The Volendam sailed into Glacier Bay early on the morning of
the fifth day of our cruise. The first thing I noticed as we moved further into
the bay was that the ship’s engines had slowed down and the water became
calmer. Then as Shirley and I strolled around the promenade deck, she pointed
out chunks of ice floating in the water. Gradually, the Volendam drew closer to
the shore and finally as we reached the end of the fjord I could see and hear the
glacier. The Margerie Glacier was calving.
The foot of the glacier appeared as a tall, wide sheet of
ice and snow. While this was spectacular
in itself, for me, it was the sound that really caught my attention. Every so
often there would be a resounding crack and chunks of ice would fall away from
the main sheet. Sometimes these would rumble down from nearer the top and at
other times the ice would separate into smaller boulders and tumble into the
water of the bay. I was surprised at how close the ship was able to come to the
shore but the captain announced that we were still in 600 feet of water. Although
I didn’t see any wildlife, others commented that they could see sea otters and
an occasional bear.
I have attached three pictures with this post. They show the
glacier from different angles. In the
third picture, I am standing in the foreground. I am wearing a winter jacket
and a toque. It was the only time during our cruise that I felt the necessity
for both. It was definitely chilly!
 |
| The Margerie Glacier angle 1 |
 |
| The Margerie Glacier angle 2 |
 |
| The Margerie Glacier angle with Sue in the foreground |
No comments:
Post a Comment