Whale watching in JUNEAU, ALASKA

We had slightly underestimated how cold it would be when we went bear-hunting, so for whale watching I wore everything I had packed. Like everything. 

...and the new Alaska hats we bought yesterday...

Although we had been up since verysillyoclock for the scenic sail up Tracy Arm Fjord that morning there was no danger of us falling asleep... we had to keep our eyes open for whales.

We had been told we would only see humpback whales and sure enough we  did  spot mother and baby fins a fair way away from the boat, but then came the shout that orcas has been spotted nearby (!!!) and the boat sped up to that area...

...and sure enough, in the Lynn Canal, we saw orcas.

They came right up to the boat!

This was my best attempt at getting a photo of one breaching... you can just see the tail!

...and one blowing...

It was both exciting and amusing... every time you pressed click on the camera, the whales had gone under or the boat moved! .... we were all leaning on each other trying to hold our cameras steady.  

What a great afternoon. ORCAS, folks, ORCAS!

 Juneau is only accessible by air or sea.  Although it is the capital of Alaska there are no direct roads leading to it. Juneau sits at sea level  below steep mountains and at the top of these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which 38 glaciers flow. After an exhilarating whale watch we were taken to one of these glaciers,  the Mendenhall Glacier. Very impressive but the Mendenhall glacier has been generally retreating; its front face is declining both in width and height- the visitors centre had some alarming photos to illustrate the fact. 

WHEN WE GET HOME,WE ARE GOING TO RECYCLE EVERY POSSIBLE THING.

The Juneau Icefield from above

Glacier ice is much much much MUCH denser than ice cube ice.

WOW! 200 years old. AMAZING!

And look what we saw on the way out of the coach park!!! A black BEAR up the tree!!!

We had had a full day but when we got back into town we made time for a visit to the RED DOG SALOON to sample some local ale. Oh my goodness. I've never been anywhere like it!  I felt like a proper cowgirl. Sawdust all over the floor, animal skins, graffiti, stuffed bears, it was fantastic.

We were back late so quick change for dinner and dog-sledding tomorrow in Skagway.

Tracy Arm Fjord, ALASKA

Tracy Arm is a magnificent glacier-carved fjord just south of Juneau. We were told we would be arriving at 5.30am (YES folks FIVE THIRTY!) so it was yet another early morning start. People on deck were huddled in blankets with their hands round mugs of tea...looking groggy to put it kindly, but it was so worth it to see Star Princess sail through blocks of ice up to the SAWYER GLACIER.

Sawyer Glacier is receding fast, so fast in fact that it could disappear altogether in about 40 years, as huge chunks of ice break off and plunge into the icy waters below.

Many of these chunks of ice are larger than several buses combined, so the effect can be simply jaw-dropping. Literally hundreds of waterfalls cascade down the sides of the fjord. It is a spectacular place.

Early morning mist.

SAWYER GLACIER

Some of the ice was a beautiful blue.

Some of the ice was like glass.

The video below (NOT SAWYER GLACIER!) demonstrates how dangerous glaciers can be. These peeps got more than they bargained for!

We lost count of how many breakfasts we had that day, was it 3 breakfasts with 5 cups of tea? But we would NEED them all because later that day we would be out in the freezing cold ...

WHALE WATCHING!!!!!!!

Bear hunting in KETCHIKAN, ALASKA

We picked up the Star Princess in Seattle and had the usual stomp round deck, visit to the gym, champagne night, etc as we sailed up to ALASKA and our first port of call was KETCHIKAN where we had booked a bear hunt. 

♫♪☺♪♫☺we're going on a bear hunt  ♫♪☺♪♫☺

♫♪☺♪♫☺ we're going on a bearhunt ♫♪☺♪♫☺

♫♪☺♪♫☺ we're going on a bear hunt ♫♪☺♪♫☺

Oh Em Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! A BEAR! A BLACK BEAR!

and another!

and another!!!!!

and a fourth!!!!!

...catching salmon!!!!

It was so exciting but we had to be TOTALLY TOTALLY COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY SILENT, otherwise the bears would have scuttled back into the forest. So we held our breath, the boat engine was turned off and we just sat and watched and clicked our cameras. AMAZING!

Neets Bay Cove is also home to  several majestic bald eagles...

...and the cutest seals lying on the rocks looking at us as if to say "What is all the fuss about?"

It was so, so cold but SO worth it, we saw FOUR BLACK BEARS! 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

We had enough time to look around the town (town?) of Ketchikan. It was no surprise really to see so many bear exhibits in all the shops.

It was like walking through a Wild West film set.

Creek Street isn't really a street, more like a row of wooden buildings perched over the water on pilings. There are brightly coloured boutiques here now which, in the past, catered to gentlemen in need of some female company! Ketchikan also boasts the largest collection of Northwest totem poles.

A great day. COLD,COLD,COLD but hey we saw 4 bears ...in ALASKA!