Eighteen hours on a ferry

Chiming in from scenic Prince Rupert, blue sky overhead. We arrived at 2 a.m. this morning, tiptoed down the hall to our suite and keyed in the code, only to burst in on a rather confused and very asleep family. It was one of those Kafka'isk moments where you keep re-reading your instruction paper over and over, somehow expecting the words and numbers to change. A moment of complete loss of faith in my brain power, and I was not at all surprised given the past few days of travel. But! Turns out the issue was the hotel's, and after a somewhat frantic call to support staff, we managed to find ourselves tucked into two very different, but blessedly quiet and comfortable rooms. I feel surprisingly chipper despite entering day three with very little sleep. Must be the holiday endorphins. The voyage from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert was exquisite, as was our stately ship, the Northern Expedition. Waterfalls spilled down steep ciffs and every bend revealed another breathtaking stretch of the incomparable Inside Passage. It was a slow immersion into one of most untouched places on earth, while being gently rocked and cradled by the ship. There were comfortable reclining seats facing the windows easy accessible at all times, but we spent nearly the entire time on the sundeck, wind in our hair and the sweet sea air filling our lungs. We're both windburnt. Later on, our little stateroom was nicely efficient and just the right spot to disappear to when darkness finally embraced us at nearly 10:30 pm. After a couple of delectible 'wiches crafted by the sibling chef, we were able to get a few hours of sleep in our tiny bunks before being chimed awake with the news we had landed at the terminal on Kaien Island. And now, it is time to introduce ourselves to Prince Rupert and all of his charms.