Aialik tidewater glacier
This morning the sky showed some signs of blue when we awoke, so after breakfast we decided that we would try and book a cruise today. We signed up with Kenai Fjords Tours for an 11:30 departure, and the day turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip so far.
With the wind behind us from the north, it helped to flatten the swells coming in from the Gulf of Alaska, so the trip was never too rough. We saw a number of different kinds of animals and birds, including a pod of orca that we followed for some time, and saw a mother and baby swimming together. We also saw a young sea otter with its mother.
The mountains surrounding the fjords are spectacular, with high hanging glaciers and rugged peaks. The farthest point of the tour was Aialik Glacier, which is a large tidewater glacier. We spent about half an hour here, and the glacier calved several large chunks of ice. The noise of the glacier is very loud as it creaks and roars when the ice breaks free. There was a very strong wind blowing from the glacier, so strong that when the boat was travelling at speed into the wind it was very difficult to stand up against the force of the wind.
On the way back from the glacier we saw a single humpback whale. It dived and blew in the general vicinity of our boat for some time, then just as we were about to leave surfaced very close to our boat.
The day was capped by a great supper at “The Salmon Bake”. This restaurant was recommended to us by the clerk where we had our tire fixed yesterday, and although it is off the main path and a bit out of town, it was well worth the visit. Enid had her favourite, salmon, and I had halibut, and both were delicious. All in all, with a beautiful sunny day, and a great cruise, it has been a fantastic day.