Friday, July 24, 2009 – Le Conte Bay
Alaskan Icebergs
The icebergs in Alaska were not nearly as large as those in Antarctica but still beautiful to see. Captain Mike is a maestro behind the ships wheel; he maneuvered us within feet of the iceberg so we could get up close for photos. Shannon and I laughed at the similarities between this trip and the trip we took to the southern hemisphere; here we are yet again – bundled up on the deck of ship taking loads of pictures of ice, vistas, and rocky terrain. Freezing our tushies off. Totally worth it.

Mac Daddy Glacier – from far away
Mac Daddy Glacier – closer
Mac Daddy Glacier – inches away
Le Conte Glacier in Le Conte Bay
Le Conte Bay is an area where most cruise ships can’t get to because of the narrowness and shallowness of the water leading to the bay. The benefit of not taking a cruise (as if we even need to detail those reasons) is that we have a more intimate experience. Just the 22 of us. The Bay is one that’s been carved out by a glacier (aptly named Le Conte Glacier), approximately 250’ at the face and .9 mile across at its lowest point. As with all glaciers it was full of blues and turquoises and massive chunks that carved off with a loud, thundering roar. Captain Mike expertly navigated through the little bergies of ice to get us closer and closer to the glacier, and with the engines off we sat and listened to the quiet of the Bay, interrupted occasionally by another thunder of massive ice falling into the water and echoing off the walls of the canyon.

Le Conte Glacier – with cloud from thunderous iceberg carving on bottom right
Me, Shan, Glacier
The Nautilus navigating the bergie bits
Iceberg Swim
Mike moved the Nautilus a safe distance from the glacier and into quiet waters for our next outing: an iceberg swim. Diving around icebergs is difficult because fresh-water runoff mixes with the salt water and makes visibility terrible and there’s really no reason to freeze underwater with nothing to see. (Much like what we experienced the first 5-8 feet of the jelly dives) So the group planned a swim instead. For this adventure we suited up in our dry suits and fins and kicked over to a nearby (and stable-looking) iceberg. Shannon used one of the spare dry suits Peter had brought from the shop and we jumped into the cold water, where our iceberg was already dotted with swimmers who looked a great deal like seals from the distance of the boat.

Dave and Anat swimming to the iceberg
Me and Shannon (drysuit #2!) on the way to the iceberg
Picture by Guido
Playing around the iceberg. (That’s me, with my black fins sticking out of the water)
Picture by Guido
Dano had taken some passengers out on a Zodiac tour and was at the berg when I arrived, floating happily on my back and taking in the view.
Dano: “Heidi can I get you a drink?”
Me: “Oh, sure. Hah! A martini.” (I don’t drink martinis, so ordering one seemed as ridiculous as putting in a drink order floating next to an iceberg.)
Dano: “Seriously. I’m bringing an Alaskan beer back for Dave. How about an Alaskan in Alaska?”
Me: “Really? Okay!”
So Dan and the zodiac took off to the Nautilus with an order for four Alaskans and one scotch on the rocks. Immediately Dave cracked, “The service in this place is terrible. I swear I ordered my drink like five minutes ago.”

Meg arrives via zodiak with beer
Anat, with an Alaskan in Alaska
And this is how we ended up lounging on an iceberg, drinking beer.

Iceberg loafers (Shannon and I are on the upper left)
Picture by Guido
I was one of the last people out, so I upgraded to more of a boulder rather than a kickboard. Guido took an hilarious series photos of me trying to keep my balance.

Me and my ice boulder – nicely balanced
Picture by Guido
Ooohhhh… a little right-heavy
Picture by Guido
Oh… Oh… Moving a little to the left
Picture by Guido
Aaaaannnnddd… she’s done.
Picture by Guido
Iceberg Tour
In the afternoon we moved locations out of the bay and into a slew of larger icebergs. Dan took us out on a Zodiac tour through the bergs where we got loads of gorgeous photos – and a rare shot of a bald eagle perched on an iceberg.

Bald eagle on an iceberg
Pretty colors
Shannon, me, and an iceberg
Hot Tubbing
We were all cold after the swim and ‘berg tour so we had a hot tub party, lounging in the warm jets and watching the icebergs pass as Mike motored the Nautilus out of glacier waters.

Hot tubbers Dave, Shannon, and Anat
Distracted by the gorgeous view
Petersburg and Eagle Watching
We passed through Petersburg, where many of the fisherman from Deadliest Catch live and watched hopefully for eagles and/or bear along the waterline. No luck for either, unfortunately, though we did keep watch through dinner. Shannon spied one eagle far off in the trees as we rode by it.
Inspired by a brief glimpse of blue sky and sunlight we scurried outside for pictures and light. (Note to self: we’ve had much discussion about Vitamin D deficiency on this trip. Shannon has convinced all of us that we should be taking more vitamins.)

Petersberg
Playing Scubaopoly
Sunset
Just for fun (and because there’s no where else to logically put them) here some pics of our cabin and the ship:

Our little cabin with the sink in the middle
Little Loo
Little Shower
Bathroom on the left, shower on the right.
Kayaks at sunset
Big ropes
My stuff