Wednesday, August 29, 2018

A Final Day at Sea

We had specifically planned the big anniversary party for the night before a full day at sea.  This way we figured everyone could sleep in and perhaps recuperate.  What we forgot to take into account was that we really did have one more stop on the cruise even though we didn't have to get off of the boat because we would be passing by the Hubbard Glacier.  And even though we weren't getting off the ship, we still had to be awake.  Because even if you didn't get out of bed to see the glacier, you were indeed going to be awoken by the captain and his horn blaring through the fog (I guess I understand the necessity) and the loudspeaker barking tidbits of information about the area.  And since we were up at the crack of dawn (or the crack of 8, it just seemed like dawn after last nights bedtime), we might as well go see what the ruckus was about. And this is what confronted me off my balcony...



It was cool but certainly not anything to get riled up about.  Especially if you have seen random blue chunks of ice floating past you before.  And I had.  We had taken a cruise through the fjords of Patagonia to see the San Rafael Glacier.  And since everyone else in my room was still sleeping, I also went back to bed.  But sleep was not to be found again.  B was kind enough to bring me coffee, so I got up and back out to the balcony.  By now, the rest of the family was up and out there also, so we had coffee together, on four separate balconies, all in a row, just waiting for the fog to reveal the glacier.


From the far left our balconies were ours (not shown), then Chris and Pam (shown but she is out of the picture), next was Bre and Max (hands can be seen) and then Pat and Sarah (you can see Pat).  And then the Bridge, from where the captain was making his announcements.

 Now, this was a fun piece of ice floating past...

At this point, we all got dressed and headed over to Nana and Grampa's room because the captain was maneuvering the boat into position for their side of the ship to be facing the glacier.  We opened their balcony up and listened as the glacier calved massive icebergs into the water at a rate of about 1 every 2-3 minutes.  It is incredible to watch the ice fall and then hear the crash seconds later.  And it is also interesting to note how loud it really is!


The glacier itself is about 122 km long (90 miles) and, contrary to so many other glaciers in the world, it is still advancing.  And calving - which just means that pieces of ice fall off the front of the glacier and into the water, creating icebergs large and small.  Interesting to note, it takes almost 400 years for the ice to make it from the back to the front of the glacier, so the ice falling into the water in the video above and the photo below is over 400 years old.


You can only stare at a stationary object for so long (it's like watching grass grow), so we all headed back to our rooms for a little more rest because we still had about an hour left before we could navigate our colossal ship back out into the open waters.  And if you remember the fate of the Titanic, you do not want your captain to move too quickly in iceberg-infested waters.

 My final view on the way out.

 We hit open waters mid-morning, and that was the end of my cruise.  For the rest of the day, I fought off sea sickness like none I have experienced before.  My patch was no longer working, the medicine I picked up from the doctor was worthless, and I even tried the wristbands to no avail.  I did make it upright for the wine tasting at 4 pm but couldn't get anything down, so I headed back upstairs to lie down.  I attempted dinner also but had to leave before my meal was ever served (not that I would have been able to eat it anyway).  I bid everyone farewell, laid down in bed and slept fitfully.  When the ship finally stopped at 4 am as we docked in Seward I eventually fell into a deep sleep until we had to wake.  Which was early because we had to catch a bus to Anchorage and then our flight to Seattle.  We left about 7 am and drove 3 hours to the capital, passing some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable...

  Somewhere just outside of Anchorage.

Help keep the bears away...No Fish Guts.

Moose!

 It was a whirlwind as we all said our goodbyes and took off in different directions towards home.  Or in our case, to Seattle for more vacation time.  It was a truly epic vacation.  A grand celebration.  A once in a lifetime.  And a cruise we won't soon forget!  Thanks for the great time Alaska.  Hope to see you again soon.










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