Juneau

Juneau is surrounded by spectacular mountains. The voyage into port was a sightseeing event in its own right. We had a quick walk through town. Claire found a quilt shop which she was determined to visit before we got back on the ship.

 

We had decided to use local transport to venture up to the Mendenhall Glacier. Travelling on the bus is a great way to meet the locals.

We had a 2.5 km walk up to the entrance of the park and then the real walking began to get up to the glacier and the Nugget Falls. Considering the weight we were gaining on the cruise that was a good thing.

The falls were amazing. The volume of water passing over was staggering. The noise was so loud we could hardly hear each other. The photo below was taken at a distance and by the size of the people you can get an idea about the size of the fall, although its full height is not revealed.

 

The water at the base of the glacier was full of small to medium blocks of ice.

We walked a number of tracks on the way back hoping for a sight of the bears that were reported to be in the region. No luck.

Once back in town Claire visited the quilt shop again and began her collection of Alaskan themed batik fabrics while Peter went to the pub where he struck up a conversion with Tom who had lived in Juneau for 54 years He told him all about the place, his family and how he got there. Better than a guided tour.

Finally we visited the tramway that scaled the mountain above Juneau with views of the valley below.

 

We won the trivia again that night and were in demand as partners for the quiz. Peter did OK but Claire rocked.