Having completed almost 10,000 km by road it is rather relaxing to be at sea. Zero kms under our own steam, about 4,000km on a boat, driven by someone else. Bliss!
A typical view most of today has been calm (thankfully) sea and the mountains of BC in the middle distance, with Vancouver island behind me.
Porpoises and seals have already been spotted, but without pictures yet - I was not having my (excessive) lunch disturbed by a mere seal! I am assured there will be many more opportunities - possibly even for some selfies! ;-)
Perhaps most importantly we are nearly 24 hours in and Nareesa hasn't yet gone mad! Or upchucked! The 150m running/walking track around the top deck is so far doing its job, although she realised once she had finished that she needs to vary her direction to avoid having to take a long lie down afterwards!
As always I am already reflecting - on the differences between this and the experiences with Hurtigruten in Norway. It is a nicer boat - newer, better appointed, and they have obviously adjusted the design of the cabin layouts since their first boats were launched decades ago. The cabin is absolutely fabulous! Spacious, lovely big double bed, balcony, sitting area and an excellent ensuite bathroom. Sorry, getting a bit boring now ("a bit?", you say). But to be honest I have stayed in worse 4 or even 5 star hotels!
And then there is the food. It is local, fresh, plentiful and tasty! What's not to like - just like in Norway. But here the house wine and beers are included. This could be bit of mess before the end!
So the most significant difference between this and the ferry / post boat that plies the Norwegian coast is ... it just feels much less Norwegian! Perhaps because the crew here is a multinational group of seafarers from Norway, Argentina, Philippines, USA, Canada and Britain, and a few more, though led I am pretty sure by a Norwegian team to actually drive the thing. The boats in Norway tend to be almost exclusively crewed by Norwegians.
And I have to be honest, this does feel much more like a cruise (I'm still not calling it one). Nobody is actually leaving the boat at any of the ports to which we will call along the way and no stop is for less than several hours. Unlike the Norwegian experience on which it is possible to get left behind by the boat if you spend more than 15 minutes in the port. There are multiple excursions at each port to come, some included and some for extra payment. Mostly, Nareesa and I will simply get off and explore by ourselves. But we might succumb to the occasional guided tour - which will doubtless include some cultural experience. Not knocking it, as long as the money spent actually goes to the local population and its not mostly pocketed by Hurtigruten. Watch this space.
The boat is only a little over half full so, apart from the minor inconvenience of having to wear a mask while moving round the inside of the boat, it feels like we virtually have the run of the place. The "Explorer Lounge" where I sit now has no more than about a dozen people in it, all gazing out to sea, spotting the occasional seal, about which nearly everyone has already become somewhat blasé. Perhaps after the size of lunch consumed by most people, and the free alcohol, the rest of them are all in their cabins sleeping it off!
Few pictures today, as we are mostly out at sea. I have many, but basically they all look much the same. We have passed the northern tip of Vancouver Island and sometime overnight we will pass out of Canadian waters and into the USA. Then it will be in amongst the broken landscapes and fjords of coastal Alaska until we reach our destination in just under two weeks. We have been introduced to the many stops we will make along the way and they are mouthwatering! Just like the food really!
Signal out here is pretty slow so will upload with just the couple of pictures so far. Hopefully it will be better as we return close to land, so you get more pics and less rambling (well, more pics anyway).
Must be time for another walk around the deck, then maybe a dip in the hot tub or a visit to the sauna. And then it will be beer o'clock. I'm hating this.
Sit back and relax.......