Panamericana

18.09.08

Malaspina – Ferry to Bellingham

Just hanging out at the ferry, updating my journal, having a good time!!!

 17.09.08

Malaspina – Ferry to Bellingham

Yesterday I already crawled into my sleeping-bag at 8pm and fell asleep right away. I woke up when we reached the port of Petersburg at 4 am and couldn‘ t sleep anymore. So I just lay there for a while and enjoyed the fresh air and quietness.

At 1:45pm we reached Ketchikan, a pretty good sized city. Kai, Erin and me walked the 2 ½ miles into town and strolled along there. On our way back to the ferry we stopped at the Burger Queen, a burger-place Shannon, who‘ s on the ferry as well, recommended. Though I wasn‘ t really hungry I ate a Seattle Cheeseburger – and it really was GOOD.

When we came back to the ferry at 4:45pm there where a lot more passengers on board – it‘ s getting pretty crowded in the solarium (about 30 people). When it got dark we sat outside and just looked at the moon and its reflection on the water. That‘ s about it. Though nothing spectacular is happening I‘ m enjoying the ride.

 16.09.08

Malaspina – Ferry to Bellingham

I woke up at 9am because of a loudspeaker-announcement: we could see some Orcas outside. Still being half asleep I didn‘ t really care. A while later I got up and met Kai. He said he slept outside under the solarium. When I got up there I decided to stay there as well. You can sleep there on deck chairs under a roof with heating lamps. It‘ s pretty nice and the air is much better than inside. I met Wolfgang again, he‘ s staying up there as well.

In Sitka I got off the ferry and walked along a trail together with Kai and Erin from Bellingham. We got to see some Salmon – dead and alive and there was a crane sitting at the river. There is another cyclist at the Malaspina, Tobi, 19, from Fairbanks. He‘ s gonna cycle to Montana to visit his brother. Pretty nice atmosphere under the solarium – time to relax!!!

15.09.08

Juneau

42,2 km, 2:41 h , av.sp. 15,6

mostly rain

After I did my chore – wiping of the sink and kitchen-counter I left the motel to ride to the bikeshop about 9 miles towards the Ferry Terminal to get my broken spoke replaced. On my way I met a cyclist on his recumbent. He lived in Juneau and made a few biketrips before. He thought that the bikeshop is probably closed on mondays! I checked it out anyways – and he was right. It rained again, so I stopped at Mc Donalds to eat a burger, drink a coffee and wait for better weather!

After a while I decided to ride to the Mendenhall Glacier, 5 miles away. The glacier looked kind of blue in the rain. I was glad I came there, even the rain stopped for a while. I walked to some scenic viewpoints, took many pictures and hiked along some short trails through the woods. It even stopped to rain for a while. And then – the highlight of my day – I saw a black bear that walked across the road, about 80 m away from me!!! So I finally got to see a bear on my last day in Alaska!

Later I met Melanie and Melanie again. They rented bikes and came to the glacier. We hiked together for about 1 ½ hours. My bike-shoes aren‘ t really made for hiking, my feet became pretty wet but I can walk really good in ‚em.

Around 6 pm I stopped at Fred Meyers where I hang around ‚till 9:30pm. I think I walked through every single isle of the store and bought a lot of food for the 3 day ferry-ride. After a wet ride through the dark I reached the terminal at 10pm. Some people were already waiting there. I found a dry spot on a bench and rearranged my stuff. Everything I wanted to take on the ferry I put into my two panniers, everything I wouldn‘ t need was put on the trailer. The terminal didn‘ t open until 0:30am! When we could finally get inside I put my sleeping-bag on the floor and tried to get some rest. After a few minutes Kai from Münster arrived. I already saw hin at the hostel but didn‘ t talk to him there. He spent his summer in Alaska and is taking the ferry to Bellingham as well.

At 4:30am I finally boarded the ferry and was glad to find a row of seats to lie down and get some sleep.

14.09.08

Juneau

It rained the whole day!!! I‘ m glad I met Melanie and Melanie after I packed my stuff and was about ready to leave the hostel in the morning. They are from Germany as well, stayed at the hostel and where on their way to get some coffee. So I joined them and we spent the whole day together, hanging out at some cafés, drinking way too much coffee and tea, writing postcards and chatting. In the afternoon we went to a pizza place called “Roman Pizza” – the food was really good. When we came back to the hostel I washed my clothes while they went for a hike in the rain to get some exercise. Though it didn‘ t stop raining once we had a pretty good time.

13.09.08

Juneau

At 9 am I left the hostel and rode to the grocery where I got some donuts and coffee for breakfast.
Then I went to the Foggy Mountain Outdoor Store. They had a great collection of outdoor gear. Since my Therm-A-Rest was falling apart I bought a new one there and even got a 20% discount.

Later I found a nice spot a the park next to the water to sit down and read a little. At the Paradise Café (strongly recommended!!!) I ate a Ham & Egg Biscuit which was really good. The café was really unique, they had a great decoration there, very warm colors and there was even a tandem hanging on the wall.

Then I spent some time at the library to get warm again and surf a bit on the internet. The view out of the library was awesome. I could sit right at the window and look at Douglas Island, the channel and some boots out there. After that I tried to call Tim and Carol but I only got a hold of their mailboxes.

So I decided to ride back to the hostel to spend another night there. This time I shared a room with Christine from England who flew into Juneau from Seattle and wanted to travel to Skagway, Sitka and Ketchikan. This time it was my chore to vacuum the living room. I checked about the weather for the next days and it was supposed to rain pretty much the whole time! Great news!!!

12.09.08

Today I took the High-Speed-Ferry „Fairweather“ from Haines to Juneau. It was a 2 hour ride through beautiful scenery – though the clouds were hanging pretty low again. The ferry terminal is located about 12 miles north of Juneau. There was a lot of traffic – I´m not used to that anymore!!! After a few miles there was a Safeway (big grocery store), then I saw Fred Meyer´s, Wal-Mart and even a Mac Donald´s. I think it´s the first time since I left Anchorage that I feel like I´m really back in civilisation!

The campground I was looking for was supposed to be 1 1/2 miles south of Juneau. I missed it and found it on my way back after someone described where it should be at. When I found it I took a look at it and decided that I didn‘ t want to stay there – I couldn‘ t have brought my bike up the stairs or the small path and some campsites I saw looked like people really lived there. Back in town I wondered what to do, then wanted to  check on the room-rates at a motel. The guy working there was busy talking on the phone all the time, so I left. Someone stopped besides me and described me the way to the Youth Hostel. That‘ s where I‘ m staying now. It‘ s a nice place – clean and quiet. It‘ s only 10$ a night but you have to do one chore. I had to vacuum my room. Didn‘ t do that for a while ;-). I have a 3-bed-room for myself, that‘ s pretty neat. Tomorrow I have to leave the hostel at 9am. I guess than I‘ ll get a coffee somewhere and figure out how to spend the next 3 days until the ferry to Bellingham leaves. The internet-connection here is too slow to upload new pictures and I‘ m too tired to update the blog…

After sleeping more or less on the ground the last 1 1/2 weeks (my sleeping-pad is broken) I‘ ll just want to go to sleep now – in a real bed!!!

CU Anja

Hey,

I‘ ve got a plan now;-). Today I cycled together with Wolfgang, another cyclist I met, to the ferry terminal. I bought a ticket for a ferry to Juneau that leaves Haines tomorrow at 10:45am. The terminal is about 5 miles away from the campground I’m staying at – that‘ s not too bad. Next tuesday I‘ ll take the ferry from Juneau to Bellingham. After being kind of stuck here for two days now I can‘ t wait to get on my bike again!

Simply me, Anja

10.09.08

Haines

Last night it started to rain and didn‘ t really stop the whole day. Though it was another warm night I couldn‘ t sleep ‚till after midnight. At 7 am I was already awake. That‘ s weired. When I‘ m not cycling I always wake up early and when I want to get up early I can‘ t get out of my cozy sleeping bag!!!

Except for buying some groceries, writing e-mails at the library and reading I didn‘ t do anything mentionable today. 

09.09.08

Mosquito Lake – Haines

49 km, 3:19h, av. sp. 14,8 km/h

For a change it was a warm night! At 7am I woke up, had some crisp bread with Creeme Cheese for breakfast and was – believe it or not – already at 8:30 am on the road! It was a beautiful ride along the Klehini and the Chilcat River, trees along the other side of the road. After a while I met Dan and Christian (?) , two guys on their bikes who started in New Hampshire and were on their way to Anchorage. There they‘ ll take a plane to China and keep on biking.

19 km before I reached Haines there was suddenly a hard wind coming from everywhere. When I finally reached the Visitor Center in Haines I was chilled to the bone and very happy to get a free coffee there. The next ferry to Bellingham doesn‘ t leave ‚till Monday (today is Tuesday). That‘ s a long time!!!

Though Haines is only a small town getting there was a small culture shock. There were people everywhere – tourists who came on a big cruise ship.

The library was close to the Visitor Center, so I checked my e-mails before I pitched my tent at the Chilkaat CG. After not taking a shower for days the 3 minutes (1,50 $) felt like ages! Clean and tired I crawled early into my sleeping bag while the wind is blowing strong outside.