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My
brother gifted us with this tour, and we were blessed with a gloriously
clear day. A nine-hour boat trip through crystal clear blue calm
waters, snow covered mountains spilling with glaciers, blue skies
- what an amazing cruise!
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We
saw almost every kind of wildlife available in that environment.
Eagles soared in the blue sky and we passed by sanctuaries where
a multitude of birds live, even some very rare birds that some people
came all the way from South Africa for. My favorite were the precious
puffins in their rather pathetic looking attempts to lift themselves
above the water.
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At
various points we sat in the still seas and watched a pod
of orcas, saw some humpbacks, sea otters, sea lions, and porpoises
playing alongside the boat's wake.
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By
the time we got to the northwestern glacier, we were stunned by
the sound of the groaning noises the massive moving ice makes and
the roar as huge chunks fall into the ocean creating icebergs that
float by the boat.
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After
one spectacular display, the captain said we had just witnessed
a 600 foot chunk of ice "calving" from the glacier. It's
hard to tell in the picture, but thar she blows!
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One
of the tour guides remarked that we just didn't realize how lucky
we were - loads of sunshine and smooth sailing, seeing all the animals
everyone wants to see, along with the biggest calving she had seen
all season. We felt doubly blessed and triply tired by the time
we got home hoarse from all the "wowing" and "Oh
my Gods" we kept exclaiming. My arm was almost bruised from
my mom's constant nudging me to "look at that - just look at
that!"
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