Being right up near a glacier on the water, even a relatively small one, is one of the coolest things I’ve experienced.  No pun intended.  It’s another one of those things I’ve seen that the still camera just can’t do justice to, partly because you can’t hear it or feel it’s effect on the immediate environment.  As the boat glides ever closer, at some point it slips into an envelope of noticeably colder air.  And you are chilled by the thermal upheaval of wind that it creates around itself.  The sounds it makes are spooky in a way, even when it’s not calving.

Our arrival to the harbor was greeted by the presence of the MS Westerman that had come into Seward early in the morning.  And this harbor master was having breakfast on top of one of the markers as we were leaving.    

For as busy as it is, even this late in the season, Seward is not a very big place.  This is a view of almost the whole town from the water.  Again, note how low the tree line is on mountains in a maritime climate.  I also learned that the effects of permafrost this far north contributes to this.

Seward is located at the waters end of Resurrection Bay and the land rises sharply from the shoreline everywhere you look.  It also descends sharply below the water line.  There were times when the captain would note that below us it was about 900 feet deep and only yards away forty feet.       

Our captain, by the way, was originally from South Africa, went through a long litany of places he had lived, and vessels he had guided in his life, too numerous for me to possibly remember.  The important part was that he eventually sailed into Alaskan waters, fell in love with the place, and that’s where he stayed.      

This would typically be the first view you would get of any glacier in this area.  The one we got up close and personal with was the Holgate Glacier.  I don’t have others for comparison, but as I said, it’s pretty amazing.  One might get lucky and catch a photo of a huge chunk breaking off, but in my view at some point you have to stop looking through the camera and just enjoy the experience.         

This is also true of the wildlife you see.  On this trip we saw eagles, puffins, sea otters, sea lions, big jelly fish, orcas, dall sheep, and some sperm whales.  They were a long way off, but we could tell they were there because they were blowing sea water and snot out their “noses”.  These are only a few of the many pictures I took hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, but as I say, you can’t forget to just enjoy.

 

 

 

 

                                                             

 

 

 

Toward the end of our cruise we sailed up close to Fox Island.  These old mine shafts go hundreds of feet back from the shoreline and Seward was still a long ways off.  To think about what it took to get the gold out and back to where you could cash it in, is crazy to think about.                                                                                                                                          

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that this boat tour was worth every penny.  If you get the opportunity here, or anywhere similar, I’d certainly recommend it.

I am well and hope you all are too. 🙂