NPS park rangers were on board first thing in the morning to give a presentation. How did they get here? I wondered, which they promptly answered - by rope ladder from a small boat alongside the ship. How cool is that? I would have gone looking for this spectacle if I had known.
The rangers were great, as always, lots of good info, maps, and answers to questions. I don't imagine they get many visitors at the park HQ, so boarding cruise ships for the day must be a highlight of their job.
There was plenty of scenery all the way up into the bay, also quite a few low clouds masking the mountains. The rangers were like, don't worry, most every cruise ship gets to see glaciers.
Our first major sighting - this might be Reid Glacier to the west:
At the top end of the bay the ship did a "sit and spin", rotating slowly several times so everyone could get a view of everything. It seemed like there was a one-at-a-time deal between cruise ships, as we had the place to ourselves for a while. One of the rangers came on the loudspeaker and narrated as we marvelled.
Staking out a spot on one side of the top deck, waiting for the ship to turn around:
This is truly not a normal cruise for us - never seen ice in Caribbean waters!
Hey, check out the harbor seals! Nice job spotting them, John (the rangers were totally focused on the glaciers the whole day). The seals were quite tolerant of the giant vessel near them, but eventually decided to move elsewhere. Very cool to get to see them:
Close up of Margerie Glacier, I think this is the one spot where we saw a small chunk calve off:
And the clouds started clearing so we could see the gorgeous mountains further beyond:
Happy for the binoculars - and the warm clothes:
Really enjoyed the glacier viewing with each turn of the ship:
And a change in the lighting:
That was most excellent!
We got back underway, with a side excursion into Johns Hopkins Inlet to see another glacier (just not as up close, but still impressive):
Somewhere in the inlet John spotted a bald eagle carrying a fish as it flew by. As the ship proceeded back south through the long bay, we hung out at the balcony and watched for more animals. This turned out to be a great idea, as we saw sea lions poking up their heads and lots of otters just hanging out watching us back.
Also a bunch of sea birds, maybe some terns. I most specifically hoped to see some puffins, as I'm quite a fan of these funny colorful birds. I asked the rangers about it, and they told me to watch for South Marble Island. So on the way out of the bay I followed along on the map and checked out the island through the binoculars. There were definitely birds there but too far away to get a good look. Mostly black and white nesting birds flying around, not sure what they would be.
It was neat watching the rangers returning to their little boat; we were happy they announced that this would be happening so everyone could watch.
Here comes the boat:
A ranger climbing down a rope ladder dangling from the ship:
Looks like they got everyone back. Well done and thanks y'all!
More wildlife watching - they kept appearing so we stayed out watching with the binoculars. Porpoises leaping over the waves. Bald eagles sitting on tree tops.
Then this bird took off and flew away and I was like "that was a puffin!" because nothing else flies like a puffin. Wings furiously flapping to keep the round body in the air. Right away John spotted another one sitting in the water and we confirmed that yep, tufted puffins! It was totally worth hanging out with the binoculars that afternoon.
Yay for puffins and glaciers and another excellent cruising day!
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