Cruising the Inside Passage - Glacier Bay
Highlights
Get the feeling that the #Princess Line may have cruised #Glacier Bay before. The ship’s routine was completely changed for this day. Everything is set up so that for each and every passenger, the focus is on the slow progress through the #Bay.
Last night, each stateroom had been issued with a special menu for ordering from room service. Entertainment during the day was closed down as were all the speciality eating areas - only #Horizons was open.
The Rangers (I think there were 6 on board today) and the Ice Pilot arrived on the ship around 9 am and the official "programme" started with a leisurely lecture in the #Theatre by @Ranger Nate. He presented an overview of the day and a chronological history of the development of the 1 000 glaciers that converge in the area as well as the story of the indigenous people of the area. The #Tlingit people have a close connection with "place" and any introduction for them includes a "story" about your place. So the interactions with the rangers very much reflected this - they introduced themselves with their story of "place" and how they had made connections with life in this icy world. Very personal and an insightful start to the spirituality of #Glacier Bay.
Once completed it was a mad dash back to the stateroom to prepare for the 11.15 "start of the show." You’ve been provided with maps and written history and there were a series of documentaries on the stateroom TVs. We had watched those in the lead up to today. We were ready. We tuned into the #Bridge Cam and could access the live commentary from the rangers as the ship nudged its ways up towards the termination of the arm of the Bay in front of #Margerie (very white and blue) and the #Grand Pacific (very black) which was colliding with the #Ferris Glacier.
As the Rangers pointed out significant landmarks or spotted wildlife you make your foray onto the deck to check it out. The @Captain positions the ship for views and delicately does the pirouettes so that everyone gets a look.
And dash we did. @Ranger Nate had warned:
"Embrace the weather of Alaska.
If the barometer rises, it rains.
If barometer falls, it rains.
If the barometer remains steady, it will continue to rain."
He also informed us that we only needed visibility for half a mile for the ship to proceed and we had visibility for 6 miles.
Interesting when we review the photos - everything looks as if it has been shot in black and white - just no colour in this landscape. And we go from being able to see for long (and deceptive) distances ahead to being shrouded in mist and cloud. @Ranger Nate said it was a "typical day" in south east Alaska and we should just embrace it.
So that's what we did. Got our pool towels strategically placed so the carpet doesn't get drenched with us bringing water in from the deck. Turned up the dial on the heating in the room. Got places and hangers for our wet jackets. Couches were draped with bath towels. Added layers of clothing as the wind changed and the rain increased. Took layers off as it became clear-ish and almost dead calm. De-fogged the windows on the inside and wiped down the rain from the outside. Definitely could have used that squeegee again and would have loved a broom to swish the water off the deck and down the drain hole. And some sort of cloth to wipe down the varnished rail wouldn't have gone astray either. No rest for the wicked - have to work for these experiences
We kept up our stamina with room service delivery of food and drinks - even managed to throw on a load of washing and timed the drying between glacial pirouettes.
It was a big day.
And what did we see? Miles and miles of a landscape that had been spectacularly sculpted by 1000 s of years of ice clawing its way to meet the ocean. The glaciers literally bulldozed the mountains and carved these huge Ushape valleys. There were plenty of birds, a single bear - no seals or otters, but loads of icebergs that looked like they had an animal on them, until they were close enough for a detailed look through the binoculars... and it was just dirty ice or the shape of the ice.
In awe of the size of the glass walls of white that beautifully reflect that flash of blue that characterises a glacier. And constantly amazed by the filthy black faces of the glaciers that present the rocks and dirt of the moraines. You have to shake your head and squint your brows every now and then when you think about the time scale involved here. We were watching sheets of ice fall into the water that had been snow that had fallen, accumulated and compressed maybe a thousand years ago.
@Mac's keen eyes picked out the calving ice flows as it tumbled into the water of #Tar Inlet from the accommodating #Margerie. Ice bergs littered the surface, waterfalls cascaded from incredible heights, mountains towered in the background and there was a perpetual muffled crumble and crunch as a background noise as the ice imperceptibly but relentlessly crept forward.
It was really exciting. You are constantly on alert for "the next thing." Don’t quite know where to look. Don’t want to look away because you are frightened you’ll miss it. There’s no rewind here, or replays or close-ups. You get one chance. And that is what makes it all so much fun.
The tidal chamge here can be up to 8 metres eevery 6 hours and these heights were marked on the face of the mountains as they met the water. Lines were also "drawn" in the water where the now melted fresh water accumulated from the glacier and met the salt water of the #Inlet. This constant tidal surge of sea water is what prevents #Glacier Bay from freezing over. Having said that, this amazing area has undergone a series of dramatic changes in recent geological time. This area has experienced massive changes with the glacier at some periods advancing at spectacular rates. The Indigenous people recount that as recently as 200 years ago, they abandoned the Bay and resettled at Hoonah because because the glacier was advancing at a rate of 100 metres PER DAY.
Didn’t miss a minute and felt like we had run a hundred miles with our various dashes. It was "63 miles" according to @Ranger Nate and we loved every minute of the glacier crawl. Even our distant view through the binoculars of the #John Hopkins Glacier, closed since May 1st for the harbour seal breeding season had us out in the wind and sleet for a futile attempt at catching a glimpse of a seal - it was the anticipation that kept us going all day.
The evening rhythm was almost the same as always. We did try and mix it up a bit and presented for the early 7.30 timeslot for the magic show but were surprised to learn that there wasn’t a single seat left in the #Theatre. People were being turned away on droves!
Ambled down to dinner instead and munched our way through multiple courses and hadn’t quite finished for the 9.30 timeslot so took our last drinks with us. Truth be known, we were a little late because we doubled up on the mains. It was Lobster Thermidor 🦞 😋 and we couldn’t resist a shared plate of a second helping. Delightfully decadent.
The husband and wife team of @Brent and Sarah were fabulous. They had a lot of "married couple" comedy banter going on, included volunteers from the audience (we always sit in the back for comedy shows amd magicians) and generally wowed everyone with their sleight of hand. How they did the three musical tunes, matched with each audience participant and then written on the hidden piece of paper - guess we’ll never know. Can understand now why it was all so popular.
Scrambled to make sure we had alarms set for tomorrow morning - we have to be off ship by 7:15 for a shore excursion. Scheduled room service, tidied up the remnants of the day’s wet clothes and partially packed for tomorrow’s excursion.
Only 6 hours until that alarm rings!
PS Thanks to our own magician at home @My Aunty Gail — somehow she sweet talked the post office into handing over our wine delivery!
Weather: Max of 6 degrees ( not sure when we hit that and if it included wind chill factor)
Steps: 6 202
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