We spent Tuesday night in an overpriced hotel in Seward, a coastal resort town on Resurrection Bay, which is actually a fjord but for some reason they didn’t name it Resurrection Fjord. But then Seward is on the Kenai Peninsula, while the Seward Peninsula is way north, somewhere on the Bering Sea I think. Apparently Alaskans like to confuse tourists.
Anyway, we spent Wednesday on a six-hour cruise through Resurrection Bay and the waters off the coast of Kenai Fjords National Park. We sailed past islands, rock formations, and glaciers, spending about 20 minutes in front of a glacier, listening to it creak and groan and even calve. We also saw lots of wildlife: puffins and other seabirds, jellyfish, a sea otter, Dall’s porpoises, killer whales, and humpback whales. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of this place (at least for a 2-bit hack like me), so I’ll let you see for yourself:
Small boat harbor in Seward, where the sightseeing trips begin and the big cruise ships dock:
Leaving Resurrection Bay, heading for Kenai Fjords National Park:
Stellar sea lions lounging on rocks like big slugs:
Aialik Glacier:
Calving!
Seasick Janet through wet camera lens:
The weather was beastly, rainy and cold and windy, but we managed to be comfortable most of the time. I also learned a good lesson: Visit the doctor for seasick meds before getting near any body of water larger than a swimming pool. I spent the afternoon leaning against part of the aft deck trying to avoid blowing chunks over the side of the boat. It took about three hours on land and a plate of halibut tacos to set me right.
Despite being cold, wet, and nauseated, I had an amazing time. It’s really another world up here.
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