Whittier day- 2 Part 2

We boarded our Capt Phillips Marine tour at 12:45 pm. We were at table 5 near the front of the craft with two ladies from Texas. One comes to Alaska often. For the other, it was her first time. We also sat near a man from Los Angeles.

We saw numerous glaciers on the cruise and stopped for any wildlife. It was a 3 hr 45-minute cruise. Both Phil and I took a dramamine (actually meclizine) an hour ahead of time. I also wore those little seasickness bands. Frankly, the medication gave me a "stupid" feeling after a while. I could think of things to say, but I could not say them. The good part is that I did not get sick and was eventually able to walk around and take photos instead of huddling motionless in my seat.

We saw our first Glacier, and in a short time, we also had several whale spouts! There was a humpback cow and calf feeding, and we watched them for quite a while. Then we saw some sea otters. Finally, we saw another whale as we were making our way to one of two tidewater glaciers. These glaciers still come right to the sea. Many others in this area no longer touch the sea.

We went to each tidewater glacier. One was actively calving or shedding ice into the sea. Some of the youngsters on board, with the help of the crew, gathered some of the ice for passengers to put in their drinks!

We saw some harbor seals at one of the glaciers. At another place, there were Stellar Sea Lions resting on a bouy. We also visited a Kittiwake rookery where black footed gulls were nesting. More otters there there.

Overall, I know it was a chance that we saw the whales. The Capt. said that not many had returned due to the low numbers of herring since the Exon-Valdez oil spill more than 30 years ago.

I would recommend this cruise as it was short. I didn't get sick. I saw lots of cool stuff. They even served a light lunch of chowder or vegetarian chili.

It is cold tonight. Phil and I had bowls of chicken and noodle soup (thanks to Packet Gourmet). We are going to pack up tonight and head out tomorrow to find breakfast on our way back through Anchorage and to Talkeetna 190 miles away.Lue lisää