| Our Trip | Pre-Cruise | Fri-Board | Sat-College Fjord | Sun-Glacier Bay | Mon-Sitka | Home |
| Tue-Juneau | Wed-Ketchikan | Thu-Inside Passage | Fri-Vancouver | Ship Tour | Panoramas | Back |
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My Portrait
Photography
My Nature Photography
8:00 AM thru 6:00 PM
We woke up in port and looked out to see the Tramway station and the offices for Orca Eco Tours. Talk about convenient, off the ship and we at our excursion with Captain Larry!
Once again we had breakfast at Rotterdam. A much more relaxed way to start the day when you will be so busy later.
We booked our own tour with Orca Eco Tours and Captain Larry. This tour came highly recommended by others are we had very high hopes. When we reached the office they checked us very quickly. They had a Papillion dog there which the girls were real happy to see, as they have Papillion puppies at home which they missed. The loaded into a van and off we went.
On board was Captain Larry and the naturalist. Captain Larry really doesn't say much unless you address him directly, he just stays focused the trip. They give the standard safety information discussion before you leave. They also explain about the upper deck and how many people can be above at one time. One thing to note, there is overhead storage for your stuff that everyone seems to overlook.
We had been on the water maybe 10-15 minutes when we came upon Orcas. This is where I learned one of the problems with consumer grade digital cameras. They tend to lag a between the time you want to take the photo and the camera does. My SLR is instant. Of course the best picture I missed as I was switching cameras when the Orca came closest to our boat.
According to Federal Laws, our boat could not approach any closer than 100 yards to a whale. Well we expected most pictures to look like the first one here as we could not "chase" the whales.
As luck would have it the whales were bubble net feeding. This is where a group of whales hunt together by making a "net ring" out of bubbles. This "net" confuses the fish who remain in the bubbles. The whales then all surface through the middle of the net at once, feasting on the fish. Our group had at least 9 whales in it.
Captain Larry lowered a hydrophone in the water so we could hear the whales. They start singing 15-30 seconds before they surface. It served as a get ready signal to us. As luck would have it, when he turned off the engines, he had predicted where the whales were headed. The whales ignored the 100 yard rule and got within 15-20 yards of our boat. Imagine 9 whales coming to the surface that close. It was amazing. Captain Larry must have been excited too, as he had grabbed his camera and was snapping away just like the rest of us.
Finally we had to go as the whales waved farewell with the classic whale tail photos.
As we head back to dock we did get the chance to see some seals and eagles. This trip was much better than imagined. It is all the luck of they day, but we did see other tours that did not stay with the whales as long, or "get lucky" and place their boats in the probably path of the whales.
As we had booked our tours together, Orca Eco Tours took us to meet the Costal Helicopter Tours van and we were on our way. We had booked the Adventure tour.
We arrived almost an hour before our tour, so we had some time to relax and chat with the staff. They were very friendly and informative. We recommend you wear some good hiking shoes for this tour. They do have boots that slip over you shoes if needed, but they are kind of bulky. Soon enough it our helicopter arrived and it was time to board.
The flight over the glaciers and ice field was amazing. The size of this was hard to imagine. The boulders in the third picture looked so small from the air. We we landed we could see they were bigger than a school bus. The force that these glacier exert is incredible.
You're probably looking at the picture and wondering why I would carry a tripod to the top of a glacier. The use of the tripod was required to shoot the panorama. I was very pleased with the result.
View the panorama of the glacier landing here.
Exploring the glacier was very interesting. Some of the crevices were very deep. The colors and clarity of the ice was something I had never seen before. Walking was slippery and you did need to be very careful. You could slip and fall into some pretty nasty areas. Our pilot made sure we were aware of the dangers and helped us whenever needed.
As you can see the cloud cover was a little low, so I was a bit nervous as once you enter a cloud you are easily disoriented. Our pilot was obviously very well aware of this, and not once did he even come close to enter these clouds and always went around if the flight path was not clear.
Along the flight we saw many water falls and several times we passed mountain goats. The pilot would make two passes so each side of the helicopter could see any major attraction.
Tonight's dining was informal. The theme was yummy.
I started with Alaskan Delicacies, Broadway Tomato Basil Soup, and Sweet Tomato Red Onion and Basil Chiffonade. For my entrees I feasted on Roasted Rack of Lamb Aromatic and the Pork Chop. The appetizer and the soup were excellent, the salad was good. The lamb was good and to my surprise the pork chop was excellent (didn't think you pork chops could taste that good).
For dessert I had Tiramisu (one of my favorites) and the Crepes Suzette. The desserts were passable. In general the desserts lagged behind the meals every evening. Me and my eldest then headed to the Ice Cream bar for Pistachio Waffle Cones - best Pistachio ice cream I've had.
The usual pre-show activity was taking place. I felt it was a little risqué considering kids were there waiting for the main show.
The regular show was cancelled due to the entertainment not making the ship. We had the singer Bobby Black and the Magician Les McKinney. The show was entertaining - more for some than others as I will get to in a minute. The show began with magic. As often occurs, a volunteer from the audience is required. My oldest daughter was picked to go up on stage. She took part in two routines and had a great time.
Next he needed an adult to assist, and I got chosen (never make eye contact). It was a good illusion, as I was right there and did not see a thing.
Next the singer Bobby Black came out to sing. He was very good. Apparently he hadn't watched Les McKinney's show as he needed a young girl to sing to and chose my daughter (she was just beaming). Then he need an adult for the next part and chose me (why did I look up). He wanted me to sing to my wife. Well this was a HUGE mistake, as you do not want to hear me sing (the government has me sing to prisoners to elicit confessions). He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I did it against my better judgment. After all it was in keeping in the spirit of having fun.
The next few days, both me and my daughter were recognized everywhere.
What a day we had, after a good nights sleep we'll be in Ketchikan.
| Our Trip | Pre-Cruise | Fri-Board | Sat-College Fjord | Sun-Glacier Bay | Mon-Sitka | Home |
| Tue-Juneau | Wed-Ketchikan | Thu-Inside Passage | Fri-Vancouver | Ship Tour | Panoramas | Back |
|
|
