Ashore in Juneau

Once the gangway is down and the ship is cleared to begin disembarking passengers I set out for my early morning walk.

The camera comes along for the ride.

What a welcoming sight ! There are maybe ten red booths in the background which ae already drawing a small crowd. These belong to Independent Local Tour operators who will take you sightseeing or for helicopter trips to glaciers or whale watching cruises.

I pass by the Radiance of the Seas

My first bear sighting. 

The Red Dog saloon which is popular with visitors (with two exceptions). 

The streets are still deserted which is exactly what I want at this early hour. Sleep deprivation has it's rewards. We were actually woken at 2 a.m by the Captain's voice on the P.A , telling us that a helicopter was coming to the ship to take a sick passenger off the vessel.  Some folks near the pickup zone had to vacate their cabins for an hour or two. We managed to get back to sleep. There is no helipad on the ship so a basket had to be lowered. The ship has a medical center on deck 4 but this was a life-threatening emergency and time was of the essence.

Very familiar from our years of traveling to Germany and an eye-catching billboard vehicle- a Smart car.

Sea plane landing area

The Visitor's Center with a nice stand of white Astilbe

We had a few hours before we would be picked up by the Harv ' n Marv minivan which would take us to Auck Bay where many of the whale watching boats leave from as the Bay is rich in humpback whales.

Here's the video I shot during my walk......