We Returned on the Matanuska
Awesome Sunset
Sunset and Stern of Matanuska
Map of Inside Passage (South), Dated 1898
Map of Inside Passage (Middle)
Map of Alaska Panhandle (North Section of Inside Passage)
Our return trip was not without incident. We were rescheduled on the "Matanuska", and were lucky to get a cabin (it is smaller than the "Columbia"). All in all, we enjoyed this trip as much as the Columbia. The food was handled in one large cafeteria, rather than having a snack-bar and fancy restaurant. Food was just fine, as before. Our cabin was perfectly comfortable.
The Matanuska suffered equipment problems while we were in Sitka (this port is not visited on the upbound trip). Due to the delay we had to sit for several hours waiting for the tide to come up. The passage into Sitka is very narrow; we could see the bouys marking the channel come very close to the ship. This channel was not passable at low tide. The captain provided free dinner to everyone, due to the delay. We had some delicious salmon.
On the return trip, we got to see some places missed on the way up. For instance, Petersburg is a fascinating fishing port, which we missed on the upbound trip, due to being asleep (3 A. M., or some such time). This time, due to the delay, we enjoyed the view at this seldom-visited port. The channel leaving this port is just as narrow and awesome as that for Sitka, so we got a daylight view of the passage.
We had another awesome sunset on the return trip. Most of the photos are of that view from the stern of the ship.
The map images provided of the Inside Passage are from an 1898 map. The place names have changed. For instance, we left from Bellingham, but it is listed on the map as "New Whatcom" (north of Seattle).
The "thumbnails" following this narrative show the views of the return trip. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!
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We Returned on the Matanuska |
Awesome Sunset |
Sunset and Stern of Matanuska |
Map of Inside Passage (South), Dated 1898 |
Map of Inside Passage (Middle) |
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Map of Alaska Panhandle (North Section of Inside Passage) |