroad 1,000 metres above sea level , past the famous White Pass Summit . Every account is filled with excitement , and we soon realize that we ’ d need to sail up and down
Alaska for months to cover all the activities we now want to do . But since we ’ re on a cruisetour , we do have one more opportunity for an extended adventure . When our stay on the ship ends , we hike the Exit Glacier — a stunning , road-accessible expanse of ice that ’ s also a well-known haunt of both brown and black bears . Fortunately we don ’ t draw any obvious ursine admirers ; we trek across the vast tracts of grey-blue ice alone … We think .
Words hardly do justice to the whales ’ tails , skyscrapers of ice and first-class accommodations — both afloat and ashore — that made up our Alaskan cruisetour . We think , though , that Rob Scheer , the plaid-shirted , axetoting lumberjack champion we meet on board , does a pretty good job .
“ Alaska ,” he says , “ isn ’ t the kind of girl who ’ s going to meet you on the porch . You have to go right out and get to know her .”
A sea star in a tide pool ; Skagway ’ s infamous Red Onion Saloon ( below )
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