Day 7 Cruise - Learning to Play a Board Game On An Alaska Cruise

Day 7 - Alaska Cruise Today was a sailing day without any stop at any port of call.

However, there were quite a number of programs and activities planned for guests on the ship.

I got up and did the stretch and release class at 7:30am. There were only about 10 people taking part.

It felt great stretching my legs and arms. I always take advantage of the free and good programs while we were cruising.. 

We travelled with other bigger cruise ships before, but we enjoyed the smaller cruise ship too.

I was happy to hear our son telling us that this was beyond his expectation and he would be willing to go another one. Spending time with our family is getting more important for us as we grow older. We have got to treasure every opportunity.

We also went to the Coffee Chat with the Chief engineer and environment officer who answered a few  questions that we had about operating a cruise ship regarding its waster management and ensuring safety for crews and guests on board.

Deck 10 - Exploration Deck on the Westerdam Cruise Ship

The best part of the day was spending time at the Exploration Deck – Deck 10, relaxing and doing something with our loved ones.












There were quite a few things to see and do on the Exploration Deck.

Tracking our course on the Exploration Deck

We could track our course and learn about our ship.



















Guests could sip drinks, and enjoy the scenery passing before their eyes.

















We could just relax, talk and watch the world go by.

There were books and board games available for guests. J. taught us how to play a board game called Catan.

 I have a few regrets in my life. As a working mom while my children were growing up, my full time career took up a lot of my time and I didn’t have a lot of time playing board games with them. Our children have always enjoyed board games even when they were about only 4 or 5 years old. Therefore, I try to play catch up now spending time in my senior years with them as much as possible. We are grateful that our own children, though busy with their lives, do find time to spend part of their vacations with us.

I am not a person who enjoy board games but I enjoyed playing this game, trying to build up my settlement and learning to trade with other game players. J. also invited another young man who seemed eager to learn to join in our games.  We had planned to attend the other entertainment offered on board today at 2 and 3p.m.

Instead we stayed at the Exploration Café and the four of us played together for the most of the afternoon. 

After the board game, we had a nice Mexican snack by the poolside.  We spent an enjoyable afternoon with our son!

We are thankful and grateful to God for our grown children everyday!

R.T.
Aboard the Westerdam
Alaska, USA 

Bravo to Glacier Bay National Park of Alaska For Giving the Native People a Voice

Day 6 - Alaska Cruise

We were on the Westerdam cruise ship sailing from Vancouver to Alaska. On this leg of the cruise, our ship, sailed into the Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, early in the morning. ( Holland America and the Princess are the only two cruise ship companies permitted to sail into the Glacier Bay National Park while the other bigger cruise ships do not have this privilege. We were unaware of this until we started the cruise.)

The two rangers from the Glacier Bay National Park came on board, pirate style, and spent a whole day on our cruise ship explaining to us about their exhibits and giving us valuable information..

We attended a presentation given by Mimi, a cultural representative from the National Park.

Mimi came on the stage with a drum, singing and drumming ready to tell her story.

The Tlingit people living among the glaciers have always respected the land and elements.  The land and the people were living as one, never thought that they were above the land or animals because they were human being.  For thousand of years, their people have been living on this land.  Water is  life and sacred to them as  water brings life to everything.

Mimi's grandfather knew every part of the land and water. As for her grandmother, their wasn’t one plant she did not know. The bears could teach you the way of life. God gave us everything people needed.The trees, plants could be used as medicine.

The indigenous people consider animals as part of the family. They respect the animals, therefore they eat and use every part of it so that the people could show respect for the animals' lives.  Animals gave their lives so that  people could live. Therefore,  give thanks for it.

For the second half of her story, Mimi  spoke with care. If she misspoke any word, she apologized for it.

We were told that the indigenous people have been welcoming visitors to their land, feeding them and keeping them warm.

The native people gave the visitors everything they were thankful for. However,  the missionaries and the visitors tried to break the natives by taking their kids away from them and putting them in government schools.

                                                           
The indigenous people were speaking Tlingit but they came out feeling ashamed of it.

Mimi reminded he audience: Take care of what you have and take care of the next generation. The elders, the highest priority, as they gave us the wisdom. Always take care of what you have, also the next generation.

Mimi spoke with passion, about their way of life coming from the heart, from ancestors who did not know them.

Mimi's niece helped to bright the Tlingit language into the school curriculum.

Now, in Alaska, students have to take 4 years of the Tlingit language before they can graduate from high
school.

She wanted to sing a song to honour those who went away for the Vietnam war but didn’t come home

We all stood and waved our hands in the air as she sang and drummed a special song to honour the  veterans who never had an opportunity to return to America.

It was a moving and important presentation from the indigenous people's perspective. Koodo to the Glacier National Park for giving them a voice to express their feelings and passing on the history to the next generation.

R.T.
Day 6
On the Westerdam Alaskan Cruise Ship

Sailing into Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska - A Close Up Look of a Tidewater Glacier

Day  6 – Alaska Cruise

It was an exciting day for the passengers on our Alaskan cruise ship.
















Our cruise ship, Westerdam, sailed into Glacier Bay - a wilderness, a national park, a United Nation biosphere reserve, and a UNESCO site.

In geographical terms, Glacier Bay is a young land.

We learned that  just 250 years ago, Glacier Bay was all glacier and there was no bay. 

















It was a massive river of ice, roughly 100 miles long and thousands of feet deep, occupying the entire bay.

Unfortunately, as the climate warmed up over the years,  today, that glacier is gone, having retreated north.

Now, there are fewer than a dozen smaller tidewater glaciers dotted the majestic mountains of the Alaska scenery.

Our journey sailing through Glacier Bay National Park was an amazing experience!

 The sheer beauty of the mountains laced with the occasional rivers of glaciers was simply breathtaking!

Birds resting on pieces of glacier ices in Glacier Bay

We got excited as we saw glimpses of the tails of the humpback whales, the flight of the bald eagles and birds flying high.

Amazing scenery of glaciers at Glacier Park!

Passengers could enjoy the scenery on Deck 10

The highlight of the day was sailing close to Margerie Glacier, one of the few remaining tidewater glaciers in the world.  

Exploration Cafe, Deck 10, Westerdam

We watched the scenery unfolding in front of our eyes in the comfort of a heated observation deck at the Exploration Café.













Many passengers, us included, rushed out to deck to come face to face with the ancient glacier.

National Park rangers set up exhibits on our Alaskan cruise ship

The Glacier Bay National Park sent in a couple of park rangers who climbed on board our cruise ship early in the morning around 6am.

They set up exhibits and spent the day on Deck 10, the Exploration Deck to give information about the national park and the glaciers.


It was informative and we learned lot about glaciers today.

 In 2015, University if Alaska did an extensive survey about the glaciers in the Unite States and found that there 27,000 glaciers existed.

Of the 27,000, most of them are alpine glaciers and only 39 are tidewater glaciers.

Tidewater glaciers are those glaciers that touch the water of the ocean.

We were lucky today as we sailed by both of them, the Margarie Glacier and the Johns Hopkins Glaciers are both of the 39 tidewater glaciers.

The cruise director and me on board the Westerdam

Unfortunately, as the climate gets warmer each year, the glaciers are starting to melt and retreat so that fewer and fewer of the tidewater glaciers remain today.

We were fortunate that we were cruising on Holland America, one of the only two cruise ship companies that have permission to sail into the Glacier Bay National Park!


R.T.
Glacier Bay National Park
Alaska, USA

Appreciating the Contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers in Skgway, Alaska

Day 5 - Alaskan Cruise 

Downtown Skgway, Alaska, USA

Our shipped arrived at port Skgway at around 7am this morning.

Because we learned that Skgway is a very small town of about 900 inhabitants, there would not be a huge area to cover so we took our time disembarking the cruise ship.

Skgway is a historic town, a part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

There were a few tours ranging from $120.00 per person to a few hundred dollars.

 I regretted that we didn’t book the train tour with our cruise ship. It was supposed to be one of the most spectacular scenic train tours. 

We visited the visitor centre in town, just a few minutes walk from the cruise ship terminal.

The Visitors Centre in Skgway was worth a visit. 

It offered talks and walking tours and other programs to visitors to learn about the past, especially during the Klondike years. 

The Visitor Centr building used to be a train station taking many hopeful prospectors seeking their fortune in the northern gold fields.

Taking a seat on the same spot where the prospectors used to sit, we were there to learn about the past and the craziness of the gold rush era.

The best part about the programs offered, they were all free. Amazing! 

However, some walking tours had limited spots available therefore visitors needed to obtain the tickets ahead of time in order to be admitted. 

We were luck as we got the last three tickets for an excellent walking tour of the town.

We saw a good exhibits and watched a movie at the Visitor Centre’s theatre which gave us good information about this small Alaskan town as well as its history and development.

Skgway was the gateway for stampeders and prospectors coming through and trying to reach Dawson city in the Klondike river during the gold rush year of 1897.

Due to lack supplies and food, many prospectors died at the beginning of the gold rush period. 

Therefore the U.S. government stepped in and required each stampeder to carry with him with a year supplies, about 1000 lbs. before continuing the gold finding journey. 

What a load to carry trekking through these rough high mountains of Alaska!

We especially enjoyed the walking tour and learned from the National Park Ranger about a very interesting part of Skgway’s history but was seldom mentioned or told to the American people .

The Company L of the 24 United States Infantry known as Buffalo soldiers stationed in Skgway form 1899 to 1901. 

The Buffalso soldier was an all black regiment sent from San Francisco to this booming mining area of Dyea to keep order.

 In the Klondike era, as described by John Brady, Governor of Alaska appealing for help to Washington at the time, “ the Lynn Canal is full of gamblers, thugs and loose women, send help.”  Here came the Buffalo soldiers to help!

A very valuable history lesson for all visitors to the national park!

After our day excursion to Skgway, we reboarded our cruise ship. Tonight was Orange Party night when all the party goers dressed in orange, the national colour of Holland. The officers came out and greeted the passengers answering their questions.  A nice personal touch by the staff of the Holland America cruise ship!