Cruise to the Alaskan Glaciers

Continuing from where we left off last week, we had reached Seward and spent the evening exploring Seward.

Having read raving reviews of the cruise through the Kenai Fjords off Seward, Alaska, we had booked one and finally the day of the cruise dawned. We were put up at the Harbour 360 hotel which overlooks the wharf and ferry terminal at Seward.

View of the ferry terminal and marina

Armed with binoculars for a wildlife and glacier cruise, we walked up to our cruise boat anchored close by. The cruise was organized by Major Marine Tours.

All set for the cruise ….

After everyone boarded and took their assigned seats, there was a safety briefing and soon we were on the way to the Kenai Fjords. Initially we stood outside to get better views but soon trooped inside the warm cabin due to the cold winds outside which often got our fingers numb making photography a challenge!!

As we left the wharf, our hotel and the marina looked beautiful…

View of our hotel and the marina as we sailed out from the wharf

A little bit on the Kenai Fjords where we are going to cruise…

Kenai Fjords National Park

Situated off Seward in south -central Alaska, the Kenai Fjords National park comprises the Harding Icefield, it’s glaciers ,the coastal fjords and islands and covers an area of more than 2500 sq kms.

Harding Icefield ; the crown of the Kenai fjords is the source of 38 glaciers, the largest being the Bear Glacier. This icefield is the vestige of the massive ice sheet that covered much of Alkaska in the Ice age and now has more than a mile thick ice in the form of a sheet. This ice gouged out the fjords that lie along the coast .The glacial valleys were submerged and there is a narrow fringe of forested land between the mountains and the sea . The coastline is deeply indented and is inhabited by brown and black bears, moose, seals, otters, whales and a variety of birds.

Map of Kenai Fjords National Park and the cruise route

The initial part of the cruise was along the Resurrection Bay and the ship’s captain took us close to the shore whenever any wildlife was noticed. The rough shale cliffs with irregular vertical markings had deep crevices closer to the water at many places and the rocks provided nesting sites for many birds.

Resurrection bay with birds resting on rocky cliffs

The vertical shale cliffs with crevices at the bottom

Meanwhile, something dramatic started slowly coming into view…a glacier seen from the sea! The captain announced that the Bear Glacier was slowly coming into view and everyone should focus that way. A glacier and some icebergs floating on the lake in front made everyone head to that side of the vessel and so did we.

Bear Glacier

This 21 mile long tidewater glacier arising from the Harding Icefield, this is a popular kayaking destination but can be also seen from a cruise on the Resurrection Bay.

Some pictures…

The Bear Glacier with ice floes floating around

After some more sailing, we reached Spire Cove where there were rocky spires rising abruptly from the ocean.

Spire Cove

A excellent example of the rugged coastline of the Kenai Fjords, these spires are the result of years erosion of the shale rocks by the waters . Some pictures…

The stunning scenery at Spire Cove

An announcement on spotting some puffins sent me rushing out to the deck and I was rewarded with views of the cute birds on the cliffs and some in the water…

Puffins

Gradually we were leaving the protected bay and heading to the open Gulf of Alaska. The captain warned us that the ride may get bumpy once we move out of the bay. And as we left the bay and entered the Gulf of Alaska, some of our copassengers did get seasick but were quickly attended to by the crew.

After sailing for some time in the open sea we again entered a bay called the Aialik bay where we encountered some rocky projections from the ocean much like spire cove but here it was like an arch in the sea.

Sea Arch

Chiswell Islands

These islands are part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ,which comprises of 2400 islands, spires, rocks and reefs in Alaska covering an area of more than 20,000 sq kms and is known for its abundant seabird , mammal and animal populations. The rocky ledges provide abundant nesting facilities for the birds and habitation for the animals.

As we crossed the Chiswell islands, we saw stellar sea lion colonies where the sea lions were basking in the sun lazily . Some pictures…

Sea lions resting on the rocks

A short sealion video….listen carefully you can hear their cries !!!

Sailing further inside the Aialik bay, we first entered it’s Holgate arm and headed straight to the Holgate glacier. As we neared the glacier, we stepped out of the heated cabin on to the deck and that is when the real feel of the glacier hit us. It was biting cold and taking pictures was a challenge with numb fingers.

Holgate Glacier

An outflow from the Harding Icefield, Holgate is a tidewater glacier that empties into the Aialik Bay in the Gulf of Alaska. It is a popular destnation to watch glacial calving ( breaking off of ice chunks)

The glacier had various hues of blue and was an amazing sight. The captain turned the vessel around to give us a 360 degree view and we halted there to watch the calving.

Though it is part of global warming and is not an ideal situation, glacier calving is a once in a lifetime kind of view. We were fortunate to see this. Some pictures and a video to see calving. Enjoy…

Approaching Holgate Glacier

Mesmerising blue hues of Holgate glacier

We waited patiently at the glacier, may be few hundred metres away and kept looking and finally it calved with a sound similar to thunder. That is what I have captured for you.

And that special moment…..

Holgate claves…focus on the left hand side of the video and see the glacier calve

That moment was special indeed!!

Coming back along the Aialik bay, we entered the other arm where Aialik glacier is located. Similar to what happened at the Holgate glacier, we reached the glacier and waited . It did calve and we got to see a glacier calving again.

The Aialik glacier had plenty of ice floes (little icebergs) floating around close to it indicating that it had recently calved.

Some pictures…

The blue ice at Aialik glacier

The crew quickly picked up some of the floating ice which we could all carry and later on they used it for glacier ice cocktails on board…

The ice floes at Aialik and holding an ice trophy….a lifetime experience

A whole lot of sea lions had decided to rest at aialik that day and that was something special….

Sea lions visiting Aialik glacier…

There was another very interesting sight at Aialik, we saw some people in a small boat almost at the foot of the glacier…watch this video..

Some adventurous people on a boat….click on the video

After seeing Aialik glacier too, we started our return voyage almost on the same route. Most passengers had settled down in their seats ; tired after all the excitement and ofcourse the numb fingers trying to get pictures of the calving glaciers in the biting cold.

It was a little sunny by then and we noticed something bobbing up and down in the water. They were a group of sea otters, probably a family of them bobbing around in the water. They made a real cute sight indeed!!

The otter family…

The captain did point out some orcas and they came and swam with our vessel but could not get a picture…

Enjoying the mild sunshine that appeared, we stood on the deck as we returned back to Seward at the end of a very gratfying visit to the glaciers.

This was a great trip indeed, and I hope I have been able to transfer that feel on to you…the feel of the glaciers!!!

I do have more glacier views lined up for you in future episodes , but for now, I stop here.

Do continue giving me your feedback and comments…see you next week