An ice floe caught my eye as it drifted by. It looked like a half-submerged hippo about to eat a tortoise. Strange I know, but then I was in a part of the world where ones imagination gets into overdrive and stays there for a week.
The inner passage on the south-west coast of Alaska is breathtaking.
Nature at its most beautiful. Vast unpopulated spaces, massive glaciers, soaring mountains and a sense of discovery mingled with the history of the great Klondike gold rush at the end of the 19th century.
And I was there was because I have grown weary of travelling to places that mean having to lug suitcases from expensive hotel to equally expensive B&Bs, fighting my way through traffic in even more expensive hire cars, enduring the claustrophobia of crowded tourist sites and having to pay R12 to use a public toilet to get rid of the excess of a R45 Coca-Cola.
So I set out on a mission to find the world's best cruise line. And hit the jackpot more or less straight away.Cruising is the in thing these days and I can see why.
Quite simply, it offers the best value for money international holiday experience possible.
Holland America Lines has been in operation for 136 years now and they have got cruising down to a fine art. From the time my wife and I arrived at the Ocean Terminal in Vancouver on Canada's British Columbian coast, we simply didn't have to think about what to do and where to go.
We were looked after, pampered and entertained for eight solid days.
Our journey up the historic inner passage took us northward from Vancouver towards Tracy Arm Fjord where, in millpond conditions, I watched that ice floe
hippo drift past as I finished my multi-course lunch all snug and warm and edging towards the soporific.
The Volendam and its 1 200 passengers and 600 crew sailed between towering mountains and rounded a bend and there ahead of us was the gigantic Sawyer Glacier - creaking and groaning and "calving' huge chunks of ice the size of houses which hit the water sending what sounded like sonic booms echoing through the valleys.
After two days at sea the Volendam docked in Juneau, the capital of Alaska that's unreachable by land. There was an enormous choice of shore excursions in Juneau - coach trips to the Mildenhall Glacier, floatplane flights to the interior, helicopter trips to four different glaciers where, shod in special glacier boots, one can hike ice fields, climb ice walls or just stand on one of these massive rivers of ice with your mouth open and your eyes popping in wonder at the sheer majesty of it all.
What I found remarkable about Holland America Lines was that their ships are so well designed that, in spite of being one of more than 1 000 passengers, I never once felt I was in a crowd.
We never found trouble getting seating in one of the many free-seating restaurants, nor in getting a booking in others. We never had a problem in any of the comfortable lounges finding a pair of those big, comfortable leather armchairs next to a picture window to sit, after lunch, with our feet up, a good book, a cup of coffee and to nod off every now and then, only to wake up to a new vista.
It is one of the most relaxing holiday experiences I have ever had.
And if there were any rowdy kids on board, I didn't see or hear them. They had their own space, as did those who wanted movie theatres, live shows every night, a gym, heated swimming pools and just about every other luxury one can imagine.
I found it not in the least surprising then, that Holland America Lines has the highest rate of repeat customers in the global cruise industry.
Service levels are extraordinary and left a service cynic like me with my expectations exceeded ... and then some. Equally unsurprising is that wherever there is a cruise destination in the world, one will find one of the Rotterdam-registered Holland America ships.
My favourite Alaskan port was next - Skagway. It's everything you have ever imagined with its 100-year-old buildings in pristine condition, wide streets and wooden sidewalks. It's the little town you have seen in countless movies about the Klondike Gold Rush.
From Skagway on to a full day of cruising through the Glacier Bay National Park. Right up to the face of the Marjerie Glacier - 25 storeys high and over a kilometre wide. And then the return trip through the narrows and island-dotted seas.
If you like uncrowded, relaxed holidays without having to think about mortgaging your house for another restaurant meal, and if you enjoy nature and a sense of history, then a voyage up the inner passage of Alaska should be top of your bucket list.
Having travelled the world regularly for 50 years, I am now a confirmed cruise junkie, and I just can't imagine anyone else being able to offer such extraordinary value for money.
Vancouver is a long way from South Africa. It's 27 hours of flying at best. But, believe me, it's worth it. We chose to fly British Airways via Heathrow and were treated to some magnificent views of snow-covered mountains, icebergs and glaciers as we flew over Greenland.