………so far……….flight Glasgow to Calgary; transfer to Banff and the snow; making waffles; Lake Louise and the marvellous Hotel; Athabasca Glacier; Athabasca Falls; two days on the Rocky Mountaineer; walking in Stanley Park……and the noisy air-conditioning!
…….Sadly we were soon to leave a lovely city, Vancouver. We had scarcely scratched the surface and we could only imagine from guide books what the rest was like. We had not got(gotten?) to Victoria or anywhere on Vancouver Island and I promised Lady that this is one area to which I would happily return. This photo was taken down at the harbour just before sunset…marvellous isn’t it?
It was now time to get our last sleep on terra firma for a week, in the Blue Horizon Hotel, but the infernal air-conditioning system whirred away, just above the threshhold of hearing, and hence, of sleep ! However, we had another good breakfast and a short taxi ride took us back down to the Harbour, where the cruise-ships lay. We were really getting excited!
We were physically still on Canadian soil, but politically it was American, as we would be. heading into American waters, so we were questioned, finger-printed, and photographed by American security border staff. I had inadvertently made a slight error in my on-line visa application, and was slightly apprehensive that I might be considered suspicious, especially with my Irish accent. They were perfectly pleasant and luckily they didn’t seem to have noticed the mistake, so we got through with a hugh sigh of relief…..but what if?
Our ship was the American Holland ‘Volendam’ and could take 1400 passengers. We had never been on such a large cruise ship before…our Mediterranean cruise had 400, and our Rhine/Mosel ship only took about 100 folk. However, there was no feeling of claustrophobia or crowds as we were taken to our ‘Stateroom’ F1822 on Dolphin Deck. each evening we were faced with a strange animal on our bed made with a folded hand-towel!
‘Stateroom’ sounds very posh, and often expectations are unrealised, but we were very pleased with our king-size bed, panoramic window overlooking the harbour, loads of hanging and drawer storage space (mainly commandeered by Lady of course), good-sized shower-room and loo, dressing-table (eventually featuring a number of pills and potions, as well as a few drink bottles), cumfy sofa, and television….the following link ahould work.
http://www.hollandamerica.com/virtual-tours-videos/Main.action?cat=accommodations&subcat=am&type=vt&id=4&title=Holland
I, like most men, would probably have preferred to go out immediately, for a walk round to get my bearings…..but Lady had other ideas! Cases had to be instantly unpacked, hangers had to be acquired and drawers utilised, so that clothes which had been left unpacked for a week could now be allowed to un-crease, so that she could go out to meet her public, looking pristine. My argument that some 1398 other people might have some creases in their attire cut no ice, I’m afraid!
Life-boat drill whilst we were still in port, was a bit of a farce. People wandered to their Station late, chatted, moved about, so they were difficult for the Crew to find, wandered off when they thought it was all over, and no-one donned a life-jacket. It was in sharp contrast to some 16 years previously, when men and women were separated, life-jacket-donning was compulsory and no photos or video was allowed! That completed (if not remembered!) we were able to set sail.
There’s something about that time just before any journey starts (be it plane, sea, train or car), when you want to get away, you know that certain things have to be checked (gas off, front door locked; ear plugs in, hand luggage under the seat, lap-belts fastened, etc) but you just want to get going. With planes there then follows the adrenalin-rush of take-off; with cars there is the last wave to the neighbours; with trains there is the noisy clanking over the points and the unsightly backs of houses, as we get on our way.
There is no such effect with large liners. After the ropes have been unhooked, they seem to gently slink away from the quayside. Some make a great noise about it whilst others, like ours, waited until an appropriate time before sounding their hooter. In Vancouver Harbour it seems to be just as we went under the wonderful suspension bridge and we headed for the Inside Passage…we were leaving the black clouds and were on our way!
Duty done, we went to the Lido deck (one of seven restaurants) for a barbecue with salmon. This was a large deck with undercover tables and also a large area where the roof could open, just like Wimbleton. It had a fair-sized pool, but the sight of some semi-clad bodies entering and leaving the water did not do anything for the digestion!
However, the food was fine, and was, surprisingly, served by the staff. This was as a temporary measure for the first few days to prevent the possibility of e-coli or other bugs being brought-in by passengers…always a worry.
The goodly number of shops on board pleased the Lady so we had to have a look. I managed to get a good book called the ‘Alaskan Cruise Handbook’ (not surprisingly) which gave the maps, mileage references and the history of exploration in the area….I can certainly recommend it as I am reading it some time after returning home.
A brief walk round the promenade deck, and we were in bed at 11.45….but it was still bright enough outside to read by. Tomorrow would be exciting!
Nite nite!!
