Today was one for the record books. We woke up to a blue-sky day in the breathtaking Glacier Bay National Park. We were immediately brought out to the bow to observe Margerie Glacier from National Geographic Sea Lion. Seeing a tidewater glacier is not something that we will soon forget, and we were lucky enough to witness a few calving events. Observing huge chunks of ice falling hundreds of feet with a thunderous crack is magical.
Once we left, we had an amazing breakfast before heading out again to see two more beautiful glaciers, the Lamplugh and Johns Hopkins. As we sailed south, we headed towards a place called Russell Cut. Here we immediately saw a male and female brown bear walking along the shoreline. They were not bothered by us at all, and we were able to get some amazing views of them. We then took a break from the bow to enjoy yet another delicious lunch.
Well fed, we came back out to the bow to enjoy another wildlife hotspot called Gloomy Knob. Here we saw mountain goats, humpback whales, tufted puffins, golden eagles, bald eagles, and yet another brown bear. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience, and it was hard to know where to look.
We then continued sailing while listening to a presentation on carbon sequestering by naturalist Jeff Campbell. Then we headed back onto the bow for our final wildlife hotspot of the day, South Marble Island. We immediately saw hundreds of Steller sea lions, breaching humpback whales, a massive bird colony, sea otters, and even more tufted puffins. It was sensory overload and truly an amazing day here in Glacier Bay.
After dinner and cocktail hour, we docked at Bartlett Cove. We were able to get off the ship and stretch our legs on a variety of hikes led by the natural history staff. Today was one that will never be forgotten, and we are looking forward to tomorrow on National Geographic Sea Lion.
