Un-Cruise Adventures: British Columbia
Chatterbox Falls, BC
With Un-Cruise Adventures, unexpected explorations and unforgettable camaraderie greeted us at every turn on our 22-passenger boutique yacht.
Gorgeous and remote. British Columbia.
Green and serene.
The Captain and Crew kept us safe while navigating the tides and narrow entrance to the Princess Louisa Inlet.
The small ships give the captains the opportunity to navigate to more remote destinations and to vary the schedule depending upon whale sightings and other passenger interests.
After a hike where we learned about the local flora, fauna and history of the land, we returned to this lovely setting with Jon, our steward, playing the guitar. Next thing we knew, Monica, our Hotel Manager, was on the fiddle, and Pam, our Expedition Leader, played the guitar.
These trips are all about the people, the experience, and the food. We enjoyed natural habitats and sights, beautiful landscapes, insightful excursions and fine wines. We were treated to Chef Joe's fresh, handcrafted cuisine with three plated meals each day. The exceptional crew personalized the service and delivered the unexpected. Sometimes that came in the form of a warm drink topped with hand-whipped cream and perhaps just a skosh of something to warm us up!
In addition to the other 16 fun-loving passengers, I also had the pleasure of spending the week with Bonnie Tsui, a writer who was doing a story about Un-Cruise for the NY Times, and Matthew Williams, a photographer for the same piece. (I'll let you know when the story is published.)
The story has been published!
Carla & David, Jean, Michael & Duane, Joanie and Doug, Doreen, Marty, Anita, Retha & John, Vicki and Robert, Bonnie, Matthew and Caroline. By the end of the week, we knew of each other's children and pets, exchanged emails, and knew we had experienced something pretty special together.
During remote anchorages, we paddled off in kayaks and toured in skiffs. Our Expedition Leader, Pam, schooled us about shelf fungus, bull kelp, cedar and hemlock trees, and herring.
We kept a running tally of all of the wildlife we saw: sea otters, herons, gulls, cormorants, murres, murrelets, coots, eagles, scoters, oyster catchers, king fishers, mussels, oysters, moon jelly fish and lion's mane jellyfish. And of course Orca whales and Humpback whales.
A Humpback whale breached yards from our boat.