24 — North Shore News ~ Sunday, July 16, 2000 Crui - Alison Appelbe Contributing Writer IN a darkened lounge on the Alaska—bound Universe Explorer, passengers listened to staff describe dozens of shore excursions. Wrangell, Haines, Sitka, Skagway and Ketchikan, plus lectures with titles like “Ceder, Salmon and = Spirits: = The Anthropology of Alaska’s Native Peoples” and “What is a Glacier?” B.C."s Inside Passage passed by unnoticed, and I won- dered if Alaska’s own Inside Passage, in what Alaskans call the “Southeast” of their state, would excuse pulling che blinds on the beau- tiful British Columbian coastline. Meanwhile, as we sailed north, the fitness centre was busy; the watercolour workshop sold out; and those with tickets to the first sitting of the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Dinner lingered outside the dining room in formal attire. Our arrival in Wrangell, our first stop, produced a frisson of excitement. Even the two Alaskan pilots who had come aboard in U.S. waters were dressed for the occasion in suits and ties. The Universe Explorer is the only large cruise liner to visit Wrangell, a rustic resource town devoid of the trappings of tourism. While you can buy a small souvenir or a Sturpee, most ‘of the stores on a short, dusty main street deal mainly in fish- ing tackle, truck parts or packs of cold beer. I walked along the foreshore to Shakes Island and its native graveyard — a: national. historic site located within a har-. bour full of fishing boats, and stuck my nose. . into. Elva _Biglow’s:: private museum — really a. “collection of junk, “but a nice touch in a - town that. radiates the fiercely indepen- dent, do-it-my-way | Alaskan philosophy. Back- on board, - the. fitness. instructor :. Theresa stamped our . “passport to, well- ness” for any effort’. . made _ at . preserving our figures in the face | of. plentiful, . good: food: attending a: stretch class to walking the _BERTHA selis cockle shells to _ crulse visitors in Metlakatla. Call or GrOp See he North Van ne ‘TRAVEL Sing ihe insi Photos Alison Appelbe THE Universe Explorer is the only iarge cruise liner that visits Wrangell, Alaska, a rustic resource town devoid of the trappings of tourism. promenade deck 13 times in two directions (a mile). Our ext stop was Skagway, once an entry point to the Yukon gold fields. The litte White Pass and Yukon single- gauge railway that transported would-be miners to the Klondike now carries tourists the 20-kilometre trip to the summit and back to town. Skagway, tarted up to look like a Gold Rush town, is one big shop. Along with T-shirts and postcards, the ‘stores sell semi-precious stones, avant-garde jewelry, elegant wooden bowls and other art objects. About 600,060 cruise ship pas- sengers visit this town of 2,000 in the summer cruise season. Ever-expanding cruise traffic is controversial in the state. Major ports like Juneau now are charging a small visitor fee- much to the annoyance of the cruise ship industry. At precisely 10 a.m. the following day, we entered Tracy Arm-a twisting, 24-mile fjord that ends at the Sawyer Glacier. A humpback whale appeared at starboard. Small, luminous- blue icebergs floated by serenely or exploded like "firecrackers Senior Travel tyou: SHES Persen © Have several years of solid, agency experience. * Are capable of using the internet to develop sales. .* Enjoy providing superior customer service. * Are highly motivated and a team player. ° Have a record of superior sales achievement. Want to work in 2 bright, well equipped, congenial office, with back up and supzert staff. ® Desire renumeration comi-ersurate with your abifities and achlevements, «°4:s a Medical/Dental Plan. Please fax your resunts, in confidence to: Tom Rose C.A., of Roseway Travel, West Vancouver (604) 926-2497 or phone evenings to (604) 926-2454 Holland @America to Alaska and broke into pieces. Mountain goats were spotted high on a rock face. A black bear for- aged on a stony beach. Eagles soared over- head. Our dining-room table, sumber 21, inciud- ed writers Bob and Babbs from San Francisco, Elizabeth and Charlie, a retired couple from Jacksonville, Florida, Maureen, a Los Angeles editor, and myself. Near Sitka, the snow-covered volcanic cone of Mr. Edg ecumbe rose elegantly above Kruzof Island, In 1799, the Russian trader Alexander Baranof established the site of New Archangel, now Sitka, on what became known as Baranof Island. Though the U.S. bought Alaska in 1867, this Russian influence remains — some say in the faces of the residents, but certainly in Sitka landmarks like St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the Russian Bishop’s House and the grave of. Princess Maksoutoff, wife of Alaska’s last Russian governor. That afternoon some of us travelled. two miles by high-powered zodiac to a tidal estu- ary, then explored the shoreline in two-person kayaks. Our guide was a young Pennsylvanian who has fallen for Alaska big-time. From spring until fall, Jeff lives in a small house on a float- ing barge a two-hour paddle from Sitka. He plans to work for the state fish and wildlife service when he completes his natu- ralists’ degree. He holds the federal U.S. government in con- tempt, arguing it cares nothing for Alaska, and that the natur- - al environment is suffering as a result. New Metlakatla, on Annette island, was founded in 1887 when missionary William Duncan and about 900 Tsimshian See Soaring page 2B Bachelor of Tourism Management Degree (Sivanced Tourism Management Certificate . Build on your two-year tourism, hospitality, outdoor recreation or business administration diploma! Upgrade to an Advanced Tourism |. 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