Fjords, Glaciers and Icebergs

July 5

What a glorious morning we had cruising the Endicott Arm heading for Dawes Glacier, probably one the best glacial experiences that we have ever had. This was our first time in this arm and seeing Dawes and we found it to be spectacular. Most of the other ships don’t get the opportunity to even sail into this section of the glaciers but our captain got permission to enter this arm instead of the normal trip into Sawyer Glacier.

We went up to the Windjammer Buffet at 6am to just grab a cup of coffee and then watch the glacier. But instead we spent the next couple of hours narrating and answering questions from the hundreds of guests. Donna stayed in the Windjammer and walked around the restaurant helping the guests understand glaciers in general and this glacier in particular. John went outside to do the same on different decks.  It felt really good to be able to explain about glaciers and also to answer the many questions that the guests and waiters had for us. As Donna moved around the room to point out the baby seals and the information on glaciers, she lost her coffee cup and muffin three different times. The waiters were overly efficient this morning.

After this spectacular couple of hours watching the calving and the beautiful scenery our ship heading back down the arm toward the open ocean.

We decided to attend the lecture given by the other guest lecturer aboard. His name is Aaron Zelmer and he is a retired RCMP. He was decked out in his mounty uniform and looked splendid. We enjoyed listening to another lecturer and learned about some of the early history of the mounted police.

After listing to Aaron informative talk, we dressed in our lecturing clothes and soon gave our final lecture. We didn’t get a huge turnout due primarily to the time we were assigned to speak--lunch time. The guests who came were interested in our topic of the Great Pacific Northwest.

We ate a late lunch and then had time to relax, read and watch for wildlife. We also did our daily laps but since the weather was quite cold we walked inside circling the decks.

The evening show was one which saw on another ship but thoroughly enjoyed the second as much as the first. It is a group of middle aged guys performing a tribute show to the Temptations. Great entertainment this second time around.

This is our last work day on this cruise and tomorrow we plan on just relaxing and reading books with one eye on the lookout for wildlife. We have seen a little but hope for many more sightings.