Wow, what an introduction to Southeast Alaska! Our day started at
Holkham Bay, crossing the bar surrounded by surf scoters, Bonaparte’s gull,
loons, marbled murrelets, and pigeon guillemots. As we started down Endicott
Arm, we were soon interrupted by two brown bears and a multitude of bald eagles
along the shoreline. One brown bear searched at the foot of an iceberg left
high and dry by the tide as a bald eagle watched from atop—a quintessential
Southeast Alaskan view.
The surprises didn’t stop as we continued up the fjord. Before
lunch we happened across a black bear in the middle of the arm. It rested on an
iceberg as we watched, in total shock at what we were seeing. It soon looked to
find a way off the iceberg to continue its journey across Endicott, but the ice
gave out and in it went! As we departed, we watched it swim off to another
iceberg, not quite ready to give up resting.
And the day didn’t stop after lunch! After eating, we headed out
on Zodiacs into the ice-filled end of Endicott Arm. As we weaved around the
icebergs, we took in the side valleys out of which poured rivers from the
tongues of hanging glaciers tucked into the back of each U-shaped valley. The
cloudy day accentuated the blue of the large bergs we encountered, providing
the perfect light for Dawes Glacier’s works of art. At last we approached
Dawes’ face and watched ice calve into the fjord with the sound of white
thunder not far behind. After returning to the ship, we settled into dinner and
eased out of the fjord as rain and night began to fall.
