SEWARD CRUISE
August 3:
Jet lag had caught up with us as we tried to wake up with an 8:00 alarm. We also realized that Alaska time was an hour earlier than California time. By 8:30 we were in our rental car pulling through McDonald's for breakfast muffins and coffee. The sunshine was glorious, not hazy or overcast like we had been told. Within ten minutes we were away from the urban sprawl of Anchorage headed for our Seward Glacier Cruise. The trip south was beyond all expectation. Every turn presented another spectacular vista for the next 2.5 hours: snow-capped mountains, lakes, distant volcanoes, rivers. I can't recall saying so many 'Wows' anywhere.
We pulled into Seward by 11:00 and took a shuttle bus from the parking lot to the cruise vessel. Barbara posed in the morning sun with stunning mountains in the background. I posed on the dock as we prepared to board.
We soon joined a line of other glacier seekers. The line was short, so we figured that we must be early birds. As soon as we were on board, we saw that most seats were taken on the upper and lower cabins. Descending from the upper cabin, we saw a few open seats. I asked an older couple there if the seats were taken. They smiled and welcomed us to take what seemed to be the only seats remaining. Now we were paired with a Hindi couple, a tech guy (Lucent Inc.) and his wife, a doctor of internal medicine. I broke the ice with them with the correct Hindi greeting, Namaste. They were only a few years younger than us and we were friends for the rest of the trip. It seemed that the boat was filled with tourists from all parts of India (including Punjab), and nearby Bangladesh, and Pakistan. I tried out greetings from their countries: Sat Sri Akal, Namaste, Salaam, Salaam Alaikum. They were all friendly, and we took pictures of couples and family groups in exchange for our own couple picture.
The weather remained clear and the sea was calm. The cruise included spectacular views of rock formations, glaciers, mountain peaks, puffins, and beluga whales. The most amazing sight was the calving of an enormous glacier with the simultaneous shotgun-like blast when various portions of the glacier broke off into the ocean.
lonely puffin lower left; and internet closeup
A glacier photo op compliments of the crew
Back to the harbor
The drive back to Anchorage was filled with 'Wow' moments at each turn seeing the same sights again from different angles and in different light.
Days later, the Seward cruise was closed because of terrible weather and a turbulent ocean. I guess we had been blessed. Some nightly journaling saved the details.
