Skagway, Alaska

The novelty of having all these buffet breakfasts has worn off, as today I was craving only porridge. I didn't think I'd ever get sick of all the sauteed mushrooms and baked potatoes but I guess you can have too much of a good thing! At breakfast I spoke to a gentleman who confirmed that the Northern Lights didn't end up appearing last night, so at least I didn't wait up all night to see nothing.

Most of our group had plans in Skagway but since most of them were so expensive, Ted and I decided to walk around and see what we could find. The most popular option seemed to be the train tour but it was way too pricey. After a short walk into town, we looked around the area just to check out what was available.

We signed up for a walking tour with the Tourist Information office which seemed to be the only thing on offer. After some more exploring, we found a tour company that offered bus tours to the same Yukon territory where the train went. It seemed like a great option so we signed up for it.

As we needed our passports for the tour, I had to return to our cabin to get them. I think I misjudged how long it would take, as I ended up running most of the way. Just as I reached the gangplank, I was then told it was only for disembarking - I needed to use another one further away! (Our ship was coincidentally also the furthest one away too). After saying "excuse me" and "sorry" enough times, I managed to finally make it to the bus pick up area, totally puffed out, but with our passports in hand!

The tour ended up being better than expected, particularly since Alaska again turned on a beautiful day. Despite all my running, the bus tour left late anyway. The majority of the passengers were Aussies and our driver Beverly was really engaging. Firstly we did a quick tour of the town, where she was happy to point out many houses of, as she put it, "negotiable affection"! We then headed along the Klondike Highway towards the White Pass Summit.

Some of the highlights included the Tormented Valley, Summit Lake and Lake Tutshi, as well as the Yukon Suspension Bridge. At the latter, we had a comfort stop as well as buying coffee and some dill pickle chips (not likely to find them elsewhere in the world)! The fact we have 20-22 hours of daylight here makes the days seem even better.

Apparently there have been a lot of bushfires here in Alaska too, but it certainly didn't impact our day in any way. It's hard to say whether the bus ride is better than the train since we haven't done both, but we were very happy we did this. I'm pretty sure it was better than our walking tour of Skagway would have been! :-)

Whilst we were in town, we went to the Skagway Pub for lunch. I had fish tacos, which were pretty small servings. The beer was good though. As the afternoon continued, some clouds rolled in and, for the first time ever on this holiday, we had some wind and rain. It didn't matter though - Ted and I were already walking back to the ship so it didn't ruin our day in any way!

After having a snooze, we caught up with Stephen and Woody for dinner before heading off to our favourite venue on the ship, the Martini Bar. We even managed to meet some of the travellers from the Pied Piper group there too. After a great day, we all went up to the Sky Lounge for some dancing and drinking before heading off to bed.Read more