Day 9 - Sep 8, 2000 Last updated: 9/9/00 8:30pm AKDT
Another day, another boat tour. We originally intended to space these two tours out by 6 days, but that wasn’t meant to be. The one we went on yesterday was the rescheduled one. This trip was out of Seward on Resurrection Bay. The bay was originally named Easter Bay by the Russians, but the translation got messed up when the US bought Alaska from them.
This boat tour was also 6 hours, but it was from 8am to 2pm and we had to arrive at the dock at 7am. The boat looked exactly the same as yesterday’s boat, except for the logo. It was owned by the same company. This tour was suppose to see more wildlife where yesterday’s tour was to see more glaciers.
We saw two eagles on the way out of port.
Here’s a group of steller sea lions. We also saw a lonely harbor seal, many puffins, cormorants, and other birds I was unable to identify.
Lucky us, today we saw more orcas. The captain estimated that there were about 35 orcas in the pod (group).
Then the trip got ugly. The wind started to blow big time, kicking up big swells, and rocking the boat something fierce. One of the crew members said there were sustained winds of 60 mph, with gusts up to 85 mph. The captain called it a little breezy. The winds started just as we made it out to the one glacier we were suppose to look at, but we didn’t stay there long.
The boat was rocking so much that even I got a little queasy, and I don’t have a problem with motion sickness (no, I didn’t hurl). It was straight back to port for the boat (which took 2 hours). Good thing there was a heated cabin. Some crazy people were sitting on the bow (front) and getting soaked as the boat rocked up and down, splashing very cold water onto them. Denise said it was cold, because she was headed to the little girls room (which has outdoor access, not cabin access), and as she opened the door, a huge wave rushed over the side and soaked her. Made her laugh.
Made it back safe and sound. Weather was great in Seward. The bank sign in town said 60 F when we went out to dinner (Ray’s Waterfront – seafood restaurant). Here’s a view from our hotel balcony.