Decent night’s sleep, although there was definitely a greater swell running than we’d been used to hitherto.
I hadn’t mentioned Jean’s struggles with conveying what it was she actually wanted to eat. Strawberries and cream proved mystifying, and as for a soft-boiled egg, well…… However, breakfast this morning went without a hitch.
A nice quiet start to the day, during which I was able to catch up with the blog and I found where the gym was…. Must try it sometime!
The plan was that the ship would draw as close to the Hubbard Glacier as was possible, dictated by a pilot from Yakutat and how much ice had broken off the glacier. In the end, he got pretty close, and Michael Scott, the resident naturalist, provided a running commentary on the Quietvox headsets which are such a great feature of Viking cruises.
The ship spun round at least twice so that everybody had a chance to take pictures of this superb natural spectacle. Here are a selection of mine:
Apparently, the front of this thing is around 400 feet high! It doesn’t look it from here, I have to say.
Apparently also, if Hubbard were to melt, sea levels would rise significantly around the world. It’s around 120 km long and 6 miles wide where it hits the sea. That’s a lot of ice!
Truly awesome, but it was cold – the glacier cools the air around it quite dramatically. So what else could we do but repair inside to the Explorer’s Lounge for a warming glass :
Jean had a pre-booked spa thingy, so off she went.
I attended the presentation in the theatre about our next destination – Icy Strait Point. Pretty desolate, but a chance to experience some native American culture. Being a cynic about these things, I imagine there will be plenty of, er, retail opportunities for the bloody tourists…. We’ll see tomorrow.
Should be a chance to take a cable car up the mountain for some decent views, anyway.
We both then heard a talk about the local indigenous people. Not uninteresting.
Thence to a very decent dinner once again – the lamb curry was delicious. Got talking to a couple at the next table, who have retired to Florida, but he was originally from Torquay!
To finish off the evening, we went to the theatre yet again to witness our Cruise Director, Damien Sollesse, deliver his own show as a singer. I wasn’t a massive fan of the material, but he was a genuinely good singer and it was an excellent show overall.
Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Leave a Reply