Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1011587
Personal trainer Tessa Foss gave nutrition talks and led a ernoon workouts incorporating the limited tness equipment on the ship, plus creative use of the third deck for jogging, skipping, and sidestepping laps. Being aboard a ship is that rare scenario that gets me to yoga class early in the morning six days in a row. I just had to set the alarm 15 minutes before class so I'd have time to put on my layers. Our yoga area up on the fourth deck was covered and had a plastic windbreak. But it was still springtime in Alaska, which meant more hats, gloves, and thick socks than you usually see in yoga class. Doing sun salutations while cruising by glaciers more than made up for the chilly air and occasional rain splatter. Adventure Activities Despite being billed as a yoga cruise, the bulk of the day was the same as other UnCruise Alaska itineraries: wilderness adventures. Each day brought similar choices of bushwhacking, kayaking, or ski tours, with a couple of chances to take out a SUP or do a mellow shore walk. We only had one chance to hike on a trail during our cruise. at was on the one trail in Glacier Bay National Park, a park so remote – reachable only by boat or plane – that we saw nobody else on our hike. Otherwise, our land adventures required bushwhacking to penetrate the forest. Our guides led us down so , mossy game trails, identifying moose droppings and bear scat. Which meant, of course, that those noble yet dangerous creatures were never far away. Guides called out to bears, warning them of our presence. Omnipresent cans of bear spray were Plan B. Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees towered over our heads while our boots sank in bogs called muskegs. Our guides pointed out forest features – pungent yellow skunk cabbage, tiny fungi called fairy goblets, and a yellow gel fungus called witch's butter, which looks like gummy candy but is tasteless. e ddlehead ferns and deer heart lettuce had a little more avor. I drew the line at licking a banana slug, though I did pet it and found its slime strong enough to glue my ngers together. On each bushwhack, we reserved a few minutes for quiet time. ose were some of the best moments: Lying in moss or perching on a rock with my new shipboard friends, listening to a grouse or raindrops, so far away from my everyday city life. Much as I enjoyed bushwhacking, my favorite activity was kayaking. e Legacy tows a smaller boat called the Sea Dragon, which carries a eet of kayaks. Some passengers had never kayaked before and were a bit intimi- dated by being launched backward o the Sea Dragon in frigid, 1,000-foot deep water inhabited by whales. I tried not to think too much about any large creature surfacing beneath my kayak and knocking me into the hy- pothermic brine. Fortunately, nobody fell out of a kayak on our trip. I saw lots of otters, seals, and mountain goats while paddling. One group of kayakers viewed a humpback whale and another group witnessed a swimming bear – both at a safe distance. My favorite kayak outing skirted low cli s thick with blood red sea stars, sea cucumbers, and anemones. We saw a giant purple and white sun ower sea star. I grew up tide pooling in San Diego but had never seen anything like those hundreds of fat anemones hanging like gelatinous udders. Food "Is this a tness cruise or a fatness cruise?" my cousin asked when it was time for yet an- other delicious meal. UnCruise o ers three choices for most meals, including one veg- etarian option. ey're happy to work with special diets, and beautifully accommodated my vegan request. It would have been fairly easy to stick to healthful eating if I'd con ned myself to the entrees, which involved lots of vegetables and quinoa, and inventive dishes like pu pastry with apricot, vegan cheese, and charred broccoli. But it's hard to resist when the ship's pastry chef was constantly churn- ing out delicious desserts just for me, from churros with three di erent dipping sauces to vegan pistachio ice cream or a dish of fruit and coconut cream. Dress Code is isn't one of those cruises where people pack gowns for their night at the captain's table. Instead, the biggest fashion statement was probably my hot pink rain pants. Except for dangerous conditions, such as high winds, activities go on rain or shine. Occasionally I saw somebody wear a blouse and skirt at dinner, but for me dressing up meant wearing normal pants and trading my rainboots for sneakers. Practical clothing is appreciated more than looking pretty at UnCruise. As expedition guide Kalyn Holl put it, "On this ship, we get to leave and go on adventures. We come back muddy and disgusting, and that's awesome. We're going around and exploring the world, as opposed to just looking at it through the window or the top deck." Photos: Teresa Bergen 22 wholelifetimes.com