POSTBLOG FROM GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK: Stories of Whales and Woes

The 44 year old humpback was known to everyone in the national park so it was a tragic day when her lifeless body was discovered floating in the bay, the victim of a cruise ship hit and run.

After providing many meals for bears and wolves, Snow’s skeleton was cleaned and reassembled and put on display at the Glacier Bay National Park visitor’s center in order to help educate visitors about humpback whales. Needless to say, it is a large skeleton.

Today we traversed the length of Glacier Bay, the most pristine place I’ve ever seen.  There is no development at all. Just miles and miles and miles of turquoise water, glaciers, icebergs, mountains up to 15,000 feet, and forest. The only way to get in and around the park, which is the size of Rhode Island, is by boat. Unfortunately the mystique of the wilderness is compromised when one of those gigantic cruise ships races by.

From the ship’s deck, we saw mountain goats, a family of bears  (a sow and three cubs), and most exciting of all: a pod of Orcas. They were wonderful to watch, their dorsals bobbing up and down in glassy water.  

The whole day was narrated by a couple of guests: a park ranger and a representative of the Tlinket people, both who told stories and educational facts about everything we were observing. I’m sure those hoards on the big cruise liners don’t have a fraction of the experience we are getting.

Just another day in Alaska on the National Geographic Sea Lion. 

POSTBLOG FROM ALASKA: Up Close and Personal with Sea Lions

If you wave your arms, claimed the naturalist on our Zodiac, the sea lions might follow us.

We did, and they did.

Today we took the Zodiacs out to a narrow channel where the open ocean meets the inland passage. The tide moves very fast, and the water is teaming with salmon on their way to spawn. The salmon, in turn, attract the sea lions. Hundreds of them.

I’ve watched sea lions awkwardly lumber on the beach or rocks before, but today we were out in the open ocean watching them swim gracefully and playfully. Occasionally we’d see one catch a fish and slam it against the water in order to break it so they could swallow its pieces.

Even though the wind threatened to blow my hat off, and the rain stung my face, I didn't care. It was so very amazing.

We also saw sea otters floating on their backs in the channel eating sea urchins, using rocks to break them open. And, of course (yawn), we observed more humpback whales. Tonight we saw three humpbacks sleeping at the surface. I actually never tire of seeing humpbacks. I do hope we’ll get to see an orca.

POSTBLOG FROM THE RAINFOREST: Are there any Sasquatch in here?

The scientist leading the hike didn’t know whether I was serious when I asked him if Bigfoot resided nearby. His answer was, “Not that I know of.”

One of today’s highlights was a hike in the SE Alaska rainforest. A green carpet of moss covered everything, especially fallen trees. We went way inland enough to see old growth forest which was left alone by loggers in the 20^th century because it was too far from shore. So we got the pleasure of seeing trees that were 500 to 1,000 years old.

Also on that hike, we watched salmon swimming and jumping their way upstream to spawn and then to die. Very cool!

Today’s lecture from a naturalist (I keep trying to say naturist, but that’s something else) was about whales. Whales are really smart. Much to the chagrin of whoever’s in charge, some whales have learned that if they hang out near the hatchery, they can capture the newborn fish as they are released. It really messes up the restocking of Pacific salmon. 

Right before lunch, we stood on the bow watching humpbacks do bubble netting. They exhale under water creating a wall of bubbles which herds the krill into a tight, dense wall of food that the giant animals gobble right up.  

I will have a million pictures for Facebook when we get home. Unfortunately the satellite link to the internet can only transmit text, and it costs $.70 per minute or something like that. So for now, anyone who’s interested in our travels will just have to read about it here.

POSTBLOG FROM ALASKA: If You Touch Your Tongue to a Glacier, Will It Stick? And Here Whaley Whaley!

With a crack and a rumble, the gigantic curtains of ice broke suddenly from the mountain sized glacier and crashed into the water below, creating a mini-tsunami that forced the Zodiac raft to face into the waves as they spread out into the fjord.

What a spectacular day!

In the morning we hiked into the rain forest, observing a large brown bear and her three cubs ambling quickly along the shoreline.

The afternoon took us from the ship in Zodiacs to observe a huge deep blue crystal glacier up close, dodging ice burgs inhabited by seals who were just finishing their pupping season.

As we observed an incredible late sunset and prepared to make our way to our cabins, a pod of humpback whales appeared off the bow of the ship. We shivered and waited between each animal’s plume of breath, watching  the creatures’ backs and tails arch and dive amid the clicking of many cameras on deck.

Each event was accompanied by expert commentary from excellent naturalists, interpreting what we were seeing and answering our questions.

The answer is no, by the way. If you lick a glacier, your tongue will not stick. But you don’t dare get close enough to find out.

I can’t even begin to convey this extraordinary day except to say that if it ended now, we would have gotten our money’s worth.

But tomorrow, new adventures will be had as we cruise Alaska’s Inside Passage on the National Geographic Sea Lion.