Glistening icebergs, teal water, and towering rock faces greeted us aboard National Geographic Venture as we awoke in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. We spent the first hours of morning sailing landward through Tracy Arm as the greenery around us shifted from dense spruce forests to patches of shrubby alder and willow. After breakfast, we set out on small boat tours towards the face of the South Sawyer Glacier, the massive tidewater glacier responsible for carving the narrow channels of the fjord. As we darted in between growlers, bergy bits, and icebergs, we approached the glacier face: an imposing wall of glittering blue and frosty white ice, rising high above the water’s edge.

After returning to the ship, we spent a relaxing afternoon cruising northward with calm seas, intermittent sunshine, and gentle Southeast Alaskan drizzle. We ended the day by watching a slideshow of the memories we created together throughout the expedition— the icing on top of an incredible week aboard National Geographic Venture.