We were awake early again and drinking the first of many coffees of the day when the dining room opened at 7:30am. It was a grey and cold morning, which was an omen for what we'd see (or not see) when we entered Glacier Bay.
By 9am, three Glacier Bay National Park rangers had boarded the Island Princess at the park's headquarters, Bartlett Cove, and we began our ascent up Glacier Bay. At 10am, one of the park rangers gave an overview of the history of Glacier Bay in the Princess Theater; it was simulcast on channel 45 of our cabin TV. It was wonderful to sit, alternately, on our balcony and in our cabin watching her presentation while enjoying the passing scenery.
We had quite a discovery yesterday...while we spent last cruise bundled up in pool towels while on our balcony, we learned that tartan blankets are available for check out for the duration of the cruise from a desk on Deck 14 between the two pools. As it turned out, we've really needed them these past two days.
At 11:30am, the Taste of Alaska buffet was served on the open Lido Deck, something else we missed last cruise in our zeal to see the glaciers from every possible vantage point. Today we took platefuls of seafood and bowls of chowder back to our cabin, and spent our time in Glacier Bay trying to stay warm by going from cabin to balcony and back again.
Nice as it was, it wasn't like Monday. Each day we've been in Alaska we've been told, time and again, how lucky we were to have what was truly the best weather of the entire summer on our first cruise. Our weather the past couple of days has been much more typical, and I think our postcard-quality photos may be a thing of the past.
In a reverse of the order of our last visit, we stopped first in front of the Lamplugh Glacier. This is the glacier in the Johns Hopkins Inlet that we saw in partial cloudiness on Monday; it was no brighter today.
As we slowly made our way into Tarr Inlet we were thrilled by the wildlife we saw: a humpback whale first spotted by its water spout gave us a final flick of its tail before it disappeared totally from view; thousands of kittiwakes (grounded by the fog?) huddled on the icebergs and berger bits; and, finally, a Stellar sea lion in all its glory, held court over a large piece of ice, twisting its head around to keep an eye on the ship.
The Grand Pacific Glacier that carved all of Glacier Bay was reduced today to a black mass of terminal moraine (see what I've learned!). The mountains peaks behind it and the glacier itself were totally obscured by the fog. Luckily, we were still able to get a good, extended look at Margerie Glacier, with some significant groaning and calving. Actually, the glacier did appear bluer under grey skies than in full sun, and the crevasses were much more evident than they had been earlier in the week.
But now, as we're making our way back down Tarr Inlet, with the rock walls carved by the Grand Pacific glacier just feet from our balcony, I am huddled in our cabin trying to warm up. G headed for a hot tub while the Margerie Glacier was still fading from view.
Cold. I am SO cold. While we were up on the Lido Deck to get our Taste of Alaska lunch, it was raining that thick rain that stops just short of being snow. Once again, I am so happy that we are not only in a balcony cabin, but a balcony cabin that is so well covered by the overhang of the Lido Deck above. We have yet to have any moisture at all on our balcony or its furniture...again today we saw people down on Caribe and Dolphin decks drying off their chairs with pool towels. A larger balcony is worthless if it's wet.
Anyway, promotion of Aloha Deck cabins aside, today is one of the three coldest days I've ever experienced on a cruise (Hobart, Tasmania and Punta Arenas, Chile being the other two). I must be drinking ten cups of coffee (G makes certain they're all decaf) every day trying to stay warm. I'd love to be sitting in a hot tub but can't bear the thought of getting out of it. Instead, I'm curled up under the duvet trying to get warm.
I promise I won't complain about 100 degree heat ever again. This summer. In August. We are unrecognizable from the couple who used to ski when the temperature at the base of the mountain was below zero. Two winters in the Caribbean have thinned our blood and made us wimpy!
Photo 1: entering Glacier Bay National Park
Photos 2-5: the Taste of Alaska buffet and our view for our Glacier Bay cruise