Cracked But Not Broken

THE EARTHQUAKE last Tuesday in Italy is yet another example of the fragility of existence.

I created digital art (left) for Earth Day and am re-posting it now, suspecting but not knowing to what degree humanity plays a role in agitating earthquake prone zones.

Warring factions disregard how interconnected the planet is and how exploding bombs in one area can destabilize the underground in another. In this age of conflicts, our earthly home can seem as breakable as an egg shell being tapped by a multitude of spoons. (Postscript September 3, 2016: See how fiddling beneath earth's crust to produce oil and gas also plays a role HERE.)

The loss of precious life, and the historic buildings that survived the ages yet now crumbled into ruins, is heartbreaking. A tourist in Italy once, I was awed by its beauty, historic importance and strong resilient people. May they find strength now and support from around the globe.

Later in the week I took a solitary walk through Kwomais Point Park in South Surrey to clear my thoughts. Birds were chirping in the forest and, for the moment, everything seemed right with this part of the world.

Boundary Bay is at the path's end. The sun brought sparkle to the water that recently changed from gray blue to greenish and more tropical aqua hues. Perhaps this has something to do with warmer sea temperatures and how algae is growing. You can read about it HERE.

A sweet lingering fragrance from a forgotten bouquet was at a railing overlooking the scenery. People like to get married at Kwomais Park this time of year and I wondered, since relationships can be fragile too, if the bride and groom together will find the integrity, compassion, humor and resiliency needed to withstand the challenges sure to come their way.

I visited Elgin Heritage Park with my husband at the end of the week. This was a great place to to see the seasonal changes. Summer is clearly on its way out and autumn is beginning.

A sailor who found no breeze to move his boat pedaled rather than paddled along the bordering Nicomekl River.

A spider caught in a sunbeam was rebuilding its web yet again.

Continuing our walk throughout the park it seemed to me that, yes, there are cracks in life but the spirit does not have to be broken.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Hot In Alaska, Pt 7: Service With A Smile

"We spray paint them on," joked one service provider when I asked how they keep smiling when as soon as one group of nearly 2000 passengers disembark a new batch is getting on board, expecting fresh faces and excellent service.

There are 800 crew members on Noordam's Holland America. The officers are generally Dutch. Service providers are largely Indonesian. Others are from across the globe. They work long hours for months at a time going back and forth along the same routes. Their windowless quarters are below sea level at the bottom of the ship. There are times, no doubt, when they do not want to smile but most do. Some even make a point of remembering your name.

Towards the end of our 7-day excursion to Alaska, staff were literally centre stage at the Vista Lounge where we saw performances nightly. They deserved the heartfelt burst of applause when they finally appeared in front of the waiting audience. The service staff, in fact, were the only ones I saw on stage getting a standing ovation, although the entertainers on board were superb.

Musicians, dancers and singers did their utmost to please. We enjoyed everything from classical music to the man at the Piano Bar, Michael Sara, who for hours on end fulfilled every request and could mimic such greats as Elvis. Unfortunately, I could not find an online presence for these talented artists.

A cruise ship is a floating hotel with a never-ending buffet. Each meal can be as large or small and as decadent or nutritious as the appetite desires. In addition to not cleaning or making a bed for seven days, not needing to cook a meal or brew a single cup of coffee was a treat for me. Come to think of it the service providers do everything I do regularly at home but they do it for 2000 people.

A variety of fresh orchids graced most tables and our biggest stress was trying to find a coveted window seat at the usually crowded Lido Restaurant.

From the restaurant windows throughout the trip there were often visual feasts. We saw whales spray from their blowholes and a school of leaping dolphins (perhaps escaping the whales) near the ship. It was an exciting surprise whenever wildlife appeared and I was too busy looking to take pictures.

Lido Restaurant I assume is named for Lido Island in Venice which we actually visited a few years ago during our European trip. The print below of romantic Venice hung on a wall of the ship near our room.

Ironically, I said the one place I would like to revisit is Lido in Venice. I never dreamed we would end up in a restaurant with the same name while cruising in Alaska ... but somehow it seemed perfectly fitting to celebrate an anniversary after decades of marriage in this special way.

(Incidentally, on a side note, I was thoroughly impressed with the creativity of the Greek government that recently repurposed a cruise ship by sending it to the Island of Kos to become a temporary shelter and registration centre for thousands of migrants fleeing war torn Syria.)

Our cruise was just for fun and it was, indeed, a good experience overall. Seven days on board a ship felt about right. Passengers were from across the globe and a nice mix of ages. Several people had some form of physical/health issue so my husband was not alone in that regard. I should not have been too surprised that the weather and geography in southeast Alaska was somewhat similar to the Gulf Islands near our home in southwest British Columbia.

Just as some folks further south think Canadians live in igloos, I mistakenly assumed most of Alaska was cold year round. Perhaps that is true in the northern mountainous regions but Juneau and the other places we visited were hot spots that proved to be no escape from the heat wave this summer.

Links to each of my Hot In Alaska cruise posts are as follows:
Pt 1: Setting Off From Vancouver
Pt 2: Settling Into The Noordam, Melting In Juneau
Pt 3: Skagway & The Historic Route To The Yukon
Pt 4: Margerie Glacier Interlude
Pt 5: Picturesque Ketchikan
Pt 6: Sunrise To Remember
Pt 7: Service With A Smile

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To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Hot In Alaska, Pt 6: Sunrise To Remember

THE BRIGHT GLOW through the curtain in our suite on the ship must have woken me from my comfortable sleep. I checked the time to see it was not quite five o'clock in the morning. I pulled back the curtains to discover a powder blue sky draped over the sea. With no obstructions, it reminded me of a prairie sky.

It was eerily quiet when I stepped out onto the balcony. The only sound I could hear was the gentle lapping of water against the moving ship.

No haze or pollution marred the scene.

Pinkish clouds rushed towards puffs of dark clouds. Their drifting changing patterns transformed into two birds with large wings and long beaks. The birds flew towards one another.

Soon more sunbeams stoked the embers in the smoldering clouds.

A golden sheen poured over the seascape softening the horizon and making this dreamy Alaskan sunrise one I will not soon forget.

Links to each of my Hot In Alaska cruise posts are as follows:
Pt 1: Setting Off From Vancouver
Pt 2: Settling Into The Noordam, Melting In Juneau
Pt 3: Skagway & The Historic Route To The Yukon
Pt 4: Margerie Glacier Interlude
Pt 5: Picturesque Ketchikan
Pt 6: Sunrise To Remember
Pt 7: Service With A Smile

See more skies from around the globe at SKYWATCH.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle for more BC scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Hot In Alaska, Pt 5, Picturesque Ketchikan

THE BUZZING sounds of one floatplane after another lifting into the air seemed like a royal welcome as our ship floated into Ketchikan on a bright sunny morning.

Of course, the planes were not performing for us but rather taking people on tours and business destinations. Since Ketchikan is on an island, the only way to leave the area is by air or by water.

You would never know that eight tourists and a pilot were tragically killed in a crash a week earlier in a similar plane giving a tour. My sympathies went out to the tourists who lost their lives in pursuit of wonder and beauty and the pilot who wanted to give them a great sightseeing experience.

Ketchikan is usually the last stop for cruise ships heading south from Alaska. The port was bustling with tourists wanting to see the spectacular scenery.

The some 8,000 people who live and work amid the picturesque forested hills maintain an authentic community. There is a medical centre, schools, churches and a Walmart in Ketchikan, in addition to quaint cottage-style homes (above).

There is also the historic section (pictured above and below) on a wooden planked street built over a bubbling creek.

Creek Street has restaurants, shops and a scant museum that was once home to a woman who worked in this former red light district. It took about two minutes for me to walk through Dolly's House, the green building below.

Near the main street section there is a grouping of statues.

The original native population, miners, pilots and lumberjacks made this area thrive. Nowadays, since there is no longer a timber mill and much of the area is protected parkland, lumberjacks put on contests and shows.

I wondered ... are tourists of wilderness areas big buyers of jewelry? We passed the usual row of mostly cruise ship owned stores selling jewelry on our way out of town with Sourdough Tours to the Saxman Native Village.

Along the way, beyond the bear and roped off area, I got an inkling of what it might be like to actually live in Ketchikan. West of British Columbia, it has a similar terrain and the weather is relatively mild year round.

A few folks were relaxing along the sandy shore.

Some were fishing for dinner.

I liked all the carvings at a nearby store ... they were like mini totems. We didn't see real bears but we did see real and majestic eagles overhead ... their appearance too fleeting and mythical to catch with my camera.

I once imagined mermaids were real. This carving (above) at a store selling jam was one of my favourites. As a child, I might have believed that the mermaid turned into wood for daring to venture too far from the bottom of the sea.

At Saxman Native Village our guide took us to what is said to be the world's largest standing collection of totem poles. There were several and they were spread apart so I took pictures of them individually. One was missing a wing, which according to our guide, was due to be replaced.

Our guide told us stories about the totems and explained that the symbolism of the images were often open to interpretation and a means with which to teach life lessons. The totem (above) was not tilting, by the way. Rather, it was my camera that was tilting.

The nearby abandoned house (above), on the other hand, was leaning, although the weather-worn totem next to it stood straight and tall. The glassless windows of the house stared at me with bottomless black eyes. The past seemed reconciled with the present in Ketchikan, my favourite stop and the last during our 7-day Alaska cruise.

Soon we would be back on board the ship, contemplating our first cruise experience that was in its final stages. As the huge ship carefully detached from the charming but small Ketchikan harbour, the service providers on board were busy making beds, cleaning suites, clearing off the dirty dishes and peeling potatoes for nearly 2000 people. Tourism is a team effort I was beginning to realize and the significance of everyone involved, especially the service providers (a subject of my upcoming post) cannot be overstated.

Meanwhile, up next is my moment of bliss with an Alaskan sky.

Links to each of my Hot In Alaska cruise posts are as follows:
Pt 1: Setting Off From Vancouver
Pt 2: Settling Into The Noordam, Melting In Juneau
Pt 3: Skagway & The Historic Route To The Yukon
Pt 4: Margerie Glacier Interlude
Pt 5: Picturesque Ketchikan
Pt 6: Sunrise To Remember
Pt 7: Service With A Smile

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Hot In Alaska, Pt 4: Margerie Glacier Interlude

SUMMONED early morning to the upper promenade deck, we bundled up like children prepared to brace against the chilly wind caused by the movement of our ship along the Gloomy Knob area of Glacier Bay National Park.

Clouds appeared on the horizon for the first time since our trip began. They brought a mystic mood to the mountain peaks that hovered in thin air.

I couldn't see it, but to one romantic traveler on board, the peaks looked like two lovebirds kissing.

We cruised the National Park passage to Margerie Glacier with a sense of reverence and great expectations. It was as if we were about to see a soon-to-be extinct species in a zoo. Oddly enough, I had a somewhat similar feeling when we approached Venice during another trip several years ago.

The glacier is said to be one-mile deep and 21 miles long. Its height is estimated at 350 feet. About 100 of those feet are under water.

Anticipating icy weather, most passengers put on their warmest clothing. The woman in pink to the right of my husband (in blue) was the one exception, revealing it was really not that cold at all.

The ship lingered when it reached the glacier. Back at our cabin we enjoyed a perfect view portside.

From the comfort of our open balcony we heard the roar and crackling sounds of ice breaking off the glacier. Pieces of the blue-hued mammoth mountain of ice disintegrated before our eyes.

It seemed as if the warmth of our breathing might hasten melting of the ice.

Seagulls in Alaska need no skates. They maneuvered over ice with such ease you would think they were strutting on a sandy beach floor.

Ice drizzled to the sea like confetti, creating great landing pads for birds. When clouds dissipated, the water mirrored the glacier's aqua blue shade.

This glacier is a ancient brew of rock and ice. Its tips are jagged and sharp ...

reminding me of the teeth of some mythical monster.

A cave-opening in the ice was twice the size by the time we left the glacier.

I took dozens of photos, none of which convey the breath of this natural wonder that is both powerful and frail. The glacier tells a fantastical tale about a world always transitioning and never standing still or frozen.

Our interlude with this receding mound of ice was awe-inspiring and (as a bonus) the mere act of looking at it did make us feel cooler despite the hot summer sun beating down on Alaska.

I was beginning to appreciate that had the weather been blustery, rainy and foggy, as it often is in these regions, we would not have enjoyed such a crystal clear unobstructed view.

Next stop Ketchikan where we embark on another tour.

(It should be noted that although I went all the way to Alaska to see glaciers, there are many more much closer to home in the southwest of British Columbia. I have not been there in years even though they are less than a two-hour’s drive from where I live. The mountainous region of Garibaldi Provincial Park has about 100 glaciers that are also receding.)

Links to each of my Hot In Alaska cruise posts are as follows:
Pt 1: Setting Off From Vancouver
Pt 2: Settling Into The Noordam, Melting In Juneau
Pt 3: Skagway & The Historic Route To The Yukon
Pt 4: Margerie Glacier Interlude
Pt 5: Picturesque Ketchikan
Pt 6: Sunrise To Remember
Pt 7: Service With A Smile

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms