Juneau (24 May)
First task today was to deliver the keys to Fred. Having done that, a shuttle collected us at 7.55 and we went to the jetty to board the MV Fiordlander. It had collected some passengers in Skagway and then our 24 plus another half dozen. We set off down the fiord in good conditions. We were lucky to have good conditions all day, even some occasional sun.
While some of the passengers were travelling to Juneau where they would go to the airport, this trip is mostly a tourist excursion and the majority are booked for a return trip. The skipper, Glenn Jackson, was from Kansas; a lot of Alaskans are from somewhere else, but the plains of Kansas to the fiords of Eastern Alaska seems a big contrast. Glen meandered the boat to show us stuff he knew would be there. First up were the Steller Sealions:
On the way back we saw some others who may have been at their bachelor pad. They are all gray and there were only a few gray ones (males) at the colony so we suspect that these are juvenile males, hanging out until they are big enough to challenge for a place on the beach. Maybe they were there to see tourists.
Next up we saw a humpback whale. She's well known to the mariners because of distinctive markings. She was circling schools of fish, compressing them into a tighter bunch, and then lunging with her mouth open to gobble them up. The cycle would repeat every 3 or 4 minutes. It was like watching an Attenborough show except we didn't get the underwater shots.
Along the way we say a few birds, especially bald eagles and surf scoties (pronounced with a long "o"). Groups of up to a dozen scoties skimmed about 10 cm over the water looking for fish. Apparently they are on the fiords until the ice melts in the lakes and they will move inland then.
Juneu itself was a disappointment. Full of tourist tak, recently relocated from the Carribean. There were three cruiseships so no shortage of customers. We walked a bit, ate, visited a salmon hatchery. The hatchery was a not-for-profit enterprise, capturing returning males and females, stripping them of their eggs and sperm, making a soup of it, raising the hatchlings and releasing them.
The trip back showed more birds, sealions, whales, glaciers, etc. There's only about 2 or 3 hours of dark here at present so running out of light isn't a big risk. Even the "dark" doesn't require a torch for a walk.
On our return the wonderful Fred had reapired our water so all was well. We could shower indoors.
While some of the passengers were travelling to Juneau where they would go to the airport, this trip is mostly a tourist excursion and the majority are booked for a return trip. The skipper, Glenn Jackson, was from Kansas; a lot of Alaskans are from somewhere else, but the plains of Kansas to the fiords of Eastern Alaska seems a big contrast. Glen meandered the boat to show us stuff he knew would be there. First up were the Steller Sealions:
On the way back we saw some others who may have been at their bachelor pad. They are all gray and there were only a few gray ones (males) at the colony so we suspect that these are juvenile males, hanging out until they are big enough to challenge for a place on the beach. Maybe they were there to see tourists.
Next up we saw a humpback whale. She's well known to the mariners because of distinctive markings. She was circling schools of fish, compressing them into a tighter bunch, and then lunging with her mouth open to gobble them up. The cycle would repeat every 3 or 4 minutes. It was like watching an Attenborough show except we didn't get the underwater shots.
Along the way we say a few birds, especially bald eagles and surf scoties (pronounced with a long "o"). Groups of up to a dozen scoties skimmed about 10 cm over the water looking for fish. Apparently they are on the fiords until the ice melts in the lakes and they will move inland then.
Juneu itself was a disappointment. Full of tourist tak, recently relocated from the Carribean. There were three cruiseships so no shortage of customers. We walked a bit, ate, visited a salmon hatchery. The hatchery was a not-for-profit enterprise, capturing returning males and females, stripping them of their eggs and sperm, making a soup of it, raising the hatchlings and releasing them.
The trip back showed more birds, sealions, whales, glaciers, etc. There's only about 2 or 3 hours of dark here at present so running out of light isn't a big risk. Even the "dark" doesn't require a torch for a walk.
On our return the wonderful Fred had reapired our water so all was well. We could shower indoors.
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