Valdez

 

Coming into Valdez

Valdez is most well known as the end of the Alaskan Pipeline, which we could see across the Bay. The pipeline begins in Prudhoe Bay on the shore of the Arctic Ocean.  The pipeline is over 800 miles and crosses a major fault line. Because of the huge temperature variations, the pipe is designed to stretch and shrink without breaking. They also have radiators to disperse the heat from the oil in the pipeline without affecting the permafrost underneath the pipeline.

Horsetooth Falls

The town started thriving when the Richardson Highway was established connecting this ice-free port to Fairbanks, Alaska, providing a supply route to the interior of Alaska.  Since 1950 the highway has remained open in the winter. We did a bus tour along the highway. We stopped for two beautiful waterfalls: Horsetail Falls and Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon. Then we went over the pass to Worthington Glacier, one of the few accessible by road. This glacier has been retreating for the last 150 years. On the way back we stopped at Thompson Pass (elevation: 2600 feet) for a beautiful view of the Sawtooth Mountains.

Worthington Glacier

Icy Strait

Icy Strait was established as a cannery. Today, it attracts tourists to many outdoor activities. Our activity was to go whale watching. We first stopped to observe sea otters with their pups. 

Sea Otters and Pups

While searching for whales we came across sea lions playing in the sea. 

We continued the search for whales. Usually, you see them spouting in the distance and then approach closer, hoping to get there before their deep dive. After a deep dive, they will usually surface about 5-10 minutes later. But you need to estimate where they will surface.

Whale video

When we got back to shore, we walked into the shore facilities for the cannery museum and a beautiful eagle right above our heads. 

First sighting of a Bald Eagle

Sitka

 

Voyages of Vitus Bering

Sitka has been settled by the Tlingit clan for thousands of years. The name comes the native name meaning “people on the edge of Shee”, the name for this island. Catherine the Great of Russia chartered Vitus Bering to explore Kamchatka, the easternmost region of Siberia from 1733 to 1741. He discovered the Aleutian Islands and the coastal regions of Alaska.  In 1799, Alexander Baranov came to Sitka as head of the Russia America Company and created a settlement.  The Russians traded western goods with the Tlingit clan for “soft gold”, animal furs. He built a fortification and storage buildings, but the Tlingit noticed that the cannons of the fort were aimed at the Indian village, not the sea.  In June 1802, Tlingit warriors destroyed the original settlement, killing many of the Russians. Baranov came back with soldiers in 1804. The natives had built their own fort and at first repulsed the Russians. After two days of bombardment from the ships and the chance destruction of their gun powder, the Tlingit deserted their fort. Sitka became the unofficial capital of Russia America. 

St. Michael's Cathedral

Today, you can see St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Bishop’s House as evidence of the presence of Russia.  Eventually, the fur trade declined, and Russia needed money to pay for the Crimean War. In, 1867, William Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State paid $7.2 million dollars to purchase the Alaska territory from Russia, approximately 2 cents per acre. 

Eagle Ceremonial Hat

We visited the Sheldon Jackson museum, filled with artifacts from throughout Alaska and were entertained by a dance troop that celebrated the history of Sitka.

Ketchikan, Alaska

 

We flew into Seattle on June 7^th and upon arrival had dinner with Dick and Char who live there and Carol, who is joining us on the cruise. We left the next afternoon from the port in sight of the Space Needle.

Richard, Char, Carol, John and Mary

Our lecture series on Alaska started with a history of gold in the territory. There were eight gold rushes from 1862 to 1887 in the Alaska/Yukon area. The Klondike gold strike of August, 1896, was the biggest strike. 24 million of gold was shipped to Seatle in 1897 causing people to rush to Alaska by sea to hike into Canada. Most had no experience with wilderness. To control the situation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police required a year’s worth of supplies (1500 pounds worth) to enter Canada. This meant that people had to walk up Chilkoot pass 30 to 40 times. In the Spring of 1898, 7000 homemade boats attempted to leave Lake Bennet down the Yukon. Of course, all the good claims were already taken. In 1899, there was a similar boom in Nome. Even today, many people try to make a living by finding gold.

The Routes to Dawson City

After two days of sailing through the inner passage along the British Columbian coast, we reached Ketchikan. I walked the short distance to Creek Street, the red-light district. During prohibition they made more money from liquor than prostitution. The town closed the houses in 1953 and today they are shops and restaurants.

Creek Street

In the afternoon, we went to the Lumber Jack show, a contest between Canada and the US. It was both fun and funny. It was amazing how quickly they could chop through the logs. Then we went out to Saxman Village to see the dancing in the Beaver Lodge and the totem poles outside the lodge.

Agadir, Morocco

 

Agadir is in the south of Morocco with a population of 346,000 at the foot of the Atlas mountains. It is quite a modern city since it had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. Andy took a tour of the city and its marketplaces.

The market place

Jim did a tour outside the city where he encountered this unique scene:

Goats in the trees

I took the ship’s shuttles to the hotels around the beach. The landmark of the city is the Kasbah which overlooks the city.

The Kasbah and beaches

This was one of our better cruises. We were really happy to travel with Andy and Jim. Jim had invited us to join him on a Oceania, a cruise line none of us had tried, because of its unique itinerary. How else will you see this much of Western Africa?  We had dinner together every night and never seemed to run out of conversation. So much better than traveling by ourselves, where we are dependent on meeting people. We really enjoyed the time together and we had a great time winning at trivia with Pam, Bart, Eileen, and Jim.

Arrecife, Canary Islands

Today, we docked on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a territory of Spain. Originally named the Islands of the Dogs, because monk seals or sea dogs are abundant. There are seven islands. Lanzarote is the eastern most island only 90 miles from Morocco. It has a population of 180,000. The island is very dry and requires a desalination plant for its water. The island has over 300 volcanoes.

Timanfaya National Park

We went to Timanfaya Nation Park and saw the results of the volcanic eruption that last from 1730 to 1736. We started at the hot spot on top of one of the mountains. They did an amazing job of demonstrating how hot the ground is here. First, we touched the ground to find the soil was at a normal temperature. Then they dug a few feet into the ground and gave us a few pebbles, which were too hot to hold in your hand. Then we sent up a little higher and they threw some weeds into a stone pit and weeds caught fire. Finally, they poured some water down some holes they had dug into the ground and in about 20 seconds, the water exploded into a brief shower of water.

Then we travelled along a road through the park, almost like riding a roller coaster on our bus. Because the wheels of the bus are further back then a car, it felt like we would go over the edge of the road at every turn. First thing we saw was wild goats (a rare sight). We continued to multiple viewpoints of the numerous volcanoes. The road cut into the soil where a lava river had once flowed and then past a moonscape – the Sea of Tranquility.

Wild goats give us the glare

We went onto a local winery. We sampled a very dry white wine and very sweet one. The vines are grown in a depression protected by lava stones from the winds that blow here. The depression collects the rare rain falls beneath the plants. No irrigation is used.

Sheltered vineyard

Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde

 

The 10 islands of Cape Verde were discovered by the Portuguese between 1460 and 1462. At the time, the islands were uninhabited, but the explorers colonized the islands. The first European settlement in Africa. Today, the total population is 600,000. The islands have a strategic position off the West Coast of Africa, important to the slave trade. Manufactured goods, rum and cloth traded for slaves, ivory, and gold. The islands became independent in 1975.

São Vicente was the last of the islands to be permanently settled, population 83,000, 80% of the population lives in Mindelo. The harbor was shaped by a volcano, part underwater, part above water. We arrived at a brand-new cruise terminal completed in 2025. Tourism and services represent 60% of the economy. Driving through town, we immediately noticed how much cleaner this city is than what we observed over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the island was hit with its first hurricane last year. Some of the roads we were on suffered damage, especially the bridges over what were now dry creeks. This island is the driest of all the islands. Santo Antão is just northwest of here and receives all the rain. Most of the produce in the markets comes from Santo Antão.

Mato Ingles

We began our tour at the village of Mato Ingles (English woods), but the woods are pretty sparce. We hiked down the valley for about an hour. Dry rivers were very eroded from the occasional flood waters. We visited the largest agricultural area of the island irrigated from several wells. Then onto Praia Grande’ beach not suitable for swimming, but the waves pounding in were great for surfing. The beaches and sand dunes in this area are primarily brought in from the Sahara Desert. 

Beaches of São Vicente

We traveled on to Baja das Gatas where swimming was allowed in a lagoon formed by an old volcano. Here is where the islanders have their annual music festival with a heavy emphasis on reggae music. After lunch, we climbed to the top of Monte Verde, the highest point on São Vicente. Unfortunately, on the steep climb up the mountain, we blew an engine hose. Thankfully, we were in a caravan of 3 buses. So, we crowded on to the other two to complete the climb.

View from Monte Verde to the harbor

Cape Verde was our 113^th country and the last new country on this trip.