Day 23 - August 15, 2013

Ship view of the Juneau transport terminal

 Looking of the front of the ship at Juneau.

 An approach view of Juneau.

 Another distant view of Juneau.

A view of the eastern shore along the inside passage south of Juneau.

August 14, 2013

Day twenty three.  All is well.  On board the M/V Kennicott.

Today when I awoke on board the M/V Kennicott we were continuing our watery voyage south.  We arrived at our next scheduled stop, in Juneau, at 12:00 p.m. Alaska time.  We remained in Juneau for four hours, taking on fuel and supplies, and exchanging cargo, passengers and vehicles of all sorts.

There are no Wi-Fi services on board so connection to the internet, and cell phone services, are available when in port, or at least this was true while at Juneau, but not at the smaller port at Yakutat yesterday.  

The scenery along our route north of Juneau, before turning east toward the inside passage around 9:30 today, was/is for the most part open water.  The stop at the town/port of Yakutat yesterday was an exception to that.  Travel from Juneau south is through the inside passage, which is the route favored by the cruise ships who traverse these waters.  The cruise ships stop at some of the same ports as the ships of the Alaska Marine Highway, of which the M/V Kennicott is a part.  However, our stop in Juneau was not in downtown Juneau where the cruise ships dock, but 15 miles north of downtown Juneau.  Taxi charges for those wishing to go downtown were Alaska-priced at $35.00 each way.  The Juneau freight port and docking station today was/is configured to accommodate loading and unloading of cargo and vehicles. 

There is one small movie theater on board.  It seats approximately 50 people, but the two movies screened so far (both on the same day – yesterday) had less than 25 takers.

The temperature along our route was in the mid 50’s during the warmer part of today, which made being outside for more than brief periods of time uncomfortable because of the wind generated as the ship moved steadily along at 19 mph.  The clear, bright skies and sunshine in the afternoon made the outside decks look inviting, but no one lingered there very long.  As we travel further along the inside passage, with lesser mountains on one side and barrier islands on the other, and slightly warmer temperatures, there will likely be more time outside where the beauty of the landscape can be more fully appreciated.

All is well.