Today was a day of rest and sightseeing. I booked a glacier cruise into Prince Williams Sound which features many spectacular glaciers and is one of the best places to watch them calve. That’s when a big chunk of ice breaks off the glacier with a tremendous sounding bang and slams into the water creating some pretty good size waves.
The tour took 4 hours and we got to see two separate glaciers and a lot of wild life along the way. We started out from Whittier harbor and first stop was a kittiwake rookery, a rock cliff covered with thousands of gull related seabirds nesting there. On our way to the first glacier we were lucky to see two humpback whales. You have to take my word for it because the amount of time they spend above the water between dives is so short that I could not get my camera ready.Drifting through the ice filled fjords in front of the glaciers was an unforgettable experience. The temperature dropped quite a bit and my hands started getting numb as I was trying to catch the calving of the glaciers on film (sensor). But no luck. It happens so sudden that it’s almost impossible to record. On the way back we observed harbor seals that were hanging out on big chunks of ice and a large group of sea otters swimming on their backs while feasting on sea kelp. Another great day in Alaska!
My ferry to Valdez. I'll board tomorrow morning.
Pier pylons in Whittier harbor.
Fishing boat and sea gulls in the fog.
Kittiwake rookery.
Beloit glacier.
Chunks of ice floating out of Beloit fjord.
Harbor seals warming themselves on the ice. The water is freezing cold and transfers temperature much faster than ice.
Blackstone fjord.
Blackstone glacier.
Typical scenery in Prince William Sound.
Sea otters at play.
Amazing pictures. I wish so much that we were there with you to enjoy this, but I'll have to settle for this vicarious experience. Thanks for sharing.
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