Day five began with a lie-in. Well that is if you call 7am a lie-in but it was definitely welcome after two successive early starts. As we woke from our slumbers we were already docked in Skagway along with 3 other cruise ships which meant the the population of Skagway was about to increase considerably – it’s normally 900 people!
Skagway is at the northern end of the Lynn canal and in the late 19th century it was the starting place for a steady stream of prospectors beginning the long trek into Canada’s Yukon territory, seeking the vast quantity of Klondike gold at Rabbit Creek.
It has to be said that Skagway doesn’t appear to have changed that much in the time that has passed. There are two main streets (Broadway and Alaska St) with 8 Avenues along them and that was it. If you looked one block to the side of Broadway there was just grass, trees and few gravel tracks and a train track. That was it. The buildings and sidewalks were all made of wood and it looked just like the old American town that it is.
We were docked at Skagway all day and with no shore excursions planned, an easy day was in store. After all my camera and my camera taking finger needed a rest!
After a lazy start and a breakfast of the usual omelettes, pancakes, bacon and eggs benedict we took the 10 minute stroll into Skagway. It may only consist of 1 main street of shops but they sure have crammed a lot of them in and mostly jewellery shops selling Alaskan gold, diamonds, totem poles and all sorts of tourist tat (but not cheap tat!).
We slowly worked our way up one-side of the street of stores including one which Tracy went into to look at a gold Cartier watch and came out with a new ring! The sales guy pulled the perfect sales trick by promising Harry and Toby a present each if we bought the ring! At that point the sale was effectively closed! Tracy had a new ring and then spent the rest of the day making it twinkle under shop lights and waving it in our faces!
With only five hours left until the ship left dock Harry started worrying about whether we should start making our way back (it was a good 15 minutes walk away!). Eventually after a few more purchases we made our way back and boarded the ship – Harry could relax again.
The afternoon was spent relaxing in our cabin and on the balcony. Skagway was a lovely old town and the weather was exactly as we had been told it would be – sunny and windy. In the town it was nicely sheltered so it felt warm but on boat it was windy as it blew up the channel straight onto us. Sheltering away we waited for the ship to leave dock by watching the webcam on the front of the ship and looking at all the passengers running up the dock and onto the boat. Repeated messages went out for one couple to contact reception. We’re not sure if they made it on but the ship didn’t wait much longer!
The views down Lynn canal were pretty impressive. It looked like there were more glaciers, huge amounts of snow fall and just a lot of very wild land.
I don’t think I would have fancied trekking over the mountains in search of gold. Although it has to be said that our time in Alaska has made me relate a lot more to the wilderness and the untamed conditions that these early prospectors must have endured – I’ve been without the internet for 4 days now. Unbelievable.
The evening was spent in true cruising style – taking in a show (a comedic magician who was very good) followed by dinner in the restaurant. After that it was time for the cabin and bed. Another lovely day was complete. Tomorrow is another day at sea heading back down to Victoria, Vancouver Island. To add a little spice to the trip Toby has bet me $5 that we won’t see another whale. I don’t know where they get their money to make all their bets but either way I intend to spot at least one more whale before this cruise is over!
Here are the pictures…