The ferry leaves on schedule at 1:00pm. This time we are on the M/V Kennicott, a much nicer boat than the previous one. On the top deck I find a solarium with recliners and in no time my bed has been made up. We will be on this boat for 2 nights. The first part after leaving Juneau we continue the inside passage and after a few hours we head for the open Pacific with its groundswells and the boat starts to roll slightly but it does not bother me now.
The ship has a cafeteria and even a lounge. They even serve beer on tap, can it get any better? After ordering one of those I leave a tip but it is refused. State employees are not allowed to accept tips in the state of Alaska. After I sit down I find this sign on the table.
Several times I wake up during the night. At 11:30pm it is still light, at 1:00am it is still light. We are so far north now that it does not get dark at all.This trip is going to be cheap on flashlight batteries! The ship is rolling pretty good but I am still OK.
Wednesday June 8
The M/V Kennicott makes one stop in Yakutat from 6:00am till 9:00am. We are allowed off the boat and I find a general store with a surprisingly good produce selection and I buy a few apples. Back on the Pacific the groundswells are getting bigger and the ship starts to roll and pitch a bit more. Unfortunately it is a bit more than I can handle and at one time I am pretty close to puking. Earlier I had discovered that when I am horizontal it does not seem to bother me so most of the of the day I am on my recliner.
Thursday June 9
Early in the morning we enter Prince William Sound and we are surrounded by mountains again. In one of those deep inlets is Whittier, our destination. The ship arrives there at 7:00am.
Back on shore my head is still rolling and pitching but that disappears after a few hours. We have a layover of almost 6 hours. The next ferry leaves at 12:45pm. I make use of this time to visit the tunnel under the mountains that connects Whittier with the rest of Alaska. From billboards I learn that this tunnel was blasted through the rocks during the second world war. Initially it was a railroad tunnel but converted sometime early 2000 to handle road traffic as well. It is a one way tunnel and traffic flow is regulated by traffic lights.
I also learned that 2 islands at the end of the Alaska archipellago were actually occupied by the Japanese and that the community of Dutch Harbour was bombed by the Japanese. No wonder that building of the Alaska highway became such a high priority during the second world war.
The next ferry from Whittier to Valdez is the FVF Chenega. This ship is smaller but big enough to take tractor trailers. I don't know what FVF stands for but one of the letters must be for "Flying". Shortly after leaving I notice that we are passing speedboats and using my GPS I clock this baby at 65km/hr. I ask one of the crew if this is a hydrofoil; it is not. When I look at the stern I see 4 powerful jets spitting out of the back.
Once we enter the fjord that leads to Valdez I ask one of the crew if she can point out where the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989 causing that enormous oil spill in the sound.. It is on the right of the ship at Bligh Reef. There is a marker at the spot. Then she runs off and minutes later there is an announcement on the PA giving the details on the Exxon Valdez. The next picture is of Bligh Reef and if you blow it up maybe you can see the marker.
We are now deep in the fjord and getting close to Valdez. We are surrounded by high snow capped mountains at all sides. The ferry arrives at 3:30pm in Valdez, it is chilly and it is blowing.
After buying my last supplies an the local Saveway and calling home I check in at the Eagles Rest RV park. While filling in the registration the male clerk hands me a handwritten post card.. It is a message from our friends Lies and Henk Kwindt, they were here a few days before me. What a pleasant surprise and thank you for doing this!
Greetings Dick,
ReplyDeleteLovely photos taken from the ferry boats.
FVF as in FVF Chenega = Fast Vehicle Ferry and from your words and photos it certainly was going fast!
Iris