SEWARD AK

Our day started with a Princess excursion.  We docked, got off the Diamond Princess, boarded little school buses for the short transfer to the commercial fishing dock.  There we boarded a 75 passenger “ferry”for anll-day trip in search of wildlife and glaciers.

Kenai Fjords National Park, lies at the edge of the Kenai Peninsula where land and the ice age lingers. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords' crowning feature. Wildlife thrives in icy waters and lush forests around this vast expanse of ice. Native Alutiiq relied on these resources to nurture a life entwined with the sea. The Harding Icefield is the largest icefield solely contained within the United States.

Exit Glacier starts high in the Harding Icefield (named after President Harding) and ends at water's edge. 



Glacier "calving"


 The waters here are cold, deep and green.  They are full of rich food to sustain all marine life.  Today we saw a lone humpback whale and I was thrilled of my first sighting of a pod of orcas!!  I had never seen them in the wild and what a treat it was.  I got several shots of a momma with her baby.

You can always tell the male - he has the tall fin.

Mom and baby

3 orcas in the pod

Lone bear

Along the was we saw a bear and 2 bald eagles.  I never tire of seeing eagles in the wild.  They are so majestic. 

The temperature was really very cold out and when we were under way, it felt like the wind chill was in the low 30;s.  We were also treated to seeing Dall porpoises and sea lions. 

King of the mountain

 

defies gravity!!

Toward the end of the cruise, the captain took us to Rock Hole.  It is a cool formation, worn by years of sea activity

Carlos at Rock Hole

Carlos with a nice view from the front of the boat

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The Diamond docked in Seward.  What a gorgeous backdrop

  In spite of the cold, it was probably one of the best tours I have ever been on.  As so many other things on this cruise, I would do this tour again in a hearbeat.