12
In September, fifty seven members
of TTARP, with leaders Denise
and I (Mayling), left Trinidad and
Tobago for an eagerly anticipated
trip to Alaska. We had a smooth
check in at Piarco Airport and
as true Trinis, since we were not
travelling on our national carrier
CAL which serves meals, we all
made a bee line for KFC before
boarding. Needless to say about
an hour into the flight, the entire
aircraft smelt of KFC.
On arrival in Miami, it would
appear that all travellers that
weekend chose Miami as their port
of entry, since we were greeted with
extremely long lines to immigration.
After clearing customs, we were
hungry again, so after freshening up
and having another meal, we took
the opportunity to layer ourselves
and prepare for the change in
temperature expected in Seattle.
On our arrival at the airport in
Seattle, the excitement started...
watches needed to be reset,
members were tired and cold, two
members got lost in the airport and
one person discovered that they
had left their carry-on luggage in
Miami. Seattle, although cold and
rainy is a beautiful city that I have
just place on my “PLACES TO
VISIT” list.
Our bus took us safely to the
hotel where we overnight, before
boarding the Princess Cruise Line
best was
yet to
come.
The first
port we
visited
was
Ketchikan
- a
beautiful,
majestic
city
with a
population of only 8,000 persons.
It is known for two things, its
canned salmon and rain. One
must have an umbrella or rain
coat to move around. The natives
however refer to
the rain as “Liquid
Sunshine” as they
walk through the
rain/liquid sunshine
unperturbed.
Our next stop was
Skagway - a town
of 920 persons
with only seven
blocks. Their 2013
statistics shows an
unemployment rate
of 2%. How is this
possible? This town
thrives on tourism with over eight
thousand tourists daily, the citizens
dress in their local costumes and
entertain the visitors with stories.
Juneau was next - a quaint little
town with old architecture building
and a set of narrow streets that is
best experienced by foot. It was
at Seattle Port the next day. Again
we were greeted with very long
lines to immigration/boarding
check in. It is said that the rewards
at the end of tunnel cannot be
duplicated as we were in awe at
the size and decor of the ship.
Our staterooms were comfortable
and of course the meals were all
gourmet. It was certainly worth the
long and tiresome travel, but the
