We woke up with the ship docked at the pier in Juneau, AK.
Quaint little buildings pier side, but perhaps not as quaint as Ketchikan. The buildings here near the water hug the walls of the canyon or fjord that makes up this part of the harbor.
Two back to back excursions today....
The first was for Whale Watching in Auke Bay. After yesterday's incredibly close encounters with whales at Icy Strait Point, this outing proved an expensive disappointment.
Crowded conditions, pushy morons, rain and wind all contributed to lousy whale watching conditions. Not that the whales that were spotted did much to justify the effort. I took zero pictures and instead napped while the morons moved from one side of the boat to the other in a vain attempt to get a shot. My friend Larry tried at first but even he gave up in the end.
A copy of the type of whale watching boat the tour booked.
IMHO, waste of time and money.
The second excursion was to the Mendenhall Glacier. I found it to be crowded with inconsiderate fellow tourists walking into one's shot with no care or regard.
I skipped the visitor but am told there's a good video on the Glacier. The photos of us at the glacier show no people, that's because I removed them while post-processing the shots.
Mendenhall Glacier from Photo Point
Closer view of the glacier ice, the blue portions
are recently uncovered ice....the true color of the
compressed ice making up the glacier.
Larry in front of Nugget Falls
Another view of the glacier at a spot I found
away from the crowds
View of the Glacier from the parking lot
satellite view of the glacier
It rained on us, mostly light rain. Apparently rain is the normal condition for this part of Alaska.
Back at the ship, we had lunch and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We saw five cruise ships in the harbor as we neared our own ship. No wonder it was so crowded. Sadly, the morons we encountered were from our own ship. Oh well.
3 comments:
Not a cruise ship fan, eh? Or you need to find a different type of cruise that attracts a different group...
The glacier is spectacular nonetheless. It's just that time of the year when tourists from all over the world flock into this place. Come back in fall, and you'll likely be on your own, Dom.
Bummer that the whale watching tour didn't work out for you guys. I did an eco tour once on Vancouver Island, at Telegraph Cove, and still get goosebumps over the memories of watching orcas, humpbacks and other wildlife. Tourism was limited as it was in September (2004).
RichardM, Not a fan of pushy people when being so inconsiderate gains you nothing....the idiots were stuck, just like we were...
SonjaM.....it's all about luck it seems at times. I think once we experienced our close encounters with whales at Icy Strait Point, whatever we might see at Auke Bay was going to pale in comparison.
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