Back from my cruise to Alaska! Somehow I feel disappointed that I missed the heatwave we had in Toronto last weekend. Alaska would have felt like a freezer in comparison! (No, it really wasn’t that cold.) I had a really great time on my trip, although I did experience a couple of mishaps, which I will get to later.

We started off in Toronto on May 20 after an early morning wake up call at 4am. After taking a 5-hour flight to Vancouver, then another 2-hour flight, we finally arrived in Anchorage in the afternoon. Since the cruise company arranged our hotel for us, we waited with the rest of our group before we loaded up on a bus taking us to downtown Anchorage. Passing out of the airport, we saw many private planes parked along the sides. Since many places are inaccessible by car, our bus driver explained that about 1 out of 60 people have their pilot licence. Can you imagine learning how to fly before learning to drive? =P

We made it to our hotel, Captain Cook, shortly after 4pm. After dropping off our luggage, we went out exploring the streets. Downtown Anchorage is a lot smaller than I had pictured. Originally I thought we would need to hail a cab to take us to the Anchorage Museum since it closes at 6pm. However the concierge at the hotel told us it would take only 10 minutes on foot. She was right, because even with me stopping for photos, we still had plenty of time to get to the museum.

We spent a little over an hour at the museum. The museum wasn’t very big, but they had a great interactive section at the back (for little kids technically, but immature grownups can play there too) and detailed exhibits on Alaskan history and Native Alaskan cultures. They also had a gallery to showcase paintings of the Alaskan landscape.

After the museum, we continued wandering along the streets of Anchorage. We caught the tail-end of one of the public markets and went inside some of the shops along the stretch. The light was still out as it approached the early evening. During the summer solstice, Anchorage gets around 19hrs of sunlight. For us at least, the sun wouldn’t set till closer to 10pm that day.

After dropping off our purchases at the hotel, we freshened up before heading out for dinner. It was nearing the 24-hour mark for us already, and we still had 4 more hours to go before the end of the day. Even though we were already tired, I was looking forward to our seafood dinner as our guide had recommended the restaurant to us. After getting seated, I ordered a crab bisque and a seafood fettucini. This is where my first tragedy struck.

As I was getting out my camera to take photos of the food, for some reason my camera would not autofocus. I had no idea what was wrong with it, as it was perfectly fine earlier in the day at the museum. After struggling for a little bit, it suddenly emitted a rumbling sound. Then I just knew it was gone. Kaput. DEAD. I was so upset that I barely paid attention to my dinner. (I felt bad afterwards because the food was really really good.)

Anyway, long story short – I found out after I got back to my hotel that my camera was thankfully not broken, but the lens was. Luckily I just bought my new zoom lens so I would still be able to take photos for the rest of the trip. I just couldn’t take any close up shots unless I stood 10m away. So in case anyone is wondering why all my photos after Anchorage are super magnified, that’s the reason. (T_T)

Needless to say the camera drama pretty much concluded the rest of the evening. I was grateful that I managed to salvage what I could. It was turning into a 28hr day for me with all the added time difference, so I pretty much called it a day and turned in. Less dramatic travels coming up next!