Mendenhall Glacier

Wow, we have a new favorite glacier! It's the most accessible and most frequently visited in Alaska, but those stats are from summer. We went to the Mendenhall Glacier in winter and it was AMAZING!

In front of the glacier lies Mendenhall Lake, which is frozen over at this time of year. Visitors can walk or skate across the lake, right up to some of the large chunks of ice that have calved off the glaciers. 

We walked across the lake, dazzled by the sun sparkling on the snow and ice, and we had the best fun playing around on the icebergs!

State Capital

After more than a year living in the biggest city in the biggest state in the greatest nation on earth, we hadn't managed a trip to southeast Alaska. This is Alaska's most popular tourist destination so we had to go. We cashed in some air miles and flew down to Juneau for the weekend.

The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great captain on the flight down. He turned the commute into a scenic tour, pointing out mountains and glaciers and stars and lakes. It was incredible!


Although legislation is in session now, it was very quiet in Alaska's State Capital. A lot of shops were closed for the off season, but we enjoyed a stroll around town. We attended the Juneau Symphony's performance of Holst's Planets Suite, which was very good.

On Sunday we went on a lazy drive to the end of the road in Juneau, and around Douglas Island. The landscape was beautiful. What a great trip!

Curling

We went to the Anchorage Curling Club's "Learn-To-Curl" event this weekend. There were a few slips and a lot of slides, but soon we were all gliding smoothly down the sheet, throwing our stones, clearing the hog line, and landing in the house. Our sweep strokes added a dynamic dimension to our curls and we had a super time urging our stones along.

Our last game came down to the wire and we had to get out the measuring tape. Our yellow stone just lost out by an inch.

We only won one game in the end, but since the winners had to clean the ice, our team was happy to lose that last one!

Road Trip

We decided to take a little road trip down to Seward, once again stopping at Turnagain Pass to try some snowshoeing. The views along the coastal highway were spectacular, and the snowshoeing was much more adventurous than last time. At one stage, Daniel's brother was chest-deep in snow and halfway up a tree at the same time!

Sunrise over Cook Inlet (at 11:00am!)

Daniel, showing us how it's done

Brian, stuck in a hole

Turnagain Pass

Brian, Daniel, Vanessa, Susan & Justine

Seward Harbor

Bob's Sleds

Our friendly Alaskan neighbor, Bob White, lent us his flexi-flyer sleds, designed for racing on ice. After a practice run each, we engaged in some serious family races. The clear winner was Daniel's mom!

Snow Fun!

Daniel's family visited us for Christmas and New Year, and we tried to squeeze a lifetime of snowy activities into two weeks. Top of the list was Phineas the Zimbabwean Snowman.

We also hit the sledding slopes with the brave Alaskan children, and although we may have had a few too many tumbles and falls, our smiles were frozen to our faces the whole time!

We also hit the bigger slopes at Hilltop Ski Area where Daniel's brother was constantly thwarted by trees, ski poles and deep snow. 

A Real Christmas Tree

Our lifelong dream of getting a real tree for Christmas was finally achieved this year. We scoured the Anchorage bowl for Christmas tree sellers with just four days to spare, and we eventually found a beautiful spruce, so realistic that it actually looked like a fake! We had a grand time getting it home and decorated for the big day.

The Wedding

Steve and Luz Helena were married in the chapel of the Club Militar in Bogota, Colombia. The ceremony was a fun, quirky blend of Catholic and Jewish traditions. A chuppah was erected in front of the altar, and after the bride walked around it seven times to symbolize their bond, the priest swiftly called on the congregation to take communion!

The reception was a fabulous party. The breaking of the glass was followed by a boisterous 'Hava Nagila' and lots of Latin American dancing. The happy couple definitely started their new life together in style. Mazeltov!

Bogota: Cathedrals and Museums

The capital city of Colombia boasts hundreds of museums and thousands of cathedrals. We visited the gold museum, which houses the Poporo Qumbaya, the symbol of Steve and Luz Helena's wedding.

We walked down several picturesque streets, including one lined with shops selling military paraphernalia. On this street is the Police Museum, which showcases the life and death of Colombian druglord, Pablo Escobar.

We caught a funicular up to the Monserrate Cathedral at the top of the hill. There are several myths surrounding the cathedral, the most important of which is never to enter the cathedral with your partner if you are not married. If you do this, you will be doomed never to marry each other. Since we visited the cathedral on the day before Steve and Luz Helena's wedding, we made a conscientious effort to separate the partners!

The Cathedral is also famous for having a black Mary and Jesus. Thousands of Colombians make pilgrimages to the Cathedral to seek miracles from the fallen Jesus.

150km outside of Bogota are the salt mines of Zipaquira. Here an underground Roman Catholic church has been built within the tunnels of the mine 180m below ground. The cathedral is full of symbolic carvings and chambers reflecting birth, life and death. It holds 3,000 people for services on Sundays, and baptisms take place with salt water.

Isla del Sol

A group of 27 islands, known as Islas del Roasario, lies an hour's boat ride from Cartagena. We went on a day trip to Isla del Sol, which has a very tropical feel to it. There were lots of activities on offer, such as snorkelling, scuba diving, and kayaking through the mangrove swamps. We settled for some time on the beach and in the brightly colored hammocks swinging beneath the thatch.

At midday we caught the boat to a nearby island, home to the Oceanio, a rustic aquarium. There were boardwalks that extended into the ocean and the areas in between held the sea life. There was a small variety of sea animals, but the aquarium staff induced feeding frenzies to please the crowds. The highlight of the trip was Vanessa climbing into the shark enclosure to pet a shark!

After the aquarium we returned to the Isla del Sol for a buffet lunch with traditional grilled king mackeral and lots of starch - potatoes, plantains and yuca - washed down with some very strong Colombian coffee. We ended the day back on the beach, listening to the waves lapping against the shore and trying to remedy our pale Alaskan complexions.