Friday, June 27, 2003

We've arrived in Valdez and are slowly regaining our white colouring after the green we had become during the 2 day ferry from Juneau that crossed the Gulf of Alaska. First of all, thanks to all of our generous hosts so far, Chris Stratton in Portland, Mike & Julie in Seattle, and Pat in Vancouver, it is so nice to be with familiar faces along the way.

So much to report, but here are the highlights since Seattle:

VANCOUVER: Spent a day with a very "Sneaky Canadian" Pat, who as our fanstic host, showed us all of the best places to drink, including the Grizzly bear orphan sanctuary at the top of Grousse Mtn, Grenville Island Markets, and a great sushi joint.

MIRACLE BEACH: Camping 1/2 way up Vancouver island, with fantastic views of snow capped mountains of the mainland.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS: Our whole voyage north was kind of a build-up for this trip, our first real adventure of the entire journey. 7 days kayaking in the remote wilderness of Gwaii Hannas National Park. To get there, first you have to get yourself to the "big city" of Prince Rupert, take an 8-hour ferry to the Queen Charlottes, another 15 minute ferry to the southern Charlotte island, then about an hour on windy dirt logging roads, then an hour and a half on high-speed Zodiac boats puts you in the park. Once we were there, we saw very few other people: just the occasional fishing boat, park ranger, and a few "Watchmen" -- very hospitable Haida folk who fed us well and told us about their ancestral sites.

The Queen Charlottes acquainted us with all sorts of different types of rain, and for the first few days it was a struggle to keep dry. But we were rewarded with plenty of wildlife, from abundant bald eagles to a bear swimming across a channel, and plenty of curious but skittish harbor seals watching our progress. One calm and quiet night, we heard a pod of Orcas from our campsite and saw them passing very close to us -- I think they were sleeping. One day some humpback whales popped up right next to our kayaks and we followed them for a little bit.

The highlight for Mandy, though, was on day 4, when everything we owned was wet and cold, we happenned to find a yurt along shore, equipped with a pot-belly stove and plenty of wood to keep us warm for the day & night. We then went out and caught some fish which we fried up (delicious!) and then finished the celebration off with a chocolate fondue! The next day we went to Hotsprings Island, and further warmed up in the hot pools overlooking mountains and sea. The last couple of days we saw tons of marine life and enjoyed some unusually nice weather for the Charlottes.

JUNEAU: Very cute town - unfortunately overun by cruise ship passengers. We went into town while 4 cruise ships with 3000+ people each were docked. Our entertainment was counting how many tourists did NOT have shopping bags in their hands (very few).
Went for a hike to the Mendenhall Glacier, and camped near the bottom of it, beautiful place. Our first of many glaciers to come.

Grousse Mountain Bear Sanctuary



Miracle Beach




Queen Charlotte Islands




Hotsprings in the Queen Charlottes




Friday, June 06, 2003

Whew, we finally left Kensington on Monday at 2pm, only a day behind schedule. We need to make a mental note not to try selling a house and 2 cars, buying a van, moving countries, planning a year-long trip, etc. etc. all at once! We're now clean and warm in Seattle, staying with our good friends Mike & Julie (the Culver branch.)

Difficult moments on the first couple of days:
1. Driving for 5 hours through the central valley at 110 degrees (a quick discovery that our a/c does not work)
2. Sustaining multiple head injuries while moving around in the van. Including (but not limited to) gas grill head wound, a/c head injury, van door head wack etc etc.
3. Realizing that a $4.50 smoothie on a 110 degree day, may no longer fit in our daily budget.
4. Filling up with gas in the hick town of Medford, Oregon to discover that the gas was flowing out of the van almost as quickly as it was entering. (note to self: a 17 yr old van is not always as reliable as a 3 yr old SUV)
5. Hiking in Crater Lake in shorts & t-shirt in June, on a semi-vertical trail with 2+ feet of snow (that was probably closed), fearful of falling to my death and ruining the rest of the trip for andrew. Luckily for him, I made it ;)

So far, we're managing to chill out a little, fix the van, and we finally realize that the trip is actually happening. Our plans for the next few weeks include:

June 6th - Drive from Seattle to Vancouver
June 7th-8th - Vancouver & Victoria
June 9th-10th - Driving up Vancouver Island
June 11th - First ferry through the inside passage
June 12th - 20th Sea Kayaking in the Queen Charlotte Islands (off the coast of BC)
June 21st - 26th On random ferries, between Prince Rupert (BC), Juneau (Alaska) and Valdez (Alaska)
Post June 26th - Wander around alaska, alberta, montana, wyoming etc.

If for any reason you are desperate to get in touch with us, we still have a cell phone 650 799 6939.
You can also email us at mandrewadventure@yahoo.com

Our new home fits into the carport of our old home:


Crater Lake National Park - Oregon:


Mandy concerned for her life:


Mandy happy to be on the way down:


Sunday, June 01, 2003

Hi all, in case you haven't heard we have sold our house and are embarking on a year-long "world trip" after which we intend to move back to Wellington.

Our new contact details are:
email: mandrewadventure@yahoo.com
cell phone: (650) 799-6939

In case you care to keep track of our movements, our rough itinerary is as follows:
June: Seattle, Vancouver, BC, Alaska
July: Alaska, Alberta,
August: Montana, Wyoming, SF, London, somewhere else in Europe?
September: Slovakia, Hungary, maybe Croatia?
October: Spain/Portugal
November: Italy
Dec-March: Turkey, South East Asia, China?
April-May: Mexico, Cuba?
June: tired of travelling yet???

We'll send out updates as we go. Feel free to unsubscribe through the email service.

Cheers,
Mandrew (Mandy and Andrew for those who have no idea who "Mandrew" is)