Southeast Alaska
This is the final day of our trip through the wonders of Southeast Alaska. We've seen glaciers galore during our full day in Glacier Bay but, as has been happening throughout the seven days at sea here, each new day seems better than the last "unbeatable" day. This morning we sail the length of a twisting, twenty-two mile long fjord named Tracy Arm. Near its end, deep in the coastal mountains that border with Canada, we lowered the Zodiacs to venture out on the ice-choked waters in front of South Sawyer Glacier. An iceberg as blue as any precious gem floated by us and we gazed deep into its interior to become as lost as the light rays that refract from crystal to crystal until only the blue wave lengths can escape.
Winds and currents conspired to clear the area in front of the glacial face and, despite the appearance in the photo, we maintained a safe distance from the ice wall in the event of a calving episode or, scarier yet, a shooter (a chunk of ice rising from below). We watched and listened within our amphitheater of ice to seals, arctic terns and of course, gravity.
Later in the afternoon we hiked through a spruce and hemlock forest, visited a muskeg, watched the tide rising and yellow-legged shorebirds and barnacles begin to feed. The Captain's farewell dinner on board was delicious and afterwards we gathered in the lounge for an event organized and created by the many young people on board, ranging in age from seven to seventeen. Over the last several days they had created works of art ranging from necklaces of hand-made beads to cloth table coverings featuring brightly colored, life-size animal tracks of Alaska…and more! With so much young talent and energy focused on one goal --to raise money for the Alaska Whale Foundation through the auctioning of these items to fellow guests --you know it was a big success. The auction, hosted and run by the artists, generated almost a thousand dollars in sales that will go towards supporting the research and conservation goals of the Alaska Whale Foundation.
