Our second day in Seward, we woke up, grabbed breakfast at our hotel, and caught the shuttle to the small boat harbor in downtown Seward. We were heading off on a 6-hour boat tour into the Kenai Fjords. We quickly stopped at the local hardware store to buy some binoculars (which mom has had on her list for a few years now), and then we wandered through the gift shop until our boat was ready to depart around 11:15 AM.
We started the boat trip by exiting Resurrection Bay. We enjoyed a warm lunch while the boat made its way through the fjord and out towards the ocean. Only about an hour into our ride, after catching sight of puffins, sea birds, and a seal we slowed down with rumors of a whale sighting. Suddenly, we were seeing seven blow spouts and humpbacks and tails of humpback whales. For at least half an hour, we followed the whales as they participated in more and more complex fishing rituals that culminated in one of the most magical moments I’d ever seen. At least four times, the whales went below the surface, circled around, and popped out of the water with only a few bubbles for warning. At one point, they were essentially performing this ritual right in front of our ship, so close you could see the barnacles on them. The girls who were working on the boat said they’d never seen such a good showing by the whales, and it did certainly feel like something special.
It was hard to shift gears back to the rest of the tour, but the tour certainly delivered on everything it had promised and more. We saw a number of sea lions, two sea otters, some more seals and puffins, several other sea birds, sea stars, and some jellyfish.
We also ended up visiting a glacier up close and personal (or about a half-mile away, as up-close and personal as you’d want to get for a glacier that was calving, or falling, into the water). We watched the glacier for a while, waiting to see and hear the ice break off and fall into the water, forming new icebergs that sea creatures like seals use as nesting floes.
From the glacier, it was finally time to turn back. We retraced our route, pulling into different inlets to catch sight of yet more sea lions and sea birds. We were given warm cookies on our way back and were able to comfortably enjoy the pull into the harbor (accompanied by a harbor seal). After the tour, we wandered through the town, walking in and out of gift shops. We made our way to dinner on the waterfront, where I had Alaskan crab legs, Becca had salmon (again), and mom had crab cakes. From there, we grabbed some ice cream before finally heading back to our hotel room.
WANDERING 