Day 16
Mickey called us at 7:00 again and we got up and ready and headed down for Wavebands where our excursion for that day was meeting. This day we did not meet until 7:45 so we were a little early and they were not quite ready for us. We decided to quickly go up to the Cove Cafe to grab a couple of pastries each. Graham got a Danish pastry of some sort and a muffin and I got two of the chocolate brioches. Once we had got our food, we went back downstairs to Wavebands and they told us to go inside and sit down.
I felt for the member of cruise staff doing the check in. She was by herself, had multiple excursions to check in and to top this; she had two excursions that were cancelled. Considering this, she did a great job. We were checked in quite quickly and then three excursions were escorted out together. When we got off the ship, it was raining. They are obviously used to this, as there are quite a few sheltered areas between the dock and the area where the tour buses wait. We were handed over to the tour operator and boarded the van.
Once we were all on the van, we were asked to fill out the waivers. Our guides introduced themselves and then we were off. We drove through the centre of Juneau. Juneau is a strange little place. It is the state capital of Alaska, but due to its geographical location, it can only be accessed by air or sea. The bulk of our excursion did not actually take place in Juneau itself, but on Douglas Island, which is connected to Juneau by a road bridge. We drove to the Eaglecrest Ski Area and got out of the van. We were encouraged to use the bathroom there, as this would be the last place with bathroom facilities until we were back in Juneau. Once we had all used the bathroom, we were equipped with the helmets that were compulsory to wear, water and a bike. When I had a closer look at the bikes, I had a first moment of panic. I had never ridden a bike with a crossbar before, but all their bikes had them. After playing around with the height of the saddle a bit, I was actually OK with this. I had also expected Mountain Bikes or at least hybrids, but they were just standard road bikes. I took a few laps around the area in front of the building and I soon felt that I was in control of the bike.
Once everybody was kitted out and happy with his or her equipment, we set off. When I read the description for the excursion it said that the majority of the route is downhill. I figured that this would be easy. Little did I know. I have only ever cycled in fairly flat terrain with only some short inclines. This was cycling down a pretty significant hill. What did not help either was that there was gravel on the cycle path. I am sure I was perfectly safe and in control at all times, but by the time we got to the first stop about 10 minutes into the ride, I was totally freaked out. I had a quick chat with Graham at the stop and then decided that I would ride back in the van. The first stop was a peat bog so this was something we are quite familiar with and it seemed a bit strange to encounter one in Alaska. However, I was captivated by its stark beauty. Once we went back to the bikes, I told the guides that I would ride in the van. They were happy about this. The driver seemed to be quite glad for the company.
The driver Melissa is originally from San Diego, but has lived year round in Juneau for the last 5 years. Talk about a contrast between Southern California and Alaska. She is a marine biologist so we had plenty to talk about, as this is a subject I feel very passionate about. Her area of expertise is crabs and especially the Alaska King Crab. I am more interested in marine mammals, but I have to say that by the end of the tour I actually came round to the idea that crabs are fascinating animals. I also learned a lot about living in Alaska. I had a ball and actually figured that I got the best deal out of everybody on this excursion.
About 5 minutes after we set off from the peat bog, we stopped again. This time we stopped in a forest. Melissa introduced us to the Alaskan state tree, the Sitka Spruce. She also pointed out the second most common tree, the Northern Hemlock and told us how we could tell the trees apart. She showed us the Devil's Club, which is a shrub with vicious spines. The inner bark of its root is turned into a balm and is meant to be very good for burns and other skin irritations. While we were in the forest, she also spoke about the different berries that grow in Alaska and some of the local birds.
Everybody set off again and we headed back to the van. On the way to the next stop, we nearly collided with a dog that ran out right in front of the van. I was surprised to find a dog off a leash. After all, we had been given some guidance before we set off about what to do if we should encounter a bear (If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lie down). I mentioned this to Melissa, but she told me that the bears tend to be scared of dogs. At least neither the dog nor us came to any harm in this encounter. We were talking about bears in general for a bit. Apparently in Alaska people get fined if bears get into their rubbish bins and there are escalating fines for repeat offenders. Melissa told me that the previous week, a bear had got into her car. She mentioned that about a year ago, she left some food in her car and a bear managed to open the car door and stole the food. She is pretty sure that this was the same bear that remembered that he had got lucky previously. This time round he or she did not find anything as she had learned her lesson. I was absolutely fascinated by the concept of a bear breaking into your car.
The next stop was a river. During the salmon season, this river is full of salmon and we learned a bit about the 5 different species of salmon that can be found in Alaska: the King or Chinook Salmon; the Chum or Dog Salmon, the Coho or Silver Salmon; the Pink Salmon and the Sockeye or Red Salmon. We also learned a lot about the life cycle of the salmon and the salmon migration. We were in Alaska too early in the season to see salmon. That would have to wait until later in the holiday.