Alaska 2 – Whales and Glaciers

The next morning, we sailed into Icy Straits, AK, a port created by the cruise lines.  The dock is about 7 miles from the settlement of Hoonah, AK. http://www.visithoonah.com  Hoonah is primarily a settlement of the Tlingit tribe of Native Americans.  This link give some background on the little community of about 800 souls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoonah,_Alaska  

The main reason for the cruise terminal at Icy Straits was for the cruise lines to sell excursions for whale watching, bear watching and other assorted adventures.  

We took a whale watching trip out of Icy Straits, a small boat with 14 people total.  Some shots from that boat ride:

The mountains of Southeast Alaska

 

Orca Whales:  Actually a dolphin http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/killer-whale/

 

Humpback whale approaching the boat, you can just see his eye:
 

 

Humpback sounding:
 

If you are interested: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/cetaceans/humpback-whale.html

 

The Hubbard Glacier is the only glacier in the world that is advancing, growing instead of shrinking.  We spent more than an hour slowly circling in Disenchantment Bay, watching and listing to the glacier crackle, calve and pop.  Some pics:

 

Quite an impressive sight.  More on Alaska later.