Waking up this morning, everyone was thinking we were going to get rain most of the day and possibly lots of fog as we had seen on and off over the last two days. Pleasantly, to our surprise the weather forecast looked to be largely inaccurate. As we entered Glacier Bay we picked up two guests; Fred George (Tlingit Cultural Interpreter) and Nichole Schaub (Glacier Bay Park Ranger) who were both planning on sharing with us their unique jobs and perspectives
Our first destination today brought us to South Marble Island, a small bit of rock known for its density of birds. As we approached everyone was outside, binoculars up, searching for any movement on the shoreline and in the water. Shortly, we saw a large group of tufted puffins swimming through the water and showing off their beautiful colors. Not even ten minutes later a family of goats was spotted climbing the steep slippery slopes of a surrounding mountain. This was only to be topped by a breaching whale just on the starboard side of the ship.
Later in the day we had the pleasure of learning about the Tlingit culture and how they survived in these far reaches of the world. As this amazing presentation came to an end, we were just entering the Tarr Inlet. At the end of this inlet is a most spectacular view of the Marguerite Glacier. This glacier is one mile wide, 250 feet tall with another 100 feet below the water’s surface and is 21 miles long and moving at a rate of seven feet per day. As we all admired the size and beauty, we saw some amazing calving. With each calving the kittiwakes were feasting on fish being stunned by osmotic shock after the fallen ice chunks slam into the water. We then continued on to John Hopkins Glacier, which is one of the few glaciers in the world still advancing.
What an amazing day aboard National Geographic Sea Bird!
