Sometimes I’m delighted when the weather report is wrong, and that was clearly the case when we visited Valdez. The probability of rain was pegged at an unambiguous 100%. Luckily, the only thing that was 100% was the inaccuracy of that report!
Jean and I decided to forgo the recommended visits to the museums and convention center, opting instead to walk to a viewing platform in what turned out to be a rather futile attempt to see some wildlife.
Because both of us are “map challenged”, we checked with a local guide to make sure we were heading in the right direction. His tone of voice when he told us the viewing platform was a MILE AND A HALF away clearly expressed his doubt in our ability to go the distance. (What the hell? TWICE in two days?! Are we looking particularly decrepit??)
We learned from the lovely ladies at the cute little visitors’ center that we were a few weeks ahead of the bears, but we thoroughly enjoyed the 3 mile walk (round trip) under the cloudy, but rain free skies.
Sadly, when most people hear of Valdez, the Exxon Oil Spill immediately comes to mind, so let me give you an alternative image for this lovely area.
The balance of the day was spent enjoying Viking’s incredible spa. All guests can take advantage of the sauna, steam room, snow cave, whirlpool, cold plunge pool and hot tub at no additional charge. I decided to “detoxify” the way the Scandinavians do, so dutifully sat in the sauna, spent about 20 seconds in the snow cave, followed by the steam room, before experiencing the whirlpool. I’m not sure I was “ detoxified” or even what that is supposed to feel like, but I DID very much enjoy the experience.
On Sunday, we spent the morning on one of Viking’s included Skagway tours—a very beautiful bus ride to White Pass Summit.
Although Valdez had a bear deficit, we spotted one on our Skagway excursion . He was outside the range of my iPhone and by the time I got my camera zoomed out, all I got was a butt shot. That’s okay. The image of him sauntering through the rocks was permanently imprinted on our brains. It was truly thrilling.
I did much better photographing Skagway’s more stationary subjects. It’s hard to believe that beautiful flowers bloom between rocks in this cold climate.
Our bus driver//guide saved us from horrible selfies.
We weren’t all that impressed with the town of Skagway.
The lure of craft beer, tee shirts, and gold mining memorabilia wasn’t strong enough to keep us from the ship’s outside hot tub. Hard to believe that there are over 900 guests on this cruise. We had the hot tub completely to ourselves.
Here’s to long term friendships. We’ve been doing the pool scene for more than a half a century, and I have the photo to prove it!
Destination NOW 